Michele Mayhew, Author at ��ר��

Children’s Week 2026: Upholding Children’s Rights to Language, Culture and Play in Early Learning

Michele Mayhew — Sat, 24 Oct 2026 03:22:00 +0000

Children's Week runs from 24 October to 1 November 2026. It is a national celebration of children, and of the rights that belong to every child in Australia.

This year's theme is "Children have the right to use their own language, celebrate their culture and practise their religion." It is a timely reminder that children are not simply adults in waiting. They are capable people in their own right, with their own identities, ideas and voices. Across our network of centres, Children's Week is an opportunity to reflect on how those rights shape everyday early learning.

��ר�� Children's Week and the 2026 theme

is held each year around the fourth Wednesday in October. It is led by the Children's Week Council of Australia and promotes awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, with one article selected as the national theme each year.

The 2026 theme draws on Article 30 of the Convention. Article 30 protects the right of children from minority communities, and First Nations children, to use their own language, enjoy their own culture and practise their own religion.

What the Convention means for early childhood education

The Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989, and Australia ratified it in December 1990. Several of its rights are central to the early years:

The right to play and to rest and leisure
The right to education, directed towards the full development of each child
The right to be heard in matters that affect them
The right to culture, language and religion

These rights are reflected in Australia's national approved learning framework for the early years, Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework. The framework recognises children as , and guidance from the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority encourages educators to actively engage with the Convention in their practice.

Language, culture and identity in the early years

A strong sense of identity is one of the foundations of wellbeing and learning. The language a child hears at home, the food their family shares, the stories they are told and the celebrations they look forward to are all part of who they are.

Across our centres, inclusion is part of everyday practice. Our educators embrace and celebrate children's home languages, families are invited to share their cultures, knowledge and traditions, and children learn about different cultures through songs, stories, food and art. We explore this further in how we celebrate cultural diversity in our early learning centres.

Respecting a child's right to their culture also means respecting each family's beliefs, routines and dietary requirements, and working in partnership with families to understand what matters to them.

First Nations perspectives

Article 30 has particular significance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children. Through our partnership with , children across our centres learn about the cultures, languages and stories of the First Peoples of this land. This work is guided by our Reconciliation Action Plan.

Play as a right

Article 31 of the Convention recognises every child's right to play. For young children, play is not a break from learning. It is the primary way they learn, build relationships, develop language and make sense of the world.

Our Lifelong Learning Curriculum is aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework and places play and inquiry at the centre of each day. Educators observe children's interests, invite their ideas and offer genuine choices, supporting child-led learning that honours both the right to an education and the right to be heard.

Last year, our Children's Week focus explored children's voice and choice, including the use of floor books to document children's ideas. This year's theme builds on that work by recognising that a child's voice is shaped by their language, culture and family.

Celebrating every child

Children's Week is a celebration of every child, in all their diversity. Families are warmly encouraged to speak with their child's educators about sharing their language, culture or traditions with the room.

For educators who share our commitment to children's rights, we invite you to explore careers with ��ר��.

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The Future Starts With Us: Meet Our Display Winners

Michele Mayhew — Fri, 16 Oct 2026 00:58:34 +0000

On Early Childhood Educators’ Day, centres across our network unveiled something special. Children, educators and families had spent weeks working together on displays inspired by this year’s national theme, The Future Starts With Us!

The results were creative, heartfelt and full of big dreams. Today, we are proud to celebrate our zone winners and share the stories behind their work.

A project built around one big idea

Early Childhood Educators’ Day was held on Wednesday 2 September 2026. The day is an , which set this year’s theme. You can read how we marked the day in our post, The Future Starts With Us: Celebrating Early Childhood Educators’ Day 2026.

To extend the celebrations, we invited our centres to take part in a national display project during September. Each display brought together the dreams of the educators and children in the centre.

Families were part of it too. They were invited to add their hopes and goals for their children, and to learn about the dreams their children had shared.

Centres revealed their displays on Early Childhood Educators’ Day. Many took the project a step further with a “Future You!” dress up day for educators and children.

The project was sponsored by . Each winning centre receives a $250 MTA voucher to spend on resources for their children.

Our zone winners

Congratulations to the following centres, recognised as zone winners from Darwin to Perth, and from Melbourne to Canberra:

The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong

Every display was different, but a few themes came through strongly.

Educators who were once little dreamers

Several centres turned the spotlight on their own teams. They asked a simple question: what did our educators want to be when they grew up?

At Milestones Early Learning Helena Valley, educators shared their childhood photos. The team reflected on the little people they once were, and the journeys that led them into early childhood education.

Aussie Kindies Early Learning Glen Innes placed each educator’s face onto an image of the career they once dreamed of. The display sits at the centre entrance, and children now stop to point out their educators at drop-off and pick-up. Staff often hear children telling their parents how “Miss Ruby looks so cool as a vet”.

Kids Academy Early Learning Regentville took its lead from a “When I Grow Up” project in the Junior Prep room. Educators were pictured in their dream careers, next to photos celebrating the path they chose instead.

At Milestones Early Learning Toronto, the preschool children’s love of space set the scene. Educators were pictured on a rocket ship journey into their futures. A “Guess Who?” game asked families to match each childhood photo to an educator. It was such a hit that the centre kept it out for four days.

Milestones Toronto

Milestones Helena Valley

Aussie Kindies Glen Innes

Kids Academy Regentville

Children’s dreams in their own words

Other centres put children’s voices at the centre of the display.

At Milestones Early Learning Darwin City, the display grew out of conversations during Book Week. Preschool children created self-portraits and drew pictures of who they might become. The team said:

“The most rewarding part was listening to the children’s ideas and watching their imaginations come to life.”

Milestones Early Learning Lynwood showcased the children’s real skills and creativity. The display captured their dreams while also celebrating their growing fine motor skills.

The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong celebrated children as capable learners. The display featured Future Scientists, Little Artists and Future Athletes, linked to the STEM, creative arts and physical activities children had explored.

At Kids Academy Early Learning Rivett, the Junior Preschool and Preschool children created pictures, and families were invited to share their own childhood dreams. Writing their responses together gave parents and children a chance to talk about their dreams.

Milestones Darwin City

Kids Academy Rivett

Milestones Lynwood

The Beach Early Learning Centre Wyong

Families at the heart of it

Families played a big part in making these displays meaningful.

At Milestones Early Learning Riverstone Rise, the team gathered families’ hopes and dreams for their children through Storypark and in person. Children stopped to show their families the display each day, and it sparked a new interest in rockets. The display has also become a helpful talking point on centre tours.

Kids Academy Early Learning Regentville invited families to share feedback about their educators and received 26 responses. One family wrote:

“Cool, calm and collected - the three of you bring such a beautiful feeling to the babies’ room.”

At Milestones Early Learning Toronto, families answered the question, “How have our educators helped shape your child’s future this year?” Their notes were added to the display alongside the children’s drawings.

Milestones Riverstone Rise

Thank you

Thank you to every educator, child and family who took part. Your displays showed exactly why this year’s theme matters. The early years lay the foundations for the future, and our educators help build them every day.

Thank you to Modern Teaching Aids for sponsoring the project, and to the Australian Childcare Alliance for the theme that inspired it.

If these stories have you thinking about your own future, you can explore a career as an educator with ��ר��.

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25 years, generations of children: Miss Veronica’s full-circle story at Aussie Kindies Gilgandra

Michele Mayhew — Tue, 13 Oct 2026 03:08:23 +0000

When Veronica Sutherland started at a small childcare centre in Gilgandra in 2000, she was there to help in the office. Twenty-five years later, the children she once cared for are bringing their own children through the same doors.

Today, "Miss Veronica" is the Centre Manager of and one of the most recognised faces in town. Her story shows what early childhood education can mean to a community when the same people show up for its children, year after year.

From the office to the educator floor

When Veronica first joined, the centre was called The Learning Tree. She was employed as "the office lady", looking after administration.

That changed when the centre found itself short of educators.

"They were struggling for educators, so silly me went and did my Diploma to help them out!" Veronica said.

When the Centre Manager later moved on, Veronica stepped into the role. She has now led the centre for more than 20 years.

"I stepped in and never looked back. I've been a jack of all trades," she said.

Her path from administration to qualified educator to centre leader is one that many people in the sector follow. ��ר�� supports team members to gain qualifications such as the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care and to build towards centre leadership roles.

Miss Veronica holding her staff photo from 2006

Hundreds of children, one familiar face

Each year, around 20 to 25 children graduate from the centre's Preschool Program. Over 25 years, that means Veronica and her team have helped prepare more than 500 local children for the move to primary school.

For Veronica, the greatest reward is seeing where those children go next.

"The highs every day come from the children. I'll be in the supermarket and hear, 'Miss Veronica!' It might be a three year old or it might be a 30 year old recognising me!" she said.

"I have the photos and memories of hundreds of Gilgandra's little people, and now I see those same people walking around town as adults. It's beautiful to have been part of their journey."

A photograph that tells the whole story

One photograph on Veronica's desk captures her legacy better than any certificate could. It shows five children she cared for in the nursery during her early years at the centre, reunited years later when they were in high school.

Two of the girls in that photograph are now sending, or preparing to send, children of their own to Aussie Kindies Gilgandra. Another came back to the centre to work as an educator.

One of those former nursery children, Hayley Sutton, will see her daughter start at the centre in 2027.

"My memories are so happy, it's the number one centre in my eyes," Hayley said.

"Even though it's scary to be sending my daughter off to daycare next year, I know she's going to be in great hands, and my son will go the year after."

In 2026, the milestone has become even more personal. Veronica's own granddaughter is graduating from the centre's Preschool Program and getting ready to start primary school.

A photo of five children Miss Veronica cared for in the nursery during her early years at the centre sits on her desk.

Built on a team that stays

Veronica is quick to share the credit with the people around her. Many of her team have been part of the centre for a long time.

Early Childhood Teacher Melissa Watt has worked alongside Veronica for 20 years
Educator Kristy has been with the centre for 14 years
Educator Michelle Holland has been with the centre for seven years

"When you get great people, we stay together as a team and we do everything for the children to help them develop a lifelong love of learning," Veronica said.

"I've always tried to run the centre the best I can. I believe in good management and making sure our families and team value and respect the service we provide."

"I can't say there have been a lot of lows. Staffing is always a challenge, but I've genuinely enjoyed every day here and I've got a great team."

A legacy that has come full circle

��ר�� CEO Glen Hurley said Veronica's 25 years of service represented an extraordinary contribution to both early education and the Gilgandra community.

"There are very few careers where you have the privilege of seeing the impact of your work come full circle quite like this. Veronica has cared for and educated children who are now returning to Aussie Kindies Gilgandra as parents themselves, entrusting her team with the next generation of their family. That is an extraordinary legacy," Mr Hurley said.

"For 25 years, Veronica has been a passionate advocate for children's learning, safety and wellbeing. She has led with warmth, resilience and an unwavering commitment to quality, building the kind of trust with families that can only be earned over time. We are incredibly proud to have Veronica as part of ��ר�� and enormously grateful for everything she has contributed to her team, her families and the Gilgandra community," he said.

Miss Veronica celebrates 25 years at Aussie Kindies Gilgandra

Morning tea, football in Japan and no plans to stop

Some of Veronica's favourite memories happened well beyond the centre gates.

"One of my favourites was three of the boys who, when they graduated from kindy, told their parents they wanted to take me out for morning tea at the cafe down the road, and so we walked down and had tea together," she said.

"They still keep in touch. One of them is over in Japan playing football. I'm so proud of what the children achieve, and I love following their lives."

After a quarter of a century at the centre, Veronica has no immediate plans to step away.

"I'm 65 now and my husband says I won't retire. I think he's right," she said. "While I can keep doing this job, I will."

Congratulations, Miss Veronica, and thank you for 25 years of care, learning and community in Gilgandra.

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Support, Learn, Recover: How ��ר�� Is Marking Safe Work Month 2026

Michele Mayhew — Fri, 09 Oct 2026 05:38:54 +0000

October is , led each year by Safe Work Australia. The 2026 theme is "Safe work is for life." It is a reminder that safety is not a single event or a box to tick. It is something that matters to every person, in every role, every day.

At ��ר��, our people care for children and families in our network of centres across Australia. Their wellbeing at work is central to the quality of that care. This year, we are using Safe Work Month to focus on a part of workplace safety that is often discussed less: what happens after someone is injured, and how we support them to recover and return to work.

Why recovery and return to work matter in early childhood education

Early childhood education is rewarding work. It is also physically active work. Educators lift, carry, kneel, bend and sit at child height many times a day, and they spend a great deal of time outdoors.

Even in a well-run workplace, injuries can happen. When they do, the response matters. Timely support, clear communication and meaningful work during recovery can make a real difference to how quickly and how well a person recovers.

This approach reflects the , which aims to minimise the impact of work-related injury and illness and support a timely, safe and lasting return to work. The strategy also recognises the importance of the relationship between a worker and their employer.

Introducing our Support, Learn, Recover campaign

Throughout October, our Safety, Health and Wellbeing team is running Support, Learn, Recover, an injury management and return to work campaign for team members across our centres and support office.

The campaign brings together a set of practical resources:

Workplace Recovery and Return to Work Toolkit: guidance for team members and leaders on the recovery and return to work process
Centre Manager Injury Management Checklist: a clear reference for centre leaders when a team member is injured
Suitable Duties Guide: support for identifying safe and meaningful work that suits a team member's capacity during recovery
Employee Recovery Resources: information to help team members understand their options and the support available to them
Posters: visual reminders for display in centres
Four Toolbox Talks: short, 10-minute discussions that centre teams can complete together during the month

Learning together, ten minutes at a time

Toolbox talks are a simple and effective way to build safety knowledge as a team. Each talk takes around 10 minutes, so it fits into a team meeting or a lunch break during the day without taking educators away from children.

Short, regular conversations help everyone understand what to do if an injury occurs, who to speak with and what support is available. They also help build a culture where team members feel comfortable raising concerns early.

Why this matters for children and families

Children thrive on consistent, secure relationships with the educators who care for them. When team members are well supported through injury and recovery, they are more likely to return to work safely and sustainably. That continuity benefits the children and families who rely on them.

Safe work and child safety are closely connected. The same culture of care that guides how we look after our people also guides how we look after the children in our centres. You can read more about this in our safety commitment.

A workplace that supports its people

Support, Learn, Recover is one part of how ��ר�� supports team members throughout their careers, alongside professional development through the Affinity Learning Academy and our range of employee benefits.

Team members can find the Support, Learn, Recover resources through their centre manager or the Safety, Health and Wellbeing team. If you are considering a career in early childhood education, we invite you to explore career opportunities with ��ר��.

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Why Your Child Won’t Sleep, and What It’s Doing to You

Michele Mayhew — Tue, 22 Sep 2026 06:37:11 +0000

It's 2am. You've done the bottle, the dummy, the third "I need water," the "one more song." You're not just tired anymore, you're starting to wonder if something's wrong with you, or them, or both.

It's neither. Sleep struggles between birth and age eight are extremely common, and they're rarely about anything you're doing wrong. But they're worth taking seriously, not just because your child needs sleep to grow and learn, but because you need it too, and the two are more connected than most parenting advice admits.

We've partnered with sleep consultant , who works with families of babies through to eight-year-olds, to put together what we think is a more honest look at this than the usual "5 tips for better sleep" list.

What's actually happening when a child sleeps

Sleep isn't downtime. During deep sleep, the body releases growth hormone, which is why children often sleep harder during growth spurts. During REM sleep, the brain processes and files away the day's experiences, which is a big part of how young children regulate emotion and consolidate memory. Australian health authorities are clear that sleep affects a child's physical growth, immune function, mood, memory and concentration, and that poor sleep is linked to both mental health issues and reduced learning.

In other words: a child who isn't sleeping well isn't just tired. Their whole system is under-resourced for the day ahead, which is often exactly why bedtime, the next night, gets harder too.

The part that doesn't get talked about enough: it goes both ways

Here's what a lot of sleep advice misses. It's not just that a child's poor sleep affects a parent's mental health, it runs the other way too. Research on toddlers has found that both children's sleep difficulties and parents' emotional distress feed into each other: a stressed, exhausted parent has less capacity to co-regulate a child at bedtime, which can make settling harder, which increases the parent's stress further. It's a loop, not a one-way street.

The encouraging part: because it's a loop, it can also work in reverse. One clinical study found that a single consultation focused on improving a baby's sleep led to measurable improvements not just in night wakings, but in mothers' stress, anxiety and depression scores. Helping a child sleep better is, in a very real sense, a mental health intervention for the whole family.

What this looks like at different ages

Babies (0-12 months): Frequent waking is developmentally normal, but that doesn't make it easier at 3am. Sleep cycles are still maturing, and a lot of what looks like a "problem" is your baby doing exactly what babies do at this stage, which is exhausting to live through regardless.

Toddlers (1-3 years): This is often where parents feel most alone with it, because the "it's just a phase" advice starts to wear thin. Bedtime stalling, resistance, and night waking at this age are frequently tied to your toddler's still-developing ability to self-regulate emotion, which is also why a calm, consistent adult at bedtime matters more than any particular technique.

Preschool and early school-age (4-8 years): Sleep problems don't disappear once kids "grow out of" the toddler stage. Bedtime anxiety, resistance to independent sleep, and the pressure of earlier school starts and screens all show up here, and it's still linked to mood and behaviour during the day.

If you're feeling guilty about it, that's worth naming too

A lot of parents carry shame about their child's sleep, the sense that "good" parents should have this figured out by now, especially once a child is past the baby stage. That guilt doesn't help anyone sleep better, and it's not evidence you're doing something wrong. Sleep is genuinely one of the hardest, most individual things to get right for a young child, and needing support with it isn't a failure.

Free workshops, if you'd like more hands-on help

We know not every family can make it to an in-person session, so we didn't want this article to be only about that. But if you can, we've partnered with SleepBaker to run free workshops, open to all families, at select Affinity centres across NSW, QLD, VIC, WA and NT, covering babies through to age eight.

Western Australia

Milestones Early Learning Middle Swan
10.30am, Thursday 29th October 2026

Milestones Early Learning Edgewater
1.30pm, Thursday 29th October 2026

Milestones Early Learning Canning Vale
10.00am, Friday 30th October 2026

Queensland

Milestones Early Learning Aspley
10.30am, Tuesday, 17 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Eatons Hill
1.30pm, Tuesday, 17 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Keperra
5pm, Tuesday, 17 November 2026

Papilio Early Learning Robina
10.30am, Wednesday, 18 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Coomera - Amity Road Campus
1.30pm, Wednesday, 18 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Stretton
5pm, Wednesday, 18 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Meridan Plains
10.30am, Thursday, 19 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Morayfield
1.30pm, Thursday, 19 November 2026

Papilio Early Learning Bowen Hills
10.30am, Friday, 20 November 2026

Milestones Early Learning Tingalpa
1.30pm, Friday, 20 November 2026

This section will be updated as more events are confirmed.

If a session isn't near you, or the timing doesn't work, everything above still applies, and Anna's team shares ongoing, free guidance via and her .

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Positive Food Experiences This Spring: What Families Should Know

Michele Mayhew — Tue, 08 Sep 2026 01:56:40 +0000

"Finish your plate" is one of the most common things siad to children at mealtimes. Emerging evidence, and long-standing early childhood practice, suggests otherwise.

As families across Australia notice mealtime routines shift with the change in season, and with (12-18 October) putting a national focus this year on positive, strengths-based food experiences for children, it's a timely moment to look at what actually works at the table, and why pressure-free mealtimes are standard practice across our network of centres.

What the evidence says

According to , children's willingness to try and enjoy food depends heavily on the eating environment. Calm, low-pressure mealtimes support better outcomes than pressure, bribery or insistence, both of which are associated with children becoming more resistant to food over time.

There's a developmental logic here, too. Deciding what and how much to eat is one of the earliest ways children exercise autonomy. Appetite also fluctuates naturally, shaped by growth, activity and energy needs, meaning day-to-day variation in how much a child eats is expected, not a cause for concern.

How this plays out across our centres

Across our network, educators are trained to treat mealtimes as an extension of each centre's curriculum approach, not a pause from it. In practice, this means:

Food is offered without pressure to finish it, supporting children to recognise and act on their own hunger and fullness cues
Children are encouraged to serve themselves where appropriate, building independence and confidence
Group, family-style mealtimes are prioritised to make eating a social, calm experience
Educators model enjoyment of food, rather than commenting on what or how much a child eats

This approach is consistent with the Positive Food Experiences focus that National Nutrition Week is spotlighting this year, and it reflects an evidence base that's been well established in child development and nutrition research for some time.

Spring menu: the same principles, in practice

Our new Spring menu, developed in partnership with nutrition experts and Woolworths@Work, was designed with this same philosophy in mind. Several dishes, including our Build Your Own Burrito Bowls, are structured around choice, allowing children to select their own components and build their own plate.

Every dish continues to meet the nutritional standards required to support growth, energy and development in the under-5s age group. The flexibility is in portion and preference, not in nutritional quality.

What this means for families

If mealtimes at home have felt like a battleground, the evidence points to easing off rather than pushing harder:

Offer food without commentary on how much is eaten
Let children serve themselves, even when portions look unusual
Continue reintroducing foods that have previously been refused - familiarity often builds gradually, over multiple exposures
Assess intake across several days rather than a single meal

Families wanting to explore this further with their child's specific routine are encouraged to speak with their centre's educators, who can share what they're observing day to day.

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The Future Starts With Us: Celebrating Early Childhood Educators’ Day 2026

Michele Mayhew — Tue, 01 Sep 2026 21:45:00 +0000

On Wednesday 2 September, Australia's early learning sector marks Early Childhood Educators' Day, a national day of recognition for the more than 200,000 educators who care for and educate our youngest children. This year's theme, The Future Starts With Us, speaks directly to the responsibility our educators carry: what happens in a classroom today shapes who a child becomes tomorrow. It's been a big year for early education in Australia, and today is about the people who've kept showing up for children and families through all of it.

Across ��ר��'s network - Milestones, Papilio, Kids Academy and Aussie Kindies - thousands of educators bring this responsibility to life every day. They are early childhood teachers, educators and support staff, and their work goes well beyond the qualifications on their certificates.

Beyond the qualification

Great early childhood education is built on genuine training and evidence-based practice. But what shapes a child's experience is what educators do with that expertise - the relationships they build, the small moments they notice, the steady presence that helps a child feel safe enough to learn, try and grow. It's this combination of professional skill and personal care that makes the difference, and it's what we're proud to celebrate this Educators' Day.

Education is one of the most important forces for positive change in society. Inspiring curiosity, building children's confidence, and creating opportunities for their growth in safe environments - that's something educators do every single day.

On behalf of the Executive Leadership Team and the Affinity Board, thank you for your dedication, professionalism and commitment, and for the difference you make in the lives you influence and the futures you create.

Glen Hurley, CEO, ��ר��

Thank you to our sponsors

This year, we're proud to be working with a range of partners who are helping us celebrate Australia's early childhood educators:

- workplace savings and benefits for our teams
- early learning resources and equipment
- educational resources supporting quality learning environments
- gifting and celebration treats for our centres

Their support helps us mark this day properly, and we're grateful for it.

Ways to say thank you this year

Every centre has posters and cards for families to share a message in person, and some centres have also set up , which makes it easy to pull together photos, video clips and messages from the whole family into a single video tribute. VidDay has generously provided free videos for all our centres this year. If you'd like to put one together, check with your centre via Storypark to see if they've set up a link for their team. It's a favourite around our own Centre Support Office too - our executive and centre support team used VidDay this year to share their own thank you message with every centre team across the network.

You don't need to post it on social media for a thank you to matter - a face-to-face moment, a note on the noticeboard, or a message via Storypark means just as much as anything shared online.

To every educator across , , , and the wider Affinity network: thank you.

If their work has ever made you consider a career alongside them, you can explore opportunities on our Careers page.

And if you're looking for a centre near you, you can find one here.

The future starts with you.

Early Childhood Educators' Day is a national initiative of the Australian Childcare Alliance, held on the first Wednesday of September each year.

For more visit:

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��ר�� Reaccredited by the Australian Breastfeeding Association

Michele Mayhew — Wed, 26 Aug 2026 23:55:18 +0000

��ר�� is proud to confirm we've once again been accredited by the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA), for the period August 2026 to August 2027.

This accreditation isn't just a badge - it reflects a genuine, ongoing commitment across all our centres, including Milestones, Papilio, Kids Academy, Aussie Kindies and ��ר��, to support breastfeeding for the families we care for and the people who work with us.

What this means for families

Every one of our centres has a dedicated breastfeeding zone - a comfortable, private space for parents to feed their baby during drop-off, pick-up, or a visit. If you're touring a centre, our team is always happy to show you around this space and talk through how it's used.

We know breastfeeding looks different for every family. That's why we also share resources from the ABA's Virtual Village program, which offers free, practical support from pregnancy through to beyond the newborn stage, including guidance for specific situations like breastfeeding twins or triplets, breastfeeding with diabetes, breastfeeding a baby with Down syndrome, and tailored support for LGBTQIA+ families.

What this means for our team

We're also proud to be an employer that supports breastfeeding for our own educators and staff. Expecting and new parents on our team have access to the same breastfeeding zones and are supported by their centre in navigating this stage of life alongside their work.

Want to learn more?

If you're currently breastfeeding, expecting, or supporting someone who is, the ABA's Virtual Village resources are a great place to start, covering everything from the basics to more specific circumstances.

Interested in touring one of our centres? Book a tour and ask our team about our breastfeeding zone.

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Book Week 2026: The Practice Behind the Stories

Michele Mayhew — Tue, 18 Aug 2026 00:43:01 +0000

It's 7:45pm, the same picture book has been requested for the fourth night running, and you're doing the funny voice for the dog character again, badly, and your child doesn't care. That scene plays out in loungerooms and reading corners across the country every night of the year, but during (22-28 August 2026, theme "Symphony of Stories," marking 80 years of the CBCA Book of the Year Awards) it gets a bit of extra shine: dress-ups, decorated reading nooks, a room full of characters brought to life. What's worth noticing, underneath the costumes, is what that fourth re-read is actually doing for your child, and it's more than you'd think.

