….+ The Positive Impact That Has On Local Kids + Families

We dropped into Explorers Learning Academy to take some pics recently and while we were there, we ran into General Manager, Lindsay and asked her what she was working on.

Turns out she puts aside a chunk of her time each week to focus on the learning and development of staff and while we were chatting to her about it, it became pretty clear that these guys were going above and beyond to provide their team [+ then ultimately the families and kids in their care] with some exceptional guidance, support and opportunities to grow.

We were impressed so wanted to share it with our wonderful Fold readers because showcasing local businesses that are doing some awesome work locally is what we’re all about, and well, when you meet Lindsay and listen to her talk so passionately about the early learning sector and the wonderful locals playing such an important role in the lives of mini-Highlanders, you’ll totally get why! 

Okay, let’s look at the initiatives Explorers Learning Academy is working on.

1 :: Meeting kids where they are

The adult’s perception of the ‘perfectly behaved child’ doesn’t exist…..the Explorers educators are realistic about that. All behaviour is a form of communication.

“Of course we want children to behave ‘perfectly’ but these kids are 0-5. They’re learning every day how to be a friend and the social rules we expect from each other, so our role is to provide behavioural guidance to help them learn, understand and give them the foundation to become a good citizen,” says Lindsay. 

“So, we train our staff in understanding where the child is coming from so that when they’re dealing with big emotions they can help the child identify the emotion, work through it and guide them on the acceptable way to respond. Meltdowns, lashing out, pushing and biting friends are all part of being a small child.”

“We have a strong Behavioural Guidance Policy, which is aligned with our Child Protection Policy. These clear guidelines help our educators manage these teachable moments with the kids with positivity, kindness, patience and care.”

2 :: HELPP

The Behavioural Guidance Policy was created by Explorers in consultation with all team members, and provides the foundation for the values, procedures and expected conduct of that wonderful team on a daily basis. 

“From the Behavourial Guidance Policy, we created a process called HELPP which is the way we then enact the policy daily in the centres.”

“It’s  based on an acronym so it’s easy to recall when the educators are in the middle of a situation which can often be quite emotional or high energy,” Lindsay explains.

Okay let’s step through HELPP and what that means….

H :: Humanity

What does the child need right now? Are they hungry? Have they had breakfast?

“Maybe they just need a cuddle or help with tying their shoe…..it’s easy to be a kind and caring human, and that’s also the behaviour we like to model so the kids see it in action,” Lindsay says. 

E :: Empathy

We touched on it earlier but this is about putting yourself in the child’s shoes.

What’s happening at home or in their little lives that may be impacting their behaviour at the centre? 

“We don’t judge the behaviour, ever. We simply work out why they’re behaving that way, tap into our own empathic skills and give the child what they need at that time.”

L :: Listen

While the educators are the experienced and qualified people in the room, they’re also very open to learning from their little charges every day, and learning about them. 

“It’s amazing what we can learn from children. The way they look at the world can be quite humbling sometimes,” says Lindsay. 

“But we also learn about each child. Does he like dinosaurs? Does she like to play in the sandpit and build things? Does he love reading? When we learn about the children, they feel safe, secure and confident – they think oh, my educator really knows me – it creates a sense of belonging for them which is so important.”

P :: Play 

Play is a child’s world.

It’s how they learn, how they connect with each other, and how they learn new skills, solve problems, build resilience and confidence. 

“Play is the foundation of everything we do when we’re interacting with the children and creating programs and curriculums for them,” Lindsay explains.

“Our educators are trained on how to identify those moments throughout the day that can become teachable moments through play. Something like a child filling up a bucket of sand…what happens when we add water to the sand? Or if we turn it upside down? Things like that. They don’t even realise they’re learning because they’re enjoying playing so much.”

P :: Plan

Planning is the key to creating space for H, E, L + P to happen!

Explorers do this by linking all the learning outcomes from the Early Years Learning Framework with their programs, curriculum, developmental milestones and the wants, needs, interests and personality of each individual child. 

