Busy Bees Australia team heads to Canada as part of talent exchange program

Busy Bees Early Learning Australia will send five of its team members to Canada in Spring 2023 as part of the Busy Bees Global Talent Exchange Program, which is now in its fifth year.

The five team members that will experience and share practice within the Busy Bees global network are: 

• Alex Nolan, Service Manager of Busy Bees at Cameron Park (NSW) 
• Brianna Redding, Lead Educator of Busy Bees at Heritage Parc (NSW) 
• Christie Gardiner, Lead Educator of Busy Bees at Cameron Park Preston (NSW) 
• Momo Mendoza Monsalve, Early Childhood Teacher of Busy Bees at Lane Cove (NSW)
• Rebbecca Buttriss, Area Manager (Vic).

The Talent Exchange Program is unique to Busy Bees Australia, and is made possible thanks  to the global reach of the Busy Bees Group. It is structured to provide employees with the valuable opportunity to gain global exposure in their respective fields of expertise. 

Chief Pedagogy and Safeguarding Officer Fiona Alston explained that the program aims to give employees hands-on and pragmatic experience, as well as exposing Busy Bees talents to international best practices and different working cultures. 

A total of 30 Busy Bees staff from Busy Bees Services across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, Asia and North America will be spending three weeks working alongside their colleagues in host centres or schools located across Calgary, Alberta in Canada this Spring. 

All participants are required to complete a focus project while abroad to support sharing practice and experiences upon their return from Canada. The project briefs for this year’s program are:

• Creating holistic learning environments – this project involves designing and implementing educational settings that address the physical, emotional, social, and cognitive development of learners.

• Managing challenging behaviours – this project focuses on strategies that help prevent challenging behaviours in early years including positive reinforcement, clear and consistent expectations, role modelling, meaningful and balanced routines, planned transitions, and personalised connections with children on a daily basis.

• The value of individualised and inquiry-based learning – this project recognises that children have different learning styles and paces, and therefore require different levels of support and instruction to reach their full potential.

• Creating the connection between indoor and outdoor learning – this project explores the multiple benefits of an inspiring outdoor learning environment that intentionally integrates activities designed to support and enhance quality learning across different learning areas in addition to active play.

• Optimising and maintaining relationships with families and staff – this is critical for ensuring the success of the centre and the wellbeing of the children in its care. Creating a welcoming and inclusive environment can help build positive relationships with families and staff.

• Staff onboarding, retention and induction – staff onboarding and induction are critical processes for any organization to ensure the successful integration and retention of new employees.

At the end of the three-week placements, the participants will share their project work findings to the Busy Bees management team in a presentation that will then be shared globally across the Busy Bees network for other teams to view the outcomes and learn from their peers.

For more information about Busy Bees Early Learning, please see here.