Kelly West
Service Director and Nominated Supervisor
Partnerships, Inclusion and Research Coordinator
I have been working in the Early Childhood Education sector for over 15 years with my passion being 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 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 9 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.
Deborah
Administration and Work Health Safety Officer
My name is Deborah and I am the Administration Officer for the service. I work alongside the Nominated Supervisor and Assistant Director in managing administration for the centre. I have over 15 years experience in Preschool administration and Public Education and currently work part time at another community-based service. I hold a Certificate IV in Community Services and a Certificate III in both Education Support and Work Health and Safety which assists in my role as WHS Officer. I thoroughly enjoy my work and being part of the wonderful team here at Adamstown.
Nicole
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
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.
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 a full time lead educator across the service and enjoy building strong and secure relationships with our children and families. 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.
Tammy
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
Indigenous Perspective Coordinator
My name is Tammy and I completed a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care in 2019. I previously worked as the administration officer, however moved into the role of Educator here at Adamstown in 2015. I have two adult children, Mardie (who I am blessed to work alongside here at ACELP) and James. I have always had a passion for a career in early childhood. After working in administration for over 15 years, I made the best decision in changing fields. I believe that children need to feel safe, valued, nurtured and respected. As an educator and by working together in harmony with the child's family, I make sure this is achieved. I feel it is of great importance that each child is treated as an individual so that their interests, personality and strengths can shine through. By role modelling reciprocal relationships each day for the children to learn from, I am assisting in their development to build healthy relationships.
Mardie
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
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.
Yasmin
Qualified Certificate III Educator
I am new to Early Education and Care as I started last year as a Certificate III trainee. I was given the pleasure of staying on as part of the team for 2023 and have found my passion working with the infant and toddler age group. I am currently studying my Diploma of Early Education and Care and 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 5 years and I completed my Diploma of Early Education and Care in 2020. I have worked primarily with infants and toddlers. I joined the team here at ACELP in January of this year and took on a new challenge of working within the Preschool room. 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.
Peyton
Qualified Diploma Educator and Responsible Person
I have been in the Early Childhood Sector for over 7 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.
April
Early Childhood Teacher and Responsible Person
I am an early Childhood Teacher with over 24 years experience in the field. I have worked across various services and in various roles throughout my time. I have been a Director, Placement Supervisor for the University of Newcastle and Early Childhood Teacher of a Preschool working directly with children and coming to ACELP I found a passion for working with infants. I have watched my own two sons, Bentley and William grow up to be adults and this affirms my beliefs that children's success in life is set up through providing them with the best start possible by building relationships with children and working collaboratively with families. .
Tessa
Qualified Certificate III Educator
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.
Viviana
Qualified Certificate III Educator and Responsible Person
I have worked for ACELP for the last 2 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. .
Nicholas
Qualified Certificate III Educator and Responsible Person
I joined the team at ACELP in 2020 where I completed a traineeship for Certificate III in Early Education and Care. I fell in love with the industry and wanted to know more, so I begun studies for a Bachelors of Education at the University of Newcastle in 2022. I have worked across all environments and with all age groups and I believe that no matter where you are, you can see the power of learning in the everyday as learning happens in the little moments of our everyday lives.
Amelia
Early Childhood Teacher and Responsible Person
I joined the ACELP Team in 2022 as one of our Early Childhood Teachers. I have worked for other services previously where I have gained experience and knowledge that helps drive my practices everyday. I believe that all children deserve the best start to their learning journeys through quality Education and this facilitated through strong partnerships with families and reciprocal relationships with the children. I know first hand the power of positive relationships with children as my beautiful daughter Norah is thriving here at ACELP.
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.
Amiee
Service Cook and Certificate III Educator
My name is Amiee and I am the Cook here at ACELP, currently completing my Certificate III to support the team if needed. I have a son Asher, who is the light of my life and where I found a passion for caring for young children. I come from a large Italian Family and love cooking for them and this drives my passion in the service kitchen. I have a range of experience in hospitality and food preparation but joining the team at Adamstown has been my first role in cooking exclusively for children. I love cooking for and alongside the children at our service, introducing them to new, healthy and culturally inclusive foods. I also work alongside the educators and children to grow our vegetable and herb gardens and I implement the services Sous Chef Program weekly with the children.
Sanaia
Certificate III Educator Trainee
I started my traineeship in Certificate III in early Education and Care last year as I have found my passion for working with children. 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.
Kay
Certificate III Educator Trainee
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.