“We plan for unstructured play [sounds ironic but it’s true!] so each moment has meaning. We call it child led play and that goes hand in hand with intentional teaching,” says Lindsay. 

“There is such value in play for the children – they’re exercising memory skills, setting boundaries, building relationships, learning how to interact with each other and most importantly, having fun!”

“The Behavioural Guidance Policy is the foundation for what we do  and HELPP is the way we do it.”

3 :: Singing from the same song book

Explorers Learning Academy has a training space in Mittagong, offsite from the centres so educators can 100% focus on their learning and development. 

This is where Lindsay, who is also in the process of completing a training and assessment qualification herself, steps through various training goals and objectives covering policies, procedures, planning and also giving educators working on qualifications some time and space to work on their assessments. 

She also makes herself available to those educators to mentor them or help them through the requirements of the qualifications. 

“While we provide that space and regularly hold training sessions with the teams so they can focus on what they’re learning, it’s also important they see how we’re focused on them too….providing them with these opportunities,” says Lindsay. 

“We value this time we get with them so much and of course, it means everyone is on the same page. Consistency is really important in helping the children feel safe and secure too.” 

“Our policies and procedures are only as good as our staff and the integrity of our staff.”

4 :: Bi-annual Conference

Twice a year, in November and June, Explorers host a company wide conference on a Saturday where educators have the opportunity to come together to learn from external specialists and consultants, are updated on new policies and procedures, conduct refresher courses on specific areas, and are involved in discussions about how the team, together, can keep growing and improving. 

“We had our first conference in November [Covid prevented us from doing it earlier]. We had a consultant talk about teamwork, chatted about lots of other things then took the team out for lunch where everyone could enjoy themselves,” Lindsay says. 

“So, we’re holding another one in June where we’ll have representatives from Be You, HESTA, Munch and Move and our very own Angela from Rhythm to Grow Occupational Therapy.”

“Angela has just started to spend time in our centres on a weekly basis so that she can offer hands-on support and learning opportunities for the educators.”

“Our hope is Angela’s experience and knowledge will give our Educators a deeper understanding of a child’s needs so they can support the children even better. It also means that families have a ‘go-to’ with Angela being at hand at the centres.  This is a benefit of being at Explorers with no additional costs to families.”

5 :: Financial support for qualifications

Learning and development is a high priority for Explorers and they literally put their money where their mouth is. 

“We’re very lucky that founder of Explorers Learning Academy, Eleanor, is so dedicated to the growth and development of the team. In fact, during Covid, she made sure that not one person lost an hour of pay,” says Lindsay. 

“She values all our educators so much and is currently financially supporting three of our team to do their degrees in Early Learning which means no nasty HECS debts!” 

“It’s been more challenging since Covid to find staff, but we have been very lucky in that we’ve maintained great teams, but when new staff do come on board they see how supported they are from a learning and development perspective, they really appreciate it and use working with us as an opportunity to work towards qualifications and build a strong career pathway with Explorers.” 

Explorers Learning Academy also encourages staff to enrol their children with the offer of a 30% discount [after the gap fee] which makes it more affordable for a team member to come to work. 

“And both the child and the parent have that sense of belonging. Both of them are part of our Explorers community which is really nice,” Lindsay points out. 

“We also have mums and daughters who work with us, and a number of staff who have done complete u-turns in their careers. They’ve come to work at Explorers and fallen in love with the early learning sector and are now getting their qualifications….it’s been amazing to watch all this.”

Sounds pretty amazing, right? See why we wanted to tell you about it? 

Explorers is always looking for wonderful locals keen to work in the early learning sector, whether it be for the first time or you have years of experience – give Lindsay a call on 4880 1768. 

If you’re a parent or carer looking for a nurturing community and play-focused approach to early learning, contact the team via the Explorers Learning Academy website and have a chat! 

We’re glad we dropped in to get some pics!

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