educator

senior educator

early childhood teacher

teacher

assistant director

GoodStart Early Learning

A typical day looks like poor communication across rooms, lack of support for higher needs children and challenging behaviours and being made to feel silly for simple reasons. I got this job as a trainee, having my study paid for but I feel like I will be leaving overworked, stressed and unsure if I ever want to work in childcare again. Since Ive been at I have been flip-flopped on room placement, time off and have not been helped to complete my study at all. I found through the year I’ve been here that I have not been shown all work tasks, having to observe other educators to learn and doing tasks that a trainee should not be required to take on. Time off (for very reasonable things) has been denied several times whilst room leaders and other “higher ranking” staff consistently get time off approved. I was also given 5 key children to do observations on, weekly daily learnings to complete (with an average of 30 children to work with per activity) and several unnecessary team meetings and out of hours events (such as kindy graduations) to attend all while not being supported to complete my study and placement as I am constantly asking to have placement books signed and to be able to complete placement in other rooms. Management has used the excuse of me being in ratio and key room staff member to postpone these crucial steps of my study (which is due in a month!). I feel as though I’m being taken advantage of as cheap labour as I’m also always doing more than contracted hours with little to no flexibility. Staffing is a constant issue in our centre, as when I am actually needing a day off for study or personal reasons I’m getting “met in the middle” with inconvenient shifts that get in the way of these things. When brought up to management I am met with staffing excuses. Staff are also very two-faced and there is absolutely no communication between rooms, often with educators gossiping about other rooms practices other than bringing it up professionally. Unfortunately I have found that as a trainee with key children, parents are very likely to disregard any concerns or effort put into observations and learning. Also don’t get me started on programming! 5 key children and I think I get one hour of programming every 4-5 weeks?? I can not remember the last time I was able to get an observation done at work without having to do unpaid work at home.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Working with the beautiful children 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The increasing number of children who have behavioural difficulties being enrolled in the service which we are not adequately trained in nor have the best facilities for these children. Inclusively is our mission  but a balance has to be found. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The particular centre I work at has a very toxic work environment due to mistrust between colleagues but also towards management. It doesn't help having many woman working together in a small environment as it can lead to gossiping and bitchiness.
HOWEVER,  Goodstart itself does try its best to provide both its staff & families the support it needs when applicable. It is a non profit organisation and offers its staff above award wages. The grievance ladder for staff could be improved and better overseeing of centres needs to be more specific to stamp out the issues my current centre has by corporate, but It does offer staff who have experienced issues free counselling to help towards improved mental health.
If you can find a well adjusted  centre that has a great management team, (unlike mine, which is hopefully a one off) I believe working for Goodstart can be enjoyable. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Busy and fast paced with many little cherubs all wanting your attention all at once!! However it us also fun and enjoyable connecting with these little people who can always bring a smile to your face.
It's not easy looking after other people children but it can also be satisfying.

I started a day of work as an Educator at this center. 
Everything in the center seem attractive to my eyes - very neat and colorful. Educators worked as a team following the routine which was planed before. They were also ensure the ratios between rooms. Educators always apply programs that are appropriate for all ages. So they are very fun and excited. They were willingly to help students who did work placement job at the center. .
At lunch time children were served with good food. They were free in enjoying their food without  being compulsory from educators. 
Depend on the weather of the day, children can have good times outdoor, playing with obstacle courses, bikes, sandpit, dramatic plays with dolls, cooking, or play a role as doctor, constructor, etc.
Educators always kept their eyes on the children to ensure everything were safe tor children and educators.Some children needed help for toilet or nappies change. This is done as planned.
Educators also conducted children enjoy music and reading fantastic books on the shelf. Some children chose a book on the shelf and asked an educator to read it for them. the children were very confident. They found themselves as at home.
In every room  cultures  from ethnic groups  from over the world were performed with pictures or at room corner so children could learn about.
The hardest part of the job was how to help children confidential learning in playing, or play to learn throughout the days being at the center.
The most enjoyable part of the job was ' I thought I should be  a child at that time". ' How happy  to be a child ! '.

Working with children & their families should be rewarding, but not when you are constantly butting heads with a director who pushed the boundaries in terms of regulations.  
Constantly understaffed, I was left on my own with up to 17 children in my first week - without knowing the children or their families.  They used "under roof ratios", which had safety implications for children & staff, & meant the quality of care, supervision & program suffers terribly.  The lack of resources was appalling. I was purchasing resources myself. 
There were some serious issues with some children & their behaviours, but no support from management (director had no understanding of what these children needed & lack of resources & poorly designed playground with NO challenges only exacerbated the problem).
This company is still ABC in disguise.  It's still all about the profit over the children & staff are under enormous pressure to care for children under ridiculous conditions.
The pay is appalling, the paperwork & accountability is crazy & the expectation that you will dedicate your life to the centre is ludicrous.
Got out as soon as soon as I could & would not recommend this company, there are so many wonderful, rewarding early childhood places to work.

A typical day at work would be: in the morning, play inside and have breakfast until it is time to go outside, (mats and equipment,should have already been put out ready for the day).
At about 9am assist the children inside into their groups. Group time. Assist them to wash their hands ready for morning tea. Morning tea. Inside activities and programming. About mid morning, around 11.15 - 11.30 group time. Children then wash their hands ready for lunch. While they are eating, beds are put out. After lunch children go to the toilet or get nappies done, whichever the case. \wash hand and then lie on their beds ready for sleep / rest time. After lunch the children pack away their beds, if they can. Toileting and nappy change time. Wash hands. About 2 pm, afternoon tea. Inside play. About 3.30 - 4pm, outside play. 20 mins before going outside the children have to put on sunscreen 30 then a broad rimmed hat before going outside. Water given all day.
Team work, cpr and first aid, experience,supervision, documentation, effective communication are some of the things that are needed and performed by the staff at the centres to assist in the effective care of the children and performance of the centre.

My day typically starts by walking through the front door to a room full of greetings from staff, parents and children. I greet back and after putting my things away sign on. Walking into my room I am overwhelmed by all of the smiling faces that look up at me and the thudding of little feet has me knowing that cuddles are to come! My whole day is based on team work and communication and (if its not to soppy for me to say) love. I love what I do and I love seeing the beautiful outcome of the hard work I put into making sure those children have what they need to be the best 'them'  that they can be.

Although I do love my job, at times it can be quite stressful. Lets face it, I work with all women and a room full of Toddlers! But at the end of the day, all of the staff look past their own issues and I know that despite all of the stress, I will walk in the next day and still be bombarded by little arms wrapped around me!

Knowing that I am playing a part in these children's development, and watching them grow and find themselves has got to be the most rewarding part of my job! I love being an Educator!!

Good wage, on par or above most of the for-profit centres, you won't have problem with finding work hours here. You have an online learning hub which supports professional development. Staff are friendly and inclusive.

But, planning time is always behind schedule, sometimes you don't even get 25% of the allocated hours in that month, so you would be writing observation documentations for June in December.

Because Goodstart believes they have large casual pool, we are not getting staff from agencies even if we have no casuals to cover sick leaves, causing the lack of planning time, along with sometimes not having inclusion support for children with challenging behaviours and additional needs. Staff are stressed out from supporting children's everyday needs, while trying to balance between facilitating learning experiences and resolving challenging behaviours that sometimes include physical harm towards both children and adults.

These people who have reviewed GoodStart Early Learning have not worked at East Nowra.  

Working there has to be one of the worst experiences of my life.  The children are out of control throwing chairs, tearing around the centre and knocking all the books off the shelves and ripping other children's artwork up. A lot of inappropriate behaviours where these children have been exposed to things they shouldn't have been exposed too. The workers appear to turn a blind eye to their behaviours and it was not recorded.  I was told by the Director that there was nothing they could do change this.  If they attempted to contact parents they just wouldn't answer their phone.  

No soap in baby area the entire time I worked there which was approximately 1 month.  There was a sign saying wash hands but no soap.  They didn't wash the 0-2 children hands once before meals.  I would suggest to them to wash their hands and would get the reply oh don't worry about it.

A lot of the other workers are unfriendly and not welcoming to new casual's coming to work there.  

How on earth GoodStart Early Learning East Nowra received accreditation is beyond me.

On your feet from the time you start to finish, no programming routine (always dependent on 'pot luck' numbers/operational requirements of the day - where are the casuals? You have to switch from on floor duties to programming with no notice. Have to share 'on line' programming equipment with the whole centre can be 4/5 of you sharing 1 ipad for daily communication, observations, learning stories with little to no opportunity to complete due to the daily, cleaning, gardening, children's individual routine/supervision ? educational requirements. Requirements for number, safety, cleaning duty checks also need to be done daily - monitored by head office.
GS Falsely represents salary sacrificing opportunities as these are in fact only for those in the higher wage earning category ie: Another way the 'Fortunate' get richer and the mere floor staff get over worked and underpaid.

A typical day was around 10 hours and operated at a hectic pace, really good. When one looks after 250 childcare centres the day is a full on one by all means.  Learnt how to be a successful Facilities Manager dealing with Govt bodies, top management, childcare convenors, contractors and parents of the children. Co workers overall were great and very dedicated as they need to be when dealing with children and the parents. No specific part of the job was "the hardest", everything connected with the Facilities, Office Management and Fleet Manager roles had there own difficulties but that was great - it added value to the role.  The most enjoyable part of the three roles I was responsible for was to see results being achieved and staff and parents going away happy with the end results.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Educator 1176 salaries reported	$38.81 per hour
Senior educator 355 salaries reported	$40.12 per hour
Early childhood teacher 377 salaries reported	$55.12 per hour
Teacher 14 salaries reported	$53.84 per hour
Assistant director 187 salaries reported	$46.69 per hour

Working at GoodStart Early Learning: Company Overview and Reviews

GoodStart Early Learning

GoodStart Early Learning Ratings

Popular jobs at GoodStart Early Learning

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected