8 minute read
Helping your employees build a better future
Childcare centre group finds a key to balancing the welfare of families & educators
AMAZE Education
Queensland childcare centre group, AMAZE Education, says the key to balancing the welfare of families & their educators is to create a stress-free supportive community.
According to the DESE, in the June quarter of 2021, there were almost 1.4 million Australian children in child care, from over 1 million families. With an average of three days per child, per week, Care for Kids reported that the average fees during 2021 was $177 per child, per week. In a recent study conducted by Savvy, Australia’s cost of living is 86% more expensive than any other country in the world; and one in six Australian families are ‘very concerned’ about their current financial situation, while 77% said they are concerned about their future position. Childcare is an unavoidable expense for most families; And the cost of living has increased. February 2022 overall Average Daily Spend is up 10% from January 2022 at $241 per day, provoking financial strain for many. A recent study by Dr Marg Rogers suggests that Early Learning Educators carry a heavy mental load; the educators curriculum and accompanying educator handbook, also asks educators to recognise the knowledge and strengths of parents. Lucy Cook, founder and director of family-owned childcare centre group, AMAZE Education, says Early Learning Educators are witnessing the emotional ups and downs by parents and that there is a greater need to address the welfare of families and children which ultimately supports educators. “AMAZE Education was created as a holistic approach to care for families; we feel care doesn’t need to stop once the children have left the centre”, Ms Cook reports, “the key to ensuring children have the best learning environment is create a stress-free community – this means for care-givers and educators”.
According to Lifeline, financial stress can cause arguments with others, changes in mood, irritability or anger and feelings of guilt about spending money on small treats or unnecessary items - all which can be triggers for secondhand stress. Research suggests that even the youngest of children can sense tension from parents, it also suggests that children who are mentally healthy are better able to meet life’s challenges. They are also better learners and have stronger relationships. “In addition to including all food, nappies and extra-curricular activities in our fees, we have implemented partnerships with Parent TV and Nurch childcare loyalty rewards to support our families at home too. By offering this extra support, we hope to reduce general at-home stress for families”, says Ms Cook, “we believe how our families feel has a flow-on effect for our educators giving them a head-start on their mental wellbeing as it creates a stronger foundation for open interactions and communication with parents. Nurch recently surveyed their members which indicates that a staggering 49% use the loyalty rewards program to reduce their household and child/children’s essential spending. Interestingly, 50% of Nurch members reported their annual household income to be $120,000. The overall consensus from this recent survey is that it is now not just low income families feeling the pinch on affordability. We all are in our own way. Steph, mother of four boys, says that while her family expenses are considerable, the most important aspect of childcare is that her children are happy and in the right learning environment.
“I have three children attending AMAZE Gaven; We recently moved and have a childcare centre 15 minutes from our house but choose to drive 45 minutes each way so they can stay at AMAZE - the educators are like our extended family”, Steph says, “My husband and I earn full-time wages but daycare is considerable expense, and while the CCS changes have helped, Nurch will help to cover the $450 we spend in groceries each week and never-ending clothes costs that come with having young boys”.
ABOUT NURCH: Nurch is Australia’s first childcare loyalty rewards program where families earn 1 point for every dollar spent at their partnering childcare centre. Points can be instantly redeemed for eGiftCards to spend at over 100 Australian retailers. The multi-award winning program has a proven record that the product helps centres to retain and attract new enrolments - which creates a consistent learning environment for children.
Steph, mother of four boys
(The Culture of) approaches
Alina Dan > Holistic Management and Consultancy
In times of heavy disruptions, which vary in their nature from health-related to economic and unpredictable weather, the loss of control heightens reactive behaviours of most team members including management positions.
Combine the current context with the reality that early childhood is not an attractive nor opportunistic field for new educators as well lack of pragmatic management and leadership training and we have a sector in crisis! We coach and mentor educators using these 3 critical elements that can support a provider to become more ‘attractive’ for new applicants and better at retaining current employees!
1. (The Culture of) Clear Vision and Direction
It is much more reassuring for a prospective new employee to enter a team culture where goals, vision, and values are common language and frequently used to motivate and maintain a high level of interest.
2. (The Culture of) Systems & Structures
A team that has a clear approach to ‘who is doing what and when’ will always achieve more. Above all, such a team will prevent reactive and erratic behaviour as pragmatic systems are in place to guide ‘depth’ rather than quantity! Simple systems to create focus and direction are much needed in times of disruption! Systems became the stable reference to access when direction may become unclear or unstable!
3. (The Culture of) Profiling
Neuroscience is finally becoming a more know term and there is more focus on the strength-based approach! Emotional intelligence is recognised as a valuable aspect of effective teams!!! However, we lack an understanding of how specifically and pragmatically early childhood leaders can use this knowledge! The major difference between a manager and a leader is that the manager is focused on managing the situation to the best of her/his ability and the focus is on Now! The leader is more focused on the big picture and tries to work across all levels to ensure the team achieves its proposed outcomes.
There are usually 3 types of reactive management positions
• The fixer-upper manager; just quickly jumps at every opportunity to keep things afloat. • In a more colloquial language a manager who is super busy putting lots of fires away but never achieves significant growth! • A manager busy with keeping everybody’s well-being in check; runs out of time very quickly, most likely neglects herself/himself and there are not many opportunities to build depth in the leadership approach. • The overwhelmed manager / is usually the type of manager who is starting the day with an already full cup. There is not much room left for much to fit in! This may occur due to various reasons - plenty happening on the home/family front! Lack of forward planning, sense of resentment towards various areas, lack of access to the right tools and resources etc. • This manager most of the time has great ideas, but negativity takes over and he/she is not able to always see the opportunity that hides behind challenges. • The procrastinator - this manager is a great thinker, able to see what needs to be done but for various reasons - particularly interruptions - not able to complete the plans proposed. Can really work well to complete various projects but am not always able to keep all things in balance. • Interruptions are the worst enemy of this style of management and the avalanche of ideas that are not organised in order. • On many occasions we see many managers fluctuating between the 3 roles and sometimes all in one day!
The leader approach
a. A leader always starts with a plan. Pluto said it so well a good plan means 50% of the job is completed.
Way too many times we fall into the trap of reacting to everything without having a clear path ahead. b. A leader always finds time to track progress:
A great leader is one that can focus on certain objectives and develops certain tools (systems) to ensure 50% of his/her time is spent tracking and following up on where everybody is at, and how various projects are progressing!
A leader does not expect to have a team that only needs 1 reminder!
c. A leader seeks mentoring and coaching! This extends on current knowledge and skills and can happen in many different ways! From further studies to online courses and face-to-face sessions!
IT'S TIME TO HAVE YOUR OWN MENTOR
SUPER AFFORDABLE MONTHLY FEES MONTHLY SESSIONS WITH YOUR MENTOR ACCESS TO CUTTING EDGE SOFTWARE
TAKE THE RIGHT SOLUTION FOR YOUR BUSINESS & SERVICE NOW! MENTORING PACKAGES START FROM $197 PER MONTH
I'm really happy with Holistic Management & QIP Program. We have received amazing service and it's the best money I have spent on the service! A life-changing product !! Dianne WCP
As a coach, mentor and leader Alina and her team have been amazing to work with! Alina challenges our thinking and is always looking at ways to achieve the best out of our services operations. Alina has a wealth of knowledge and is always happy to share her inspirational ideas Mel Little Scholars Group
