KindiCare Excellence
Awards 2022
The KindiCare Excellence Awards celebrate the top performing early childhood education and care centres right across Australia.
2022 Award Winners
Western Australian Winner
Pachamama Early Education and Childcare
KindiCare●August 29th, 2022
Located in the beautiful Perth Hills, Pachamama Early Education and Childcare is equal state winner for Western Australia with a KindiCare Rating of 9.6.
This service provides education and care to babies, toddlers and preschoolers in an environment that looks, and feels, like Grandma’s house. Director, Kristen McPhail says, “We focus on being a home away from home, steeped in nature, creativity and diversity,” and there’s great passion and special attention to detail at Pachamama. Staff take the time to make and share children’s favourite family recipes. Every room has an inviting and comfortable feel. And Pachamama’s awe-inspiring outdoor area has been carefully designed to set the scene for creativity and expand children’s world view. Kristen says, “We have life-sized animal sculptures in our yard, such as an elephant, horse, goanna and flamingos. We built streams into our physical landscape contours, nature playgrounds built from jarrah timber and repurposed farming equipment, with an aviary for our feathered friends, and all of this encourages children to see – and feel – our world in creative ways.” She says, “We try to instil a different way of thinking in the children – encouraging them to look beyond the simple function of something, like an archway, to something extraordinary,” and Pachamama’s staff put deep thought into their daily practice. Kristen says, “We carefully develop each staff member’s role around their particular skills, then train them up in the Pachamama way, which recognises that everything is interconnected and everything comes back to the development and wellbeing of the child.” Children are nurtured to learn, grow and feel a sense of belonging, and educators care for them as individuals – valuing who they are, how they learn, and what they need. Pachamama’s staff are nurtured, too. Kristen says, “We focus on staff belonging and longevity, and this helps us to give the children and families the service they deserve, and feel immense pride in doing this.” Educators are given longevity shirts and milestone jewellery to mark their long years working at the service, and Kristen says many of her staff wish to work at Pachamama forever! All in all, Pachamama is beautiful inside and out. Its facilities, program, people and culture combine to create something very special, and Pachamama’s KindiCare Excellence Award recognises just how special this service is.