Prospect Community Early Education and Care

11/09/2026

National Child Protection Week reminds us that keeping children safe is everyone’s responsibility.

This year’s focus on turning conversations into action strongly reflects the way we approach child safety at Prospect Community Early Education and Care.

Over time, conversations with children, families, educators and our wider community have led to real changes in our practice.

We have strengthened the ways we seek and respond to the authentic voice of children. We have critically reflected on our environments through a child-safety lens. We have reviewed policies, procedures and everyday practices to ensure children’s safety, rights and wellbeing remain our paramount consideration.

We have strengthened educator knowledge through ongoing child safety training and professional development. We have expanded our emergency management practices to include a wider range of realistic scenarios. We have reviewed how technology, personal devices, photography, privacy and CCTV could impact children’s safety and rights. We have also reduced documentation expectations to create more time for educators to simply be with children — listening, noticing, engaging and building secure relationships.

Importantly, we continue to listen.

Child safety is not something we address through one policy, one training session or one week of awareness. It is reflected in the decisions we make, the questions we ask, the environments we create and our willingness to change practice when we can do better.

National Child Protection Week is an opportunity to keep the conversation going — but also to ask:

What will we do differently because of what we have heard?

At PCEEC, every story begins with a conversation. The important part is what we do next.

10/09/2026

R U OK? Day – A Conversation Can Make a Difference

Today is a reminder of something that matters every day — taking the time to genuinely check in with the people around us.

In Early Childhood Education and Care, our days are filled with caring for others. We support children through big feelings, listen to families, work alongside our colleagues and give so much of ourselves to creating a safe, welcoming and nurturing community.

But those who care for others need care too. 💛

R U OK? Day reminds us that we don’t need to be experts to reach out. Sometimes a simple “Are you OK?”, followed by taking the time to really listen, can make an enormous difference.

At PCEEC, we want our educators, children and families to know that wellbeing matters, conversations matter, and no one should ever feel they have to navigate a difficult day alone.

So today — and every day — we encourage everyone in our community to:

💛 Notice when someone might not seem themselves
💛 Ask, “Are you OK?”
💛 Listen without judgement
💛 Encourage connection and support
💛 Check in again

Because building a caring community starts with noticing one another.

Ask R U OK? Any Day — because a conversation could change a life.

09/09/2026

Meet Kerri – Centre Director
This week marks a very special milestone as Kerri celebrates 20 years with Prospect Community Early Education and Care.
With more than 30 years in early childhood education and care, Kerri's career has included roles as an educator, in early education and OSHC, Lead Educator and Director.
Since joining Prospect in 2006, Kerri has led the service with a clear vision centred on relationships, quality, community, and ensuring every decision is made with children at the heart.
Holding qualifications including a Bachelor of Social Science (Human Services), Graduate Diploma in Child Development, multiple Early Childhood qualifications, and a Diploma of Training Design and Development, Kerri combines educational leadership with a strong understanding of governance, child development, workforce capability, and continuous improvement.
Kerri's leadership reflects our Philosophy of Education and is grounded in the belief that high-quality early childhood education is built on strong relationships, reflective practice, and genuine partnerships with children, families, educators, and the wider community. This commitment is evident across every aspect of the service and aligns with NQS Quality Area 7 – Governance and Leadership, while strengthening outcomes across all seven Quality Areas.
Through ongoing professional learning in educational leadership, child safety, inclusion, food safety, behaviour guidance, mental health, trauma-informed practice, governance, and family partnerships, Kerri continues to champion innovation, evidence-informed practice, and a culture where educators are supported to grow professionally and children are supported to thrive.
Twenty years is more than a milestone—it represents two decades of building relationships, supporting thousands of children and families, mentoring educators, and helping shape a service that continues to grow while remaining true to its community values.
Thank you, Kerri, for your leadership, vision, and unwavering commitment to Prospect Community Early Education and Care. Here's to celebrating 20 years and the difference you've made to so many lives.

08/09/2026

Annual Staff Development Day 2026

Our Annual Staff Development Day gave our educator team the valuable opportunity to come together, reflect, challenge our thinking and strengthen our shared practice.

