Rosedale Uniting Early Learning

Pauline Dent is a proud Monero Ngargio woman and a dedicated early childhood teacher at Rosedale Uniting Early Learning. Pauline brought extensive cultural knowledge to the service and embedded Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into her program to foster a deep respect and knowledge of our first peoples.

The outdoor space at Rosedale Uniting Early Learning has been transformed by Pauline to create a reconciliation garden, featuring a variety of native plants, and an inviting yarning circle where children and staff meet for meals, stories and music. These changes have created valuable learning opportunities and beautiful spaces that are respected and appreciated by children, families and educators.

Pauline has built a collaborative team that value the feedback and guidance she provides, as well as the strategies she implements to encourage all team members to expand their knowledge and capacity to support the children’s learning.

With her support, the service has become one that excels in all practices and celebrates learning that includes First Nations perspectives to enrich the experiences of the children, their families and the wider community. Pauline is now sharing her extensive knowledge to support 9 other services in Wellington Shire to enact similar changes in a structured and holistic way.

Discovery Tree Early Learning Centre

As Educational Leader at Discovery Tree Early Learning Centre, Chloe Edgar developed unique and creative education programs for the service and kindergarten. Her initiatives led to both services achieving an overall rating of ‘Exceeding’ from the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.

Chloe is dedicated to fostering an environment where educators thrive and facilitates collaborative learning sessions where educators share best practices, discuss challenges, reflect and explore new ideas and intentional teaching practices.

Her forward-thinking mindset ensures that the centre remains at the forefront of educational innovation. She constantly seeks out new and effective learning experiences through the integration of technology, experiential learning opportunities, or interdisciplinary approaches and her efforts have inspired the educational team to create rich and meaningful learning experiences that promote children’s growth, agency, success and school-readiness.

Moe Heights Preschool

Jacinta Anderson, a teacher at Moe Heights Preschool, is dedicated to the education and wellbeing of young children, particularly those from vulnerable backgrounds and children with additional needs.

With high levels of socio-economic disadvantage and vulnerability in the Moe community, including trauma, family violence and poverty, Jacinta strives to create an inclusive environment where everyone is supported with programs adapted to each child’s developmental stage.
By utilising trauma-informed practices and providing children with innovative, hands-on experiences that develop learning and knowledge,

Jacinta ensures every effort is made to meet the children's needs and engage them through fun and fulfilling experiences.
With a deep understanding of the developmental stages of young children, she provides a nurturing environment that promotes growth and development, whilst developing strategies to strengthen family partnerships and participation.

Rosedale Uniting Early Learning is a small rural kindergarten that has embedded rich Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural aspects into their program.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander resources are incorporated into every area of learning including play, art and craft, language, maps, literature, music and movement. These are strengthened by meaningful collaborative partnerships with Koorie Education Support Officers, elders and community members who regularly contribute cultural knowledge to support the programs.

Staff participate in diverse specialised training from bush tucker to Aboriginal ways of learning so they can pass on the richness of the oldest living culture to the children, families and broader community.

Community feedback highlights the positive impact of the kindergarten’s inclusiveness on Koorie families. Rosedale Uniting Early Learning leads the sector in integrating Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture and have shared their learnings through communities of practice and Yarning meetings each term with local services within the Wellington Shire area.