Kelly West
Service Director and Nominated Supervisor
Partnerships, Inclusion and Research Coordinator
I have been working in the Early Childhood Education sector for over 18 years, with 14 years of that being an Educator working within all age groups and the last 5 years in Leadership. My passion is leading our amazing team, supporting positive parenting, understanding and scaffolding children's development and behaviour. In 2015 I completed my Bachelor of Psychological Science through the University of New England where I majored in Developmental Psychology and I became an Internationally certified Circle of Security© Facilitator in 2018. I am now excited to be completing post-graduate studies in Early Childhood Education through Macquarie University. I strongly believe that early childhood is the most important stage of a child's development and their experiences during this time will shape who they become. Helping children to grow, learn and discover who they are is so rewarding and exciting, as well as supporting families on their parenting journey’s, which I am lucky enough to experience myself with my own two children my beautiful son, Liam and a wonderful daughter, Hayden.
Sarah
Assistant Director
My name is Sarah and I have my Diploma of Children’s Services. In 2016, I was appointed the role of Assistant Director to support the leadership of the service. I have been working in the industry for the past 11 years with most of my time being spent with children aged 14mths to 2yrs, however I have spent some time with the preschool aged children also. I began working in the industry in Canberra before moving here in 2013. I support our Director, as the acting Nominated Supervisor in their absence. I love being a part of the children’s learning and watching them thrive as they explore the world around them and develop a love for learning. In October 2015, I entered the other side of educating and caring for children as I became a mummy to my beautiful children - sons Eddie and Louis followed by our lovely daughter Remi.
Katie
Early Childhood Teacher
Educational Leader
My name is Katie and I completed my Bachelor of Teaching (Primary)/ Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies at the University of Newcastle in 2012. Since then, I have had a wonderful opportunity to work in a range of primary schools and early childhood settings - both preschools and long day care centres. I am passionate about helping children find their sense of belonging within their environment and helping them learn the skills needed to explore and grow in the early stages of their lives. I am also lucky to be able to experience motherhood personally, having three beautiful children Penny, Felix and Otis.
Peyton
Early Childhood Teacher and Responsible Person
Lead Educator
I have been in the Early Childhood Sector for over 8 years where I gained my Diploma Qualification. I am currently in my final year of a degree in Early Education and Care and am excited to be a Qualified Early Childhood Teacher by next year. I started here at ACELP in 2021 and have worked across the infant/toddler and preschool spaces. I believe that children utilise their curiosity for their world to learn and develop an understand of how everything works in partnership with their families and Educators who they build strong relationships with.
Kelly
Early Childhood Teacher and Responsible Person
My name is Kelly and I am originally from South Africa! I have a degree in Early Childhood education, which has opened up so many doors for me to be able to teach in many different settings including different countries around the world. As a teacher, I am particularly passionate about the early years, and this has only increased more since becoming a mother myself to my daughter Rosie and my son Knox. I find the flexibility of learning through play, being guided by the children’s various interests and the creativity extremely rewarding.
Yasmin
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I have been working in Early Education and Care for nearly 4 years and I have found my forte is working in the 18 month to 3 year old age group. I believe that children should be given not only high quality care but also to nurture their individuality as they find their feet as to who they are as a person. I am continually excited by the new things I am learning as I work alongside the children and other members of our team everyday.
Danika
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I have worked in the Early Education and Care sector for 6 years and I completed my Diploma of Early Education and Care in 2020. I have worked primarily with infants and toddlers. I love that I have had to opportunity to work across all age groups and feel confident and adaptive to be the best educator I can be in all environments. I believe that children are unique, capable and deserve the best start to their Education journey they can and I have found my passion facilitating this.
Viviana
Qualified Certificate III Educator and Responsible Person
I have worked for ACELP for the last 3 years and have grown my love for working with children. I have found a recent strong interest in inclusion and supporting children's additional needs (particularly those children from trauma backgrounds). It is from watching my Daughter, Amaya, grow that I found my passion in Education and after coming to this country from Chile, I embarked on my journey to learn more and see my passion through. .
Sanaia
Qualified Certificate III Educator and Responsible Person
I started my traineeship in Certificate III in early Education and Care 2 years ago and I have found my passion for working with children. I am now diving into studying my Diploma so I can learn even more about the wonderful Education and development of children in the early years. I believe that children deserve the space to play and learn at their own pace and I enjoy watching the children of ACELP grow and learn everyday.
Tessa
Qualified Certificate III Educator and Responsible Person
I hold a Certificate III in Children’s Services which I completed as a trainee here at ACELP in 2020. I was pleased to be offered to continue on in our team after my studies completed in 2021. I have a strong interest in sustainability and environmental care which I aim to support the children to also find a passion for whilst working closely with them. I believe all children should have access to high quality care that empowers them to take charge of their own learning and to develop a sense of global citizenship alongside their peers and educators.
