Dana Reid, Author at ��ר��

It’s Safe Work Month At ��ר��!

Dana Reid — Tue, 03 Oct 2023 00:52:45 +0000

National Safe Work Month is upon us! Our Early Learning Centres have jam-packed this October with a variety of events and programs to highlight the steps our centres and their amazing teams take to ensure the well-being and safety of those in our community.

Safe Work Australia developed the campaign in 2009 to help raise awareness of work health and safety (WHS) while providing a range of resources for organisations to effectively promote their own internal and external health and safety processes and initiatives.��

Work health and safety is a normal part of everyday operations for our ��ר�� centre teams. Our workplaces happen to involve over 20,000 children and their families - So, we take a more holistic approach to safety during Safe Work Month to promote children’s health and safety. We conduct weekly meetings, professional development opportunities and regular safety drills – safe practices are embedded in all our processes and procedures.��

Supporting Safety in the Workplace

There are many ways, year-round, that employees are supported to be safe at work, including:��

Ongoing resources and guidance��
Internal Policies, Processes and Procedures to mitigate risk��
Induction and regular training opportunities��
Holistic auditing of our procedures and how they are implemented��
Mental health support and guidance 24/7 through ��

Our Compliance and Safety Team have developed an exciting program for October, focusing on four main safety pillars.��

Week one concentrates on child health and safety, focusing on effective supervision, safe sleep practices, transition practices and children’s food safety needs.��

Week two focuses on the educator, from well-being, inductions and training to identifying hazards and risks for employee safety.��

Week three looks at our environment, including risk assessment and environmental checks, severe weather event processes and sun protection.��

Finally, week four is safety for all. This week will see reviews of emergency and medical procedures, refresher training for our educators and managers, and time to reflect on the current working environment and interactions.��

Inclusive of the October Safe Work program, our centres are encouraged to get involved with key dates throughout the month, including:��

Contact your local centre for more information about their National Safe Work Month initiatives.��

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2023 ECE Day: Planting the seeds for positive change

Dana Reid — Fri, 08 Sep 2023 01:06:50 +0000

We had Serious Fun celebrating across Australia this week with more than 5,000 of our educators during Early Childhood Educators Day on Wednesday, 6th September 2023.��

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Planning commenced across our Affinity community weeks prior with the launch of new gifts and resources for our early childhood educators, including an Educator Reflection Diary, certificates of appreciation, and Affinity Affirmations – positive words of encouragement from our education team reflecting the work our people do.��

Celebrations led by Centre Teams and our Affinity Area Managers around Australia included a seriously fun series of 'Morning Tea on AffiniTEA' events featuring educators' favourite treats, personalised gifts and plenty of messages of appreciation from families at each service.��

��ר�� CEO Tim Hickey released a��for the day, congratulating and thanking each and every trainee and educator for their role. The video was followed by a personalised message from��, Head of Education and Pedagogy, shared across every centre's Facebook page on the day.��

Centre Facebook pages across our Milestones Early Learning, Aussie Kindies Early Learning, Papilio Early Learning and Kids Academy centres lit up with our teams and children having serious fun together to celebrate the big role they play in little lives.��

"You are an amazing team! Thank you!" shared a parent in response to photos of the celebrations at Milestones Early Learning Ipswich.��

In Western Australia, Affinity Area Managers Kelly Stephens and Kylie Grant took a road trip to visit their services across the day, sharing messages of appreciation.��

"We visited every single centre to say Thank You and had some serious fun with them all," Kelly said.��

Affinity Area Manager Holly Taylor set herself the same challenge – visiting every centre in her Area in one day with gifts and smiles.��

"As someone who has progressed in my career with Affinity from an educator to an Area Manager, I wanted to make sure my team felt valued and appreciated," explained Holly.��

��ר�� Early Childhood Educators Day��

An initiative of the Australian Childcare Alliance, Early Childhood Educators' Day recognises and celebrates the work of Australia's educators in early learning services for their important role in supporting children's wellbeing, learning and development in the early years.��

It's a chance to thank Australia's early childhood educators on a personal level by service operators, families and their children, as well as collectively at the state and national levels.��

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Affinity Wins Employer of Choice in Australian Business Awards

Dana Reid — Thu, 31 Aug 2023 05:30:00 +0000

��ר�� (Affinity) is delighted to be selected as an Employer of Choice in the Australian Business Awards 2023.��

The Australian Business Awards Employer of Choice category requires organisations to demonstrate their achievements across seven key areas: Organisational Culture & Leadership, Employee Education, Training & Development, Employee Health, Safety and Satisfaction, Performance Management and Recognition & Remuneration. ��

CEO Tim Hickey��said the award recognises Affinity's talented team and our commitment to embracing and advancing their potential.��

“Our promise -��Potential, Realised��- is at the heart of our employee experience, and the experience we offer to the children we educate and care for," Mr Hickey said.��

“Affinity’s growth and success over the past decade has been achieved through our strong ‘Affinity Way’ culture, built on Affinity's six core values: Delivering Outstanding Professionalism, Going Above and Beyond, Living the Team Spirit, Creating Shining Stars, Being Completely Connected and (importantly) Having Serious Fun.��

“Our Leadership Team are 100% committed to ensuring Affinity provides competitive and rewarding��employment opportunities and training and development designed to optimise and recognise passion and potential in every employee.��

This award acknowledges every trainee, educator, teacher, Centre Management team, Area Manager, National Leadership Team, Quality and Education Team, and Affinity’s incredible Centre Support Office who back our centres every day to deliver high-quality early education and care."��

CPO Linda Carroll said Affinity was proud to be recognised as an employer that prioritises identifying and creating opportunities to promote its employees from within.��

“Our award-winning Affinity Learning Academy (ALA) offers our people fully-funded and supported accredited training, with Development Coaches who visit each enrolled student every fortnight to support them, build their confidence and create opportunities for promotion,” Ms Carroll said.��

“A unique element of Affinity’s leadership and operational model is the percentage of employees working in leadership positions who previously held roles as early childhood educators – up to 90% of Area Managers, 100% of our Quality, Education and Compliance teams, and up to 30% of Affinity’s remaining Centre Support Office team have had personal experience working with children in early education settings,” she said. ��

“This creates an empathetic and supportive culture that connects business operations to the reality of our employees’ daily working lives.��Our sector has experienced many unexpected challenges over the past few years, and yet within our business, The Affinity Way remains alive and evident,” she said. ��

Lesley Jones, Head of Education and Pedagogy and creator of Affinity’s said the strategic approach to connect Affinity’s dispersed network had been another key factor in employee satisfaction.��

“This national curriculum model for delivery of Australia’s Early Years Learning Framework was co-created between Affinity’s Education team and ‘communities of practice’ consisting of educators and teachers. It is exclusively available to employees of ��ר��, which creates a sense of pride among educators and aligns particularly to Affinity’s values of Being Completely Connected, Delivering Outstanding Professionalism and Creating Shining Stars,” said Dr Lesley Jones��

“Our people know they will be empowered to become the best version of educators or teachers they can be with Affinity’s support,” she said. ��

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Shining Star Gabriela Savio Announced as Finalist Outstanding Educator in NTEC Awards 2023��

Dana Reid — Fri, 25 Aug 2023 04:16:33 +0000

We are excited to announce that our very own Gabriela Savio, Lead Educator for , has been chosen from more than 30 nominees as one of only 3 finalists in the for 2023 in the category ‘Outstanding Educator’.��

��ר�� Northern Territory Area Manager Tameka Meehan said the nomination recognised ��Gabriela’s dedication to continuous professional development in order to provide exceptional education and care to the children in her centre.��

Tameka explained, “Gabriela is always the first educator to put her hand up to participate in any form of professional development to increase her knowledge and skills so she can provide the highest quality of care and education to all children in her care. ��

“As part of our , Gabriela has completed the 3a Abecedarian Approach Australia training and now incorporates the four key elements of enriched caregiving, learning games, conversational reading and language priority into her current role as the Toddler Lead Educator. ��

“The learnings Gabriela has taken away from her training in Circle of Security and Key Educator Relationships have given her a thorough understanding of the need for all children to develop secure attachments with their caregivers and the skills to help her create a positive and secure environment for the children to learn and grow. Gabriela has also had the opportunity to mentor other educators around these key learnings.”��

Gabriela Savio - Finalist in the Northern Territory Education and Care Awards 2023 - Outstanding Educator catagory

What makes an outstanding Educator?��

Gabriela shared, “I am a strong believer in using evidence-informed practices to influence my own practices and planning for quality outcomes for children’s learning. During my time as a Lead Educator in the nursery room, I used my knowledge of Circle of Security, Attachment Theory and Key Educator Relationships to ensure I was providing a safe and secure learning environment whilst building strong, reciprocal and communitive relationships between each child and family based on trust and respect. ��

“In my current role as Lead Educator in the toddler room, I have used my key learnings from the 3a Abecedarian Approach, focusing on supporting language development and early social skills to plan experiences to achieve quality outcomes for our toddler children.��

“I take the time to build secure relationships with both the children and their families to better understand what their strengths are and how best I can support each child to their full potential. I have a strong passion for inclusion and am very intentional in the way I set up learning environments to ensure the full participation of all my children, regardless of their abilities.��

“I make sure I include the children’s thoughts and ideas when setting up learning experiences and aim to challenge our children’s thinking by getting them to come up with different ways their environments or experiences can be planned so that their peers are all able to participate."��

��ר��, Tameka and the whole team at Milestones Early Learning Darwin City are extremely proud of Gabriela and the acknowledgement she has received for her outstanding work in the Early Childhood Education and Care Sector.��

The winners of the will be announced on Friday 22 September!��

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AEG and AWC Launch Contemporary Early Years Conservation Program��

Dana Reid — Mon, 07 Aug 2023 05:36:55 +0000

In an exciting Australia-first, more than 10,000 children aged between 3-5 years will have access to the new Aussie Wildlife Champions Lifelong Learning Curriculum program as the result of a partnership between ��ר�� and the ��

Dr Lesley Jones, Head of Education and Pedagogy for Affinity, led the development of this unique partnership, the first of its kind between AWC and an early education provider.��

“In developing our national Lifelong Learning Curriculum, we have been so pleased to have been able to partner with such a well-respected organisation such as Australian Wildlife Conservancy,” Dr Jones said.��

“Together we have produced a very special program for young children. Raising children’s awareness of our unique Australian animals and their habitats and how we can all play our part in their protection is so important.”��

The ‘Aussie Wildlife Champions’ education program provides engaging lesson plans for 18 Australian species and introduces children to core principles of conservation and Australia’s iconic and/or endangered species. Fun and age-specific videos describe the criticality and lifecycle of species such as Native Bees, Crocodiles, Numbats and Bilbies. Each lesson is filled with delightful imagery, insights and activities that will expand children’s understanding of the breadth, depth and uniqueness of Australia’s native species.��

“Australia is home to some of the most unique (and adorable) animals in the world and yet traditionally Australian children in preschool and kindergarten classrooms are still taught about only a fraction of our native animals,” Dr Jones said.��

“Through the Aussie Wildlife Champions program within our Lifelong Learning Curriculum we’re setting our educators and teachers up to deliver a powerful combination of conservation and education, engaging our little learners in the wonders of Australia’s native wildlife and inspiring new and emerging generations to care for our country.”��

Tim Allard, AWC Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the partnership as a critical step forward to bringing the community into the critical journey of conservation.��

“Australia is home to some of the most unique (and adorable) animals in the world, and yet traditionally, Australian children in preschool and kindergarten classrooms are still taught about only a fraction of our native animals,” Dr Jones said.��

“Through the Aussie Wildlife Champions program within our Lifelong Learning Curriculum, we’re setting our educators and teachers up to deliver a powerful combination of conservation and education, engaging our little learners in the wonders of Australia’s native wildlife and inspiring new and emerging generations to care for our country.”��

Tim Allard, AWC’s Chief Executive Officer, welcomed the partnership as a critical step forward to bringing the community into the critical journey of conservation.��

“Australia’s biodiversity is under threat, and our species face an increasing risk of extinction, so we need to achieve conservation outcomes at scale rapidly,” Allard said.��

“Progress can only be made with collaboration and public support, so we’re excited this partnership with ��ר�� will enable us to connect with young children and their families.��

“We need a world where Australia’s biodiversity is valued and effectively conserved by an engaged community, and children are the heartbeat of our community with the power to garner understanding and change the world.”��

