From an adverse childhood, Firefly HR co-founder Barbi Clendining came to learn the transformative power of having one caring adult in a child’s life. After studying teaching, she began working in the outside school hours care (OSHC) sector, as it gave her the flexibility to work and manage carers duties. Now, she can’t imagine being anywhere else. Passionate about advocating for the OSHC sector as a “stand-alone” career path, she started a recruitment business, designed to source top-quality talent for the OSHC sector. Here, she shares her story with The Sector Assistant Editor Freya Lucas.

“I would come home from appointments to find a bag full of chocolates, flowers and a card that cheered us on and affirmed our child. This always blew me away because at my core, I felt like no one understood what was happening and we were alone.”

From a conversation over dinner, about the frustrations of communicating with parents, app developer Kheang Ly has created a popular “one stop shop” for centre owners, managers and directors. Designed to maximise efficiency and compliance, with minimum effort – and free of charge – OWNA has the potential to reshape the early childhood education and care (ECEC) landscape. Mr Ly talked to The Sector assistant editor, Freya Lucas, about the journey to create OWNA.

Sheela Edwards, Founder and CEO of Aurora Early Education has made an interesting move from 25 years in the corporate, financial and business advisory sectors to creating a “holistic, hands-on learning environment” in Rowville, Victoria. The Sector Assistant Editor, Freya Lucas, sat down with Sheela to learn more about the elements that sets Aurora apart – the combination of Eastern and Western philosophies and approaches to learning, the high expectations of educators as service leaders – and about Sheela’s move from the world of IBM and Time Warner to early childhood education and care (ECEC).