Minlaton Family Centre pleads for more staff in order to open in January

Permanent part-time positions with teacher-equivalent pay rates are being offered by the yet to open Minlaton Family Centre in a bid to secure staff for the eagerly anticipated service, which is located on the Yorke Peninsula in regional South Australia.

Newly appointed Director Tanya Geister needs at least six qualified early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals to meet the projected January 2024 opening date, and she approached local news source Yorke Peninsula Country Times in a bid to secure more staff. 

“The people we’d love to have involved are those who may be primary or high school teachers, they just need to do a bridging course to become qualified as an early childhood educator,” she said.

“You could also hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care.”

ECEC has been hard to come by in the Southern part of the Yorke Peninsula, something which Ms Geister believes is contributing to the lack of qualified educators in the region. 

She is hopeful that those already in the community who have family or friends looking to move to the region can help to “spread the word” and bring qualified educators to town. 

Minlaton Family Centre, and sister service Yorke Peninsula Learning and Care, were established when parent company Jawbem Group (now known as Adelaide Family and Learning Centre) won the tender for the management of both sites.

“It’s a great opportunity to help your local community, this is something the community has been so desperate for,” Ms Geister, who has been working in outside school hours care for a number of years before moving to early learning 18 months ago said.

She has spent the last four months working with Adelaide Family and Learning Centre, setting up the new service and creating engaging spaces for children, and leading the existing team. 

“I used to work for a nation-wide company based in Queensland, and they had no idea what was going on down here, so this is a bonus that they (Adelaide Family and Learning Centre) are way more on the ground.”

For those who are interested in learning more, please contact Ms Geister on [email protected] or phone (08) 7524 0341.

Access the original coverage of this story here.