What a Good Story Is Actually Doing

's research on early literacy points to a few developmental gains that come from regular story time, whether it's a polished Book Week activity or the same board book on repeat:

Language - repeated exposure to vocabulary in context, well before formal reading begins.
Empathy - stories featuring a range of characters and experiences support early perspective-taking.
Imagination - narrative structure gives children practice in symbolic and sequential thinking.
School readiness - the literacy experiences children have before school build the foundations used for language, thinking and understanding.

That fourth re-read isn't a sign your child is bored of the book, it's usually a sign it's working. Repetition is how young children consolidate language, and it's one of the reasons educators choose books deliberately rather than at random: what gets read again and again matters.

What a Good Story Is Actually Doing

's research on early literacy points to a few developmental gains that come from regular story time, whether it's a polished Book Week activity or the same board book on repeat:

Language - repeated exposure to vocabulary in context, well before formal reading begins.
Empathy - stories featuring a range of characters and experiences support early perspective-taking.
Imagination - narrative structure gives children practice in symbolic and sequential thinking.
School readiness - the literacy experiences children have before school build the foundations used for language, thinking and understanding.

Book Week 2026 Reads: A Few to Try

If you're looking for something new to add to the rotation:

Dear Zoo by Rod Campbell - a lift-the-flap classic that's been a favourite since 1982, and still one of the best ways to build early vocabulary through its repeated refrain. (Suits ages 1-4)
The Very Cranky Bear by Nick Bland - rhythmic and funny, and a great excuse for a silly reading voice. (Suits ages 1-3)
Alpacas with Maracas by Matt Cosgrove - big energy, rhyme, and a whole lot of fun. (Suits ages 2-4)
It's Okay to Be Different by Todd Parr - bold, colourful illustrations that celebrate everyone's differences, from feelings to families to favourite ways to have fun. (Suits ages 2-5)
The Colour Monster by Anna Llenas - a well-loved resource for emotional literacy, helping children put a name and a colour to how they're feeling. (Suits ages 2-5)
The Paper Bag Princess by Robert Munsch - a witty classic about a princess who saves the day her own way. (Suits ages 3-6)
Julian Is a Mermaid by Jessica Love - a beautifully illustrated story about imagination and being loved exactly as you are. (Suits ages 3-6)

What This Looks Like in Practice

Across our network of centres, educators bring the same intentionality to Book Week that they bring to story time every other week of the year, choosing titles that reflect the children in the room, pairing a dress-up day with a conversation about how a character was feeling, or using a story as the starting point for a longer piece of play rather than a one-off activity. Families are often part of that too, sharing a favourite book from home or hearing about which character their child picked to be, and why. The costumes are the part everyone sees on the day; the thinking behind the book choice is the part that shows up over time, in a child's vocabulary, their questions, and how they make sense of the world.

One More Story

Eighty years ago, the first Book Week set out to get Australian children excited about books. The theme this year, "Symphony of Stories," is really just a fancy way of saying the same thing: a lot of different voices, all worth hearing. You don't need a costume for that, the fourth re-read tonight will do just fine.

The post Book Week 2026: The Practice Behind the Stories appeared first on ��ר��.

Understanding NQS Ratings: What Assessors Actually Look For (and What to Ask on a Tour)

Michele Mayhew — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 03:21:03 +0000

Every approved childcare centre in Australia carries a National Quality Standard (NQS) rating. You've likely seen the badge - Working Towards, Meeting, or Exceeding - on a centre's website or noticeboard, or checked one yourself on the . But what actually happens to produce that rating, and what does it tell you about the day-to-day experience your child will have?

For most families searching for a "good" childcare centre, the label is a signal without much explanation attached. This post unpacks the process behind it, and offers a few questions worth asking on a tour that go beyond the badge itself.

What is the National Quality Standard?

The is the national benchmark every approved education and care service in Australia is measured against. It covers seven quality areas: the educational program, children's health and safety, the physical environment, staffing arrangements, relationships with children, partnerships with families and community, and governance and leadership.

Meeting this standard is already a high bar - it means a centre satisfies every one of those seven areas, not a minimum pass. Ratings can and do shift over time, as centres go through staffing changes, leadership transitions, or the natural cycle of reassessment. A single rating is a snapshot, not the full story of a centre's day-to-day care.

How the assessment actually works

Ratings aren't a one-off inspection. The assessment and rating process starts internally: approved providers self-assess their current practice against the standard, identify their own strengths and areas for improvement, and document this in a Quality Improvement Plan - a living document every centre keeps updating.

