2024 National Goodies Award winners announced 

The winners of the 2024 National Goodies Awards have been announced, celebrating the success of Goodstart Early Learning employee network, collectively known as ‘Goodies’. 

 

Outstanding achievements in 14 categories were celebrated at the special event, held at the Emporium Hotel in Brisbane on 5 December 2024, after a record breaking year in which more than 750 nominations were received, resulting in 80 Goodies State Award Winners.

 

Teams and individuals were recognised for their remarkable achievements, unwavering dedication and the incredible impact they have made in their communities in categories such as safety, reconciliation, family and community partnership, and enabling environments.

 

The Goodies program is both a state and national reward and recognition initiative that celebrates the exceptional contributions of Goodstarters in shaping young lives, while enriching families and communities.

 

For Goