Abby Porter

Centre Manager - Crest Road Early Learning Centre

“I started working in child care as I enjoyed working with children and watching them learn, grow and develop.“

I began my career in early childhood education and care in 2002 and started working at Crest Roast Early Learning Centre in 2014. I hold a Diploma in Children’s Services.

I started working in child care as I enjoyed working with children and watching them learn, grow and develop. It is a very rewarding job to be in. Over the years, I have learnt that all children are so different and you are always changing your teaching styles to suit each child. It is always a challenge each day but it makes coming to work each and every day more interesting and enjoyable.

Having children attend child care is important as each child deals with changes differently and as an educator, being able to assist a child with this is a great challenge. It also helps the children to develop their social skills that they may not be able to do it they are at home.

We have long-serving, multicultural team members who reflect our local community. Many have been with the centre over 5 years, we have a low staff turn over. In the time that I have been working at Crest Road, the educators that have left have moved interstate or are on maternity leave. It’s the sort of centre where everyone knows all the children, no matter which room they are in. We are such a close-knit team it feels like one big family.

The best part of my job is the team – they are so committed and positive about their role as educators. The whole team sees their role as incredibly important, helping children establish the building blocks for a successful lifetime of learning.

Our team understands just how important your children are to you and we ensure we take our responsibilities seriously. Our Early Learning Services centres has extensive policy and procedures in place to assist our team in protecting children in our care.

Taking the time to listen to the families when they do their tour and then through the orientation is vital as it ensures that the families understand that the children will be okay. Also, letting the families know that they can call at any time is reassuring. Having a good line of communication with the families, helps with this too. At Crest Road, we try to make our roster so that each of the educators have similar shifts so that the children don’t get to distressed by change.

When taking families on their tour, we talk to the family about the centre and the room that is age appropriate for their child and during the conversation we always ask about their child’s interests. The families with also let you know that their children may be anxious and then we can let the families know what has worked within the centre with other children that have been in the same situation.

Welcome to Crest Road Early Learning Centre.