Throughout the day, we explored some of the areas that sit at the heart of high-quality early childhood education and care:
Child Safety – continuing important conversations about our responsibilities, practices and shared commitment to ensuring the safety, rights and wellbeing of every child.

The Authentic Voice of the Child – critically reflecting on how we listen to children, how we recognise the many ways children communicate, and how their ideas, preferences and perspectives genuinely influence decisions about their day.

Our Rooms & Environments – stepping back and looking at our learning spaces with fresh eyes. Educators considered the visual image each room portrays, what our environments communicate about children and childhood, and whether our spaces truly reflect the children who use them.

Learning Environments that Meet Children's Needs – considering how the arrangement, accessibility and purpose of our spaces support belonging, independence, agency, exploration, connection, play and learning.

The day was also about celebrating our educators.

To recognise Early Childhood Educators Day, our team shared lunch together and each educator created their own terrarium to take home as a small thank-you for the enormous contribution they make to our community.

Like the plants in our terrariums, quality practice needs the right environment to grow — care, attention, reflection, connection and a commitment to continually learning.

We are incredibly grateful for the hard work, knowledge, care and effort our educators bring to Prospect Community Early Education and Care each and every day.

Thank you for everything you do to ensure our children are safe, heard, valued, supported and inspired to learn.

Learn. Play. Grow.

07/09/2026

Recent reporting about the loss of public confidence in early childhood education and care raises issues that our sector absolutely must confront.
There have been serious failures. They should be exposed, investigated and addressed. Children’s safety, rights and wellbeing must always come first.
But there is a missing piece in the public conversation.
We need to educate families about what quality actually looks like.
Repeatedly telling parents about everything that can be wrong with early childhood education may understandably create fear. What we rarely do with the same energy is equip parents to recognise what should be right.
Rather than simply telling families to “do their research”, we need to tell them what to research.
A rating alone does not tell the whole story. An Exceeding National Quality Standard rating awarded in 2016 or 2020 is not necessarily a meaningful picture of what a service looks like in 2026. Families should know when a service was last assessed and understand that its current educators, leadership, practices and culture may be very different.
Nor should attractive buildings, polished websites, carefully curated social media or claims of an “open-door policy” automatically be accepted as evidence of quality.
Teach parents to walk into a service and look, listen, smell and ask.
Look at the children. Are they relaxed, engaged and comfortable with the educators? Do educators get down to their level? Are babies held? Are children comforted? Are interactions warm, respectful and unhurried?
Listen. What is the tone of the rooms? How do educators speak to children when they are upset, challenging a boundary or needing help? Is there conversation, laughter and genuine engagement?
Notice the environment. Does it smell clean and fresh? Are bathrooms, nappy-change areas, kitchens and sleep spaces well maintained? Are children actively engaged, or are screens regularly doing the work of educators?
And ask questions—lots of them.
How long have the educators worked here? What qualifications do they hold? What professional development do they undertake beyond mandatory training? What is staff turnover like? Who leads the educational program? How are children with additional needs supported? What happens when a child is distressed? How are complaints handled? How are educators supervised and supported?
Ask about food. How long is the menu rotation? Where is the food sourced? Is it prepared onsite? Who prepares it and what qualifications or food-safety training do they have? What does “nutritionist-designed” actually mean? If one nutritionist develops a menu used across 100 services, families should be able to understand that context rather than simply seeing a reassuring marketing phrase.
Ask what “open door” really means. Of course families should have appropriate access to their child's service. But unrestricted access by unfamiliar adults throughout children's environments should not automatically be promoted as a hallmark of quality. Good safeguarding means knowing who is entering children's spaces, why they are there and how children's privacy and security are protected.
Ask about relationships with families. Is engagement genuine and two-way, or primarily newsletters, apps and marketing? Can families influence decisions? Are concerns welcomed? Are educators available for meaningful conversations?
And perhaps ask some bigger questions.
Who owns the service? Where do the profits go? What drives decision-making? How much is reinvested into educators, resources, food, professional development and children's environments? What happens when quality and profitability compete?
These questions should not be seen as confrontational. Quality services should welcome informed families asking informed questions.
There are poor services in Australian early education. There are also exceptional ones—services with experienced educators who stay for years, strong leadership, highly qualified teams, genuine community connections and cultures where children's safety and wellbeing underpin every decision.
We should not hide the sector's failures, and we should never diminish the experiences of children and families who have been failed.
But neither should we allow an entire profession to be characterised only by its worst examples.
If governments, regulators and media genuinely want families to make informed decisions, give them more than warnings.
Give them the questions.
Teach them what quality looks like, sounds like and feels like.
Help parents distinguish genuine quality from marketing, an old rating or a glossy building.
Fear tells families what to run from. Education gives them the power to know what to look for.
That is how we begin rebuilding trust in early childhood education and care.