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“Australia’s biodiversity is under threat and our species face increasing risk of extinction, so we need to achieve conservation outcomes at scale rapidly,” Allard said.��

“Progress can only be made with collaboration and public support so we’re excited this partnership with ��ר�� will enable us to connect with young children and their families.��

The ‘Aussie Wildlife Champions Family Fun At Home mini program will provide information-packed, fun and interactive lesson plans available on and linked on Affinity’s ��

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Affinity takes action to enable breastfeeding for parents & employees��

Dana Reid — Tue, 01 Aug 2023 00:13:16 +0000

Returning to work as a breastfeeding mother is a right for employees and parents enrolled with ��ר�� (Affinity). ��

Our national community of early education and childcare centres, along with our Centre Support Office in Brisbane, is proud to acknowledge with national accreditation status by the for the second year in a row.��

“The journey to achieve and then maintain national accreditation by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) has been extremely positive for our employees, centre leadership teams and our enrolled families,” said Linda Carroll, Chief People Officer.��

“We currently have more than 220 early education and childcare centres nationally and a community of more than 4000 female employees, along with more than 13,000 enrolled families.��

“Our approach has always been breastfeeding friendly, but to achieve accreditation with the ABA we took a bespoke approach to review the facilities and practices in each centre in collaboration with their centre management teams. Adjustments were made to the environments and spaces set up at each centre, such as upgrading armchairs or providing privacy screens.��

“Our national policies were also reviewed, updated to pass endorsement by the ABA and provided so that all centres operated by Affinity and each centre we add to our community have a consistent and supportive commitment to enabling breastfeeding, bottle feeding and pumping for our educators and parents.��

“Of course, there is a lot more to enabling breastfeeding than the resources and policies – the most critical factor for us as an employer is ensuring our people feel genuinely supported when breastfeeding at work. We allow our team to choose between unpaid breaks or utilising paid carers leave in addition to their standard paid breaks so they can have as much time as they need during a working day to breastfeed their babies.”��

“Within the past year more than 370 employees have returned from maternity leave nationally. Their average time on maternity leave is between six to nine months. During that time, we stay in contact and��reassure them that they will be supported when returning to work, including any decision to continue breastfeeding while working,” she said.

Amanda Brown returned to work full-time as Centre Manager at Papilio Early Learning Baulkham Hills in April 2023 with baby Michael who is now 10 months old. ��

“With Affinity’s support, it’s been seamless – while on maternity leave, I put a plan in place with my Area Manager before I returned to work, which enabled me to take the time to pump and store milk before my son Michael started attending care here,” explained Amanda.��

“Now he has started attending care full time in our centre at 10 months, I’m able to feed him in the comfy area and put him to sleep, and then he’s taken care of wonderfully by our nursery room educators.��

“The girls in our team are super supportive, and we also have a parent who alternates between providing stored breastmilk or breastfeeding, and another educator returning to work part-time who is��pumping milk in her dedicated breaks to ensure she can continue her breastfeeding journey.”��

Rikki Ekman returned to work with baby Tex who is now 5 months old and is working part time as an Assistant Centre Manager at Aussie Kindies Early Learning Stawell in Victoria.��

“It made the return so much easier,” said Rikki. “Tex will take a bottle, but when I was on maternity leave, I explained to my Manager that I preferred to breastfeed, and we spoke about how it might look if he needed a feed while I was not working in the same room.”��

“As part of the requirements of being a licenced early education provider, we need to maintain ratios at all times for the number of qualified people working in each room with children, so when Tex needs a feed, it requires my Manager or someone else to swap with me so I can go into the room and feed him,�� and they do it every time with a smile which I appreciate so much.�� It helps that he’s a 5-minute speed feeder!”��

If you’re looking to develop on your early childhood education and care career journey, contact our People & Culture experts for a friendly chat on 07 3515 771��or email through to��talent@affinityeducation.com.au.��

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Affinity reaches ambitious goal for National Pyjama Day

Dana Reid — Mon, 31 Jul 2023 06:22:26 +0000

For the third consecutive year, ��ר�� had a successful week raising funds for , reaching the ambitious goal of $20,000. ��

is a charity that holds dear to the ��ר��s community, with funds raised providing learning and educational resources as well as stable positive relationships to over 1000 children in foster care.��

Across the country, our 225 centres celebrated National Pyjama Day on the 21st of July, where they provided their families and local communities with a range of activities and fundraising opportunities, with some continuing the fun throughout the week.

raised the most for an individual centre, with a centre goal of $200.00; Milestones Wamberal exceeded this goal by reaching an impressive $2033.00, with our CEO challenge then matching that amount! ��

Alana May, Assistant Centre Manager at Milestones Early Learning Wamberal, shared how her team worked together to reach this amazing amount. “Our wonderful educational leader set up our fundraising page and placed posters up on our doors and notice boards for our families. We extended our message with posters being posted onto our Storypark for families with the QR codes to donate and had direct conversations with families about how they can get involved.” ��

To drive their fundraising further, Center Manager Jessica De Kort and Alana brought the element of competition to their families as they drew closer to reaching the top fundraiser for the Affinity community.��

Alana continued, “As it got closer to the cutoff date, we posted how we were currently third within the nation and would love to get the first place; This was a wonderful way to encourage our families and staff members to donate to this wonderful cause. ��

As a centre, The Pyjama Foundation is a particularly important charity, as we have an educator who is a foster parent and another who was within the foster system as a child herself; this is something at Wamberal we took a lot of pride in and enjoyed having the friendly competition within our service.” ��

Our newly acquired centre, , showed their Affinity spirit! With a fantastic $1196.00 raised. ��

Nadia Nardone, Centre Manager at Kids Club Cromer shared, "At Kids Club Cromer we celebrated a full week of Pyjama’s. Children wore their pyjamas each day of the week from 17th - 21st July.

"Parents were encouraged to donate via our special link online or in the centre through our donation box. Throughout the week each of our rooms included experiences in their program to raise awareness for this fantastic foundation."

Kids Academy Glenmore Park

Closely following was , whose centre goal of $500.00 was reached and exceeded to $1188.00 by week's end. ��

reached out to their local community and raised funds through a raffle, with items donated by local businesses raising a fantastic $853.00. ��

We are so proud of all our amazing centres who took time out of their day to go above and beyond for charity.��

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Affinity Expands National Education Team��

Dana Reid — Wed, 26 Jul 2023 03:27:53 +0000

��ר�� (Affinity), Head of Education and Pedagogy, Dr Lesley Jones has confirmed the recent national expansion of Affinity’s Education Team with the addition of five new Education Advisors and an Education Officer, the promotion of three team members to Senior Education Advisors and the ongoing collaboration with more than 20 Senior Educational Leaders who have been appointed across Australia.��

“This is by far the most talented and passionate Education Team I have ever had the privilege of working with, and I’m so excited about what we can achieve,” Dr Jones said.��

“The expansion of Affinity’s education team has coincided with our which we launched back in March and is currently trekking beautifully as it is embraced and embedded across our early education and childcare centres around Australia,” she said.��

Dr Lesley continued, “We are deepening our connection with some of Australia’s most experienced and talented early childhood educators and teachers in so many ways, from mentoring to communities of practice events and opportunities for these amazing professionals to step beyond their own centres and share their knowledge and experience with their peers at other centres owned by Affinity.”��

Natasha Perrins, Affinity’s Infant Education Specialist, has been joined by Jola Sung, Affinity’s Toddler Education Specialist and Emma Wood, Affinity’s School Readiness specialist as three appointed Senior Educational Advisors, responsible for a national program of training and engagement in the Lifelong Learning Curriculum’s age-based programs.��

“It’s a privilege to work with Dr Lesley and our broader team, we really are in the most incredible position to be able to connect with our services in such a personal and fun way around Australia,” explained Jola.

