Goodstart Port Macquarie outlines how its team walked through cultural change

Exceeding rated Goodstart Port Macquarie was recgonised twice in the 2022 Goodies awards, with one win being the prestigious Centre Team of the Year award. The team recently shared their thoughts on the pathway to success. 

In 2020, Goodstart Port Macquarie identified an opportunity to strengthen its centre culture following a change of leadership, and recognised how that could be vital in its journey to delivering excellent early learning outcomes.  

For Centre Director Rebecca Webb, the reason behind the success is “an unrelenting focus” on the team as a whole, and on ensuring that each person in the team felt included, heard, and on board with new ways of thinking and working. 

“Centre culture is incredibly important to us and ensuring team members at all times are fully supported and valued is our highest priority,” she said. 

“We all enjoy coming to work each day because we’ve become a community that embraces each other and is full of support, collaboration and mutual respect.”  

Ms Webb said that the creation of such a strong centre culture has “undeniably been the platform to which we were able to work towards an Exceeding rating”. 

Their efforts have paid off outside of the sphere of Goodstart itself, with the team also receiving a Kindi Care Excellence award as joint NSW winners, receiving a Kindi Care rating of 9.9.

For educational leader Kylie Smith, sharing responsibility for continuous improvement has been a core element of the team’s successes. 

“A big thing for us was finding a ‘champion’ in each room,” she said. 

“We’ve become a strong team, a place where children thrive and where our educators and teachers are acknowledged and celebrated for their individual and team efforts to deliver the very best outcomes for children, families and our community.”  

One of Ms Webb’s favourite additions since the team began to focus on culture is the “You’ve Been Caught (Doing Something Awesome)” box introduced by Chloe Engley the Centre’s Assistant Director. 

“Everyone adds a note when they see some amazing practice, are proud of someone’s achievements or just want to say how awesome someone is,” Ms Webb explained.

“Our educators and teachers are shaping children’s lives every day. This recognition process of “you’ve been caught” is such a great addition to our centre because it’s a great reminder, particularly in more challenging times, that each of us are valued and recognised for the role we play, and that we’re on a journey. This recognition practice is helping us capture the special moments along the way.”