06/09/2026

05/09/2026

Celebrating Father’s Day – and all the people who help our children grow
This Father’s Day, we celebrate the many wonderful people who love, guide, encourage and care for the children in our community.
Today might be about Dads, but we also recognise stepdads, grandfathers, foster dads, uncles, brothers, two-dad families, family friends, mentors and all those special people who take on a fathering or significant role in a child’s life.
We know that families come in many different shapes, and that Father’s Day can hold different meanings and emotions for everyone. For some it is a day of celebration, for others a day of remembrance, and for some it may simply look a little different.
What matters most is the love, connection, security and sense of belonging that children experience through the important relationships in their lives.
To all the dads and special people in our PCEEC community — thank you for the big things, the little things, the everyday things, and for being part of each child’s story.
Happy Father’s Day from everyone at Prospect Community Early Education and Care.

03/09/2026

Meet Jenna – Casual Educator Across All Rooms
Jenna joined Prospect Community Early Education and Care in October 2025 and is a valued member of our casual educator team. Holding a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, Jenna supports children, families, and educators across Vaughn, Hepburn, Redmond, and Whinham, providing flexible support wherever it is needed.
Working across all four learning environments requires adaptability, teamwork, and the ability to build positive relationships with children and educators. Jenna contributes to creating safe, welcoming, and engaging environments where children feel confident to learn, play, and explore.
Jenna's practice aligns with NQS Quality Area 4 – Staffing Arrangements, supporting continuity of care and collaborative teamwork across the service. Through responsive interactions and a caring approach, Jenna also contributes to NQS Quality Area 5 – Relationships with Children, helping children develop a strong sense of belonging and security. This reflects our Philosophy of Education, where every child is respected as a capable learner and every relationship supports positive outcomes.
Professional learning in child protection, anaphylaxis management, first aid, and food safety demonstrates Jenna's commitment to providing safe, high-quality education and care while continuing to grow professionally.
We are delighted to have Jenna as part of our team and appreciate the flexibility, professionalism, and support provided across our centre community.
Thank you, Jenna

02/09/2026

Very excited to announce our service has been named a finalist in the Flying Start Early Childhood Awards, in the category Uplifting Quality.

02/09/2026

HAPPY EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATORS’ DAY 2026
The Future Starts With Us!
Today we proudly celebrate the incredible educators who make Prospect Community Early Education and Care what it is.
Early childhood education is so much more than a job, and so much more than simply caring for children.
It is noticing. Listening. Teaching. Guiding. Protecting. Advocating. Encouraging. Reflecting. Planning. Creating. Comforting. Challenging. Laughing. Learning.
It is knowing when to step in — and when to step back.
It is understanding that the smallest everyday moments can become some of the most important learning opportunities.
Our educators bring knowledge, qualifications, experience and professionalism to their work, but they also bring something that cannot be measured on paper — genuine relationships with children and families and a commitment to ensuring every child feels safe, known, valued and included.
At PCEEC, we are incredibly fortunate to have a team with extraordinary depth of experience, long-standing commitment to our community and a shared belief in the importance of the early years.
They create environments where children can wonder, investigate, take risks, make mistakes, build friendships, find their voice, develop independence and discover who they are.
And while much of this work happens quietly, in ordinary moments throughout an ordinary day, its impact can last a lifetime.
The 2026 Early Childhood Educators’ Day theme reminds us:
The Future Starts With Us.
And every day, we see exactly why.
To our wonderful PCEEC educators — thank you for your professionalism, your knowledge, your humour, your patience, your advocacy, your teamwork and, above all, the care and respect you show our children and families.
Today we celebrate you, the profession you have chosen, and the difference you make.
Happy Early Childhood Educators’ Day!