New Education Advisor Shalini Chandaran who is supporting services in Victoria said it was Affinity’s value of Going Above and Beyond which sparked her motivation to join the company.��

“I am realising how impactful the role of Education Advisor is and absolutely love guiding the team to help each child realise their full potential,” she said.��

Jessica Markosa, another new Education Advisor said her motivations included ‘igniting passion, motivating and supporting educators' pedagogy and practice and also continuing to learn myself.’��

“Every experience is a learning opportunity,” explained Charlene Dean. “By offering these roles Affinity is investing in helping and supporting people in their journey to becoming Early Childhood professionals.”��

The role of Senior Educational Leader was established back in 2022 and enables experienced and passionate educators the opportunity to broaden their experience with dedicated mentoring and coaching while providing vital support to the educators and trainees in their own service and local Affinity cluster areas of centres.��

“I am really looking forward to this new role and all the learning involved,” said newly appointed Senior Educational Leader Nikita Robinson.��

If you’re looking for a developing on your early childhood education and care career journey, contact our People & Culture experts for a friendly chat on 07 3515 771��or email through to��talent@affinityeducation.com.au.��

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Just 3 sleeps until we get in our PJs for children in foster care!��

Dana Reid — Tue, 18 Jul 2023 02:37:43 +0000

For the third year in a row, our ��ר�� community are going above and beyond for children in foster care, with a national FUNdraising effort underway across more than 225 early education and care centres around Australia to support the work of .��

With efforts led by newly appointed Centre Manager Zoe Aubry from and supported by Affinity’s Centre Support Office, the national group of centres will dress up (or down!) for a seriously fun week of activities and awareness. ��

Zoe Aubry has been a passionate advocate for The Pyjama Foundation for a number of years and shared with us what inspired her to lead the Pajama Foundation fundraising efforts, “I love the difference they make for children in foster care. These children are some of the most vulnerable, with low levels of literacy and numeracy and high school completion, leading to higher rates of incarceration and overall lower quality of life. As Early Childhood Educators, we see first-hand the importance of quality care and education, and the work of the Pyjama Angels aims to reduce the gaps for these children.”��

Our centres overall goal is to encourage the local community to dig deep for those children who need it most. This week centres will provide the children in their care with various activities and, most of all, FUN in order to achieve this goal!��

Papilio Early Learning Meadowbank are doing their bit as Zoe and her team prepare for the week ahead, “Our centre has lots planned for the week! We are making cards for children in the Pyjama Foundation, holding a fun disco, cupcake making, and pyjama decorating (just to name a few).”

��Papilio Early Learning Meadowbank

The bold goal is to achieve our $20K fundraising target, and Affinity CEO Tim Hickey has already donned his dressing gown for a fun and motivating message to all educators, encouraging them to “get in their PJs and create fun activities for your children and team, all for a great cause.” ��

��In his CEO Challenge, Mr Hickey has promised to match the amount of the highest-fundraising centre in our ��ר�� community. ��

“Pyjama Day – or Pyjama Week in the case of some of our centres – is definitely one of the favourite community events for our educators and teams, and we love seeing everyone have serious fun and contributing to the wellbeing of Australian children,” Mr Hickey said.��

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National Reconciliation Week 2023

Dana Reid — Fri, 09 Jun 2023 00:00:46 +0000

��Acknowledgement of Country��

��ר�� acknowledges and pays respect to the past, present and future Traditional Custodians and Elders of this nation and the continuation of cultural, spiritual and educational practices of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples.��

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples should be aware that this website may contain images or names of people who have passed away.��

��

"Be a voice for generations.” During National Reconciliation Week 2023, our centres took the opportunity for the children in our care to learn about indigenous culture from their Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples within their communities.��

What is National Reconciliation Week (NRW)?��

NRW provides an opportunity for all Australians to take a moment and engage in activities aimed at understanding our collective histories, cultures, and accomplishments. It encourages individuals to delve into these aspects and contemplate how they can contribute to fostering reconciliation throughout Australia. As inhabitants of Indigenous land, it is incumbent upon each of us to build relationships and communities that value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories, cultures, and futures.��

When is National Reconciliation Week?��

National Reconciliation Week is observed during the same week each year, specifically from May 27th to June 3rd. This timeframe acknowledges two significant dates in the reconciliation history of Australia. For more information about the origins of National Reconciliation Week, please refer to .��

What is Affinity’s long-term vision for reconciliation?��

Affinity maintains a corporate-wide commitment to reconciliation within our community, which is led by our Reconciliation Working Group. This dedicated team endeavors to create a safe environment where educators can openly share their knowledge and experiences as they embark on their own reconciliation journey. They also strive to expand their understanding of the cultures, histories, and contemporary realities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.��

Program Lead Sarah Druery, Centre Manager at Papilio Early Learning Hunters Hill in NSW shared, “Being a voice for generations is a challenge to all Australia to call out racism, to create spaces for Indigenous Voices to be heard, to continue to advocate for injustice and for reconciliation. As a company we are actively working towards all our services engaging with a reconciliation action plan, as well as creating a companywide Reconciliation Action Plan.”��

What is the importance of reconciliation in early childhood education and care?��

Program Lead Sarah continued, “This year's theme speaks so loudly to the Early Childhood Sector - Be a voice for generations.”��

In Early childhood, we have such a big focus on supporting children to find their voice and we advocate for children when they cannot advocate for themselves. We are supporting the next generation of Australians to become active members in our community, we are supporting the next generation of voices. Whether that is empowering and educating young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children or supporting non-Indigenous children to learning about First Nations culture, music, art, history and language. As educators it is our role to create these spaces that foster inclusion, cultural safety and allow for Indigenous voices to be heard in our programs, planning and daily practices.”��

By incorporating experiences such as daily Acknowledgement of Country, exploring Indigenous art and stories, and fostering a connection with the land around us, we can establish a solid foundation for future learning. These encounters provide children with knowledge and experiences that empower them to be courageous and effect positive change.��

Learn more about National Reconciliation Week:��

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See how we brought reconciliation week to our centres:��

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Dana Reid, Author at ��ר��

It’s Safe Work Month At ��ר��!

Supporting Safety in the Workplace

Contact ��ר��

2023 ECE Day: Planting the seeds for positive change

��ר�� Early Childhood Educators Day��

Contact ��ר��

Affinity Wins Employer of Choice in Australian Business Awards

Contact ��ר��

Shining Star Gabriela Savio Announced as Finalist Outstanding Educator in NTEC Awards 2023��

What makes an outstanding Educator?��

Contact ��ר��

AEG and AWC Launch Contemporary Early Years Conservation Program��

Contact ��ר��

Affinity takes action to enable breastfeeding for parents & employees��

Contact ��ר��

Affinity reaches ambitious goal for National Pyjama Day

Contact ��ר��

Affinity Expands National Education Team��

Contact ��ר��

Just 3 sleeps until we get in our PJs for children in foster care!��

Contact ��ר��

National Reconciliation Week 2023

��Acknowledgement of Country��

What is National Reconciliation Week (NRW)?��

When is National Reconciliation Week?��

What is Affinity’s long-term vision for reconciliation?��

What is the importance of reconciliation in early childhood education and care?��

Learn more about National Reconciliation Week:��

See how we brought reconciliation week to our centres:��

Dana Reid, Author at ����ר��

It’s Safe Work Month At ����ר��!

Supporting Safety in the Workplace

Contact ����ר��

2023 ECE Day: Planting the seeds for positive change

����ר�� Early Childhood Educators Day����

Contact ����ר��

Affinity Wins Employer of Choice in Australian Business Awards

Contact ����ר��

Shining Star Gabriela Savio Announced as Finalist Outstanding Educator in NTEC Awards 2023��

What makes an outstanding Educator?����

Contact ����ר��

AEG and AWC Launch Contemporary Early Years Conservation Program��

Contact ����ר��

Affinity takes action to enable breastfeeding for parents & employees��

Contact ����ר��

Affinity reaches ambitious goal for National Pyjama Day

Contact ����ר��

Affinity Expands National Education Team��

Contact ����ר��

Just 3 sleeps until we get in our PJs for children in foster care!��

Contact ����ר��

National Reconciliation Week 2023

��Acknowledgement of Country����

What is National Reconciliation Week (NRW)?����

When is National Reconciliation Week?����

What is Affinity’s long-term vision for reconciliation?������

What is the importance of reconciliation in early childhood education and care?����

Learn more about National Reconciliation Week:������

See how we brought reconciliation week to our centres:��

Dana Reid, Author at ��ר��

It’s Safe Work Month At ��ר��!

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��ר�� Early Childhood Educators Day��

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What makes an outstanding Educator?��

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��Acknowledgement of Country��

What is National Reconciliation Week (NRW)?��

When is National Reconciliation Week?��

What is Affinity’s long-term vision for reconciliation?��

What is the importance of reconciliation in early childhood education and care?��

Learn more about National Reconciliation Week:��