The 2024 KindiCare Excellence Awards have been announced and we’re excited to report that Goodstart Early Learning Red Hill is our Joint National Winner and Joint State Winner in Queensland, with a perfect KindiCare Rating of 10.0! 

This Brisbane centre has also been rated Excellent by the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority, and although these accolades have created a huge buzz at Goodstart Red Hill, this centre is renowned for its calm atmosphere.  

Assistant Director, Charmaine Greenwood says, “When families come through for tours or orientation visits, they always comment on how calm the spaces and the children are,” and the team actively nurtures this atmosphere.   

They draw on a number of pedagogy styles, including Reggio Emilia, Montessori and contemporary theorists; and Charmaine explains that the calm vibe links to their practice and their arrangement of the environment as an educator of the children.   

Instead of being rushed through drop-offs or hurried to achieve certain developmental goals, the children are given time to bond with their childcare community and be acknowledged as capable learners.   

And herein lies the secret to Goodstart Red Hill’s success, because everything they do revolves around connection and respect.  

Charmaine says, “We actively collaborate with each other as a team to care for one another’s wellbeing and growth, and honour our role as educators and carers. 

“Being a Long Day Care service, we’re able to form strong connections and relationships with the children and their families; putting us in a place of deep trust and security by the time each child is in our Kindergarten room. This then provides us a significant amount of time to further develop the children’s resilience as they transition to school.” 

Along the way, the team takes the time to reflect on their practices, partner with parents, and foster under-fives’ social and emotional development, with an acknowledgement that children learn in different styles and at different paces.  

Charmaine explains that although, “Lots of people advocate for school readiness or child readiness, we reframe that to focus on the children’s wellbeing and emotional resilience.  

“We foster a mindset that challenges are a good thing, encourage them to learn to do things on their own, and give each child a strong foundation for school and life.”  

The Goodstart Red Hill team also understands the great impact they can have outside the centre, and their focus on connection and respect extends to the whole early learning sector.  

Since receiving their Excellent rating from ACECQA, the team have set up a group where Excellent rated services from around Australia can share their experiences and expertise, and the team is also actively working on professionalising the sector.  

Charmaine says, “We see how we can support other centres to work towards a certain level of practice, which is really empowering for us and them. And instead of simply connecting, we collaborate with one another – sharing our experience and journey to professionalise the sector.” 

At the end of the day, Goodstart Red Hill is a small centre that’s making a huge impact.  

They have achieved the highest possible KindiCare Rating, along with the highest possible National Quality Standard rating, and feel privileged, not just to receive these accolades, but to make an outstanding difference in people’s lives. 

We applaud them for this, but will do so quietly, because Goodstart Red Hill is a testament to the great power of a calm approach!  

 

Learn more about Goodstart Early Learning Red Hill 

Photography by Goodstart Red Hill’s Centre Director, Renee Mitchell  

Information correct as at 1 July 2024