From there, a state or territory authorised officer visits the service. Regulatory authorities generally give a service only one to five days' notice before a visit, which matters: it means what an assessor sees is close to what a family would see walking in on any ordinary day. Typically, the officer asks for a brief tour and to be introduced to educators and staff, observing practice directly rather than relying on paperwork alone.

Each of the seven quality areas is assessed individually before an overall rating is determined. After the visit, a draft report is usually provided three to five weeks later, and the provider has ten working days to respond to any inaccuracies before it's finalised.

What a rating tells you, and what it doesn't

A rating is a useful, independently verified starting point. But it's also a point-in-time result, sometimes a couple of years old by the time you're touring, and it doesn't capture the relationships and everyday rhythm of a centre - the things families notice most once their child is settled in. , the family-facing resource built by ACECQA, is a helpful place to understand what each of the seven quality areas actually covers before you tour.

At ��ר��, our national Quality team works alongside every centre on this, year-round, not just ahead of an assessment visit. You can read more about our approach to quality across our network of centres.

Questions worth asking on a tour

These help you see the same things an assessor would, in real time:

"How do educators plan the program around my child's interests?" - points to the educational program in action.
"What does a typical response to an incident or illness look like here?" - speaks to health and safety practice.
"How do you keep families updated on my child's day?" - gets at how the centre partners with families.
"What's something the team is currently working on improving?" - most centres are glad to talk about this, and it says a lot about how reflective and engaged a team is.

For a broader checklist of what to looks like day-to-day, our recent post on what quality early learning really looks like in 2026 is a useful companion to this one.

The bottom line

Every approved centre in Australia goes through the same rigorous process. Understanding how it works, and what to ask beyond the badge, helps you make a confident, informed choice for your family. You can check the current rating of any centre, including ours, at any time on the .

The post Understanding NQS Ratings: What Assessors Actually Look For (and What to Ask on a Tour) appeared first on ��ר��.

Michele Mayhew, Author at ����ר��

Children’s Week 2026: Upholding Children’s Rights to Language, Culture and Play in Early Learning

����ר�� Children's Week and the 2026 theme

What the Convention means for early childhood education

Language, culture and identity in the early years

First Nations perspectives

Play as a right

Celebrating every child

The Future Starts With Us: Meet Our Display Winners

A project built around one big idea

Our zone winners

Educators who were once little dreamers

Children’s dreams in their own words

Families at the heart of it

Thank you

25 years, generations of children: Miss Veronica’s full-circle story at Aussie Kindies Gilgandra

From the office to the educator floor

Hundreds of children, one familiar face

A photograph that tells the whole story

Built on a team that stays

A legacy that has come full circle

Morning tea, football in Japan and no plans to stop

Support, Learn, Recover: How ����ר�� Is Marking Safe Work Month 2026

Why recovery and return to work matter in early childhood education

Introducing our Support, Learn, Recover campaign

Learning together, ten minutes at a time

Why this matters for children and families

A workplace that supports its people

Why Your Child Won’t Sleep, and What It’s Doing to You

What's actually happening when a child sleeps

The part that doesn't get talked about enough: it goes both ways

What this looks like at different ages

If you're feeling guilty about it, that's worth naming too

Free workshops, if you'd like more hands-on help

Western Australia

Queensland

Positive Food Experiences This Spring: What Families Should Know

What the evidence says

How this plays out across our centres

Spring menu: the same principles, in practice

What this means for families

The Future Starts With Us: Celebrating Early Childhood Educators’ Day 2026

Beyond the qualification

Glen Hurley, CEO, ����ר��

Thank you to our sponsors

Ways to say thank you this year

����ר�� Reaccredited by the Australian Breastfeeding Association

What this means for families

What this means for our team

Want to learn more?

Book Week 2026: The Practice Behind the Stories

What a Good Story Is Actually Doing

What a Good Story Is Actually Doing

Book Week 2026 Reads: A Few to Try

What This Looks Like in Practice

One More Story

Understanding NQS Ratings: What Assessors Actually Look For (and What to Ask on a Tour)

What is the National Quality Standard?

How the assessment actually works

What a rating tells you, and what it doesn't

Questions worth asking on a tour

The bottom line

Michele Mayhew, Author at ��ר��

��ר�� Children's Week and the 2026 theme

Support, Learn, Recover: How ��ר�� Is Marking Safe Work Month 2026

Glen Hurley, CEO, ��ר��

��ר�� Reaccredited by the Australian Breastfeeding Association