Phoebe
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I have been working with children in the Early Years for many years across all age groups but I can safely say I am most cosy with the older age groups. I joined ACELP in 2024 and am so excited to continue my journey here for many more years to come. I love to watch them learn new things, challenge and experiment with how things work and it inspires me alongside them to join them in their journey. If you need to find me, I am usually outside in nature or creating amazing stories with the children. I believe children are as unique as snowflakes and should be nurtured for who they are.
Tiffany
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
My name is Tiffany and I completed my Diploma in Early Education and Care in late 2016. I first commenced with ACELP as a trainee in 2015, learning and being mentored from my experienced colleagues. I now work as an experienced educator across the service and enjoy building strong and secure relationships with our children and families. I also have the experience of becoming a Mum to my beautiful Daughter Willow! I believe in providing a safe, yet challenging environment to help children learn and grow. I hope to encourage all children's sense of belonging to our environment and the wider community. I am now studying to be an Early Childhood Teacher.
Emma
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I joined the team here at Adamstown in November 2020 and completed my Certificate III in Early Education and Care. I continued to work here for a few years before I took a small break to move to Orange to look after my family. Upon my return back to Newcastle I joined the team once again where I was able to complete my studies for a Diploma in Early Education and Care. I believe that the key factors that support children's learning is exposure to concepts that will make them into positive and warm people. Finding joy in the everyday through quality time, music and connections.
Ebony
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I joined the team here at Adamstown in 2020, studying my Certificate III and remained with the service to complete my Diploma. I am now currently working full time and enjoying learning more and more everyday from our experienced team alongside the beautiful children and families of our service.
Kay
Qualified Certificate III Educator
I have had a passion for watching children grow and learn from watching my two beautiful daughters, Annabelle and Chloe grow up. I joined the ACELP team as a trainee for Certificate III in Early Education and Care in January 2023. I look forward to learning more about children's learning and development as I continue my time here and complete my studies in my Diploma as well!
Emily
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
My name is Emily and I started working in the Early Childhood sector for 9 years ago where I completed a traineeship to learn on the job. I enjoy working with children as it is so rewarding to watch them grow and learn so many things in such a short period of their lives. I take tremendous value out of knowing we are setting the stage for their lifelong success.I have a passion for creative arts and I love sharing this with the children, I enjoy it so much I am also currently working on a Degree in Graphic Design.
Charlotte
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
My name is Charlotte and I currently hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care. I started my career in Early Childhood 6 years ago when I started my Certificate III traineeship here at ACELP. I gained valuable insight into how children learn and develop, and as a result I wanted to learn more so I went back to complete my Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care which I completed in November 2023. I believe all children deserve to be cared for and have their cup filled with things that make them happy.
Courtney
Administration Officer
Work Health and Safety Supervisor
I started working for ACELP in 2024 stepping into an Administrative role after being an Educator and even leader for many years. I love this side of the Early Education service as I get to meet with the families and support the running of our wonderful service. I believe all children have a story to tell and it is our role to provide the support, guidance and tools for them to be able to tell it!
Suze
Service Cook
I have worked as a service cook for many years and it never ceases to invigorate me the challenges and excitement of supporting children to expand their palates, enjoy healthy foods and provide them with the building blocks to grow! I use experiences of cooking from my previous roles as well as from cooking for my own children at home. I am always refining and adapting the menu's to suit seasons, cultures and what they love so that the children learn to love food and develop a healthy relationship with food they will carry into their future!
Jodi
Domestic Helper
I started working for ACELP a few years ago in the domestic helper role. The best part of my role is by far spending some time with the children as I move from room to room. The children's love sharing their funny stories or want to show me things they are proud of and this is a highlight of my day!
Nicole
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I am on Maternity Leave
My name is Nicole and I have my Diploma in Children’s Services, I have been working in the industry for over 8 years working at various different centres where I have gained loads of experience. I recently returned from extended maternity leave where I took my children, Skyla and Finn across Australia for 9 months. I began working here at ACELP in 2014 where I was able to experience that my personal values towards early education and care were reflected in the services philosophy and practices where the children are at the heart of everything we do. I have experienced working in all three room environments here at ACELP and I love being involved in children’s education and watching them grow and learn.
Mardie
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I am on maternity leave
My name is Mardie and I am a qualified educator here at ACELP. I joined the team in October 2019, after working in a range of roles at previous centres from Lead Educator to Assistant Director positions. These positions have allowed me to grow a strong passion and understanding for the early years and I believe in advocacy for access to quality education and care for all children. Having my daughter Banksie has concreted these thoughts for me as I see the amazing benefits unfold for her everyday. I have a forte in working with the Birth- 3 years age group, but stepping out of this comfort zone this year as I am in the Preschool. I believe children deserve the best start to life being provided with challenging experiences that push them to learn more, whilst having their individuality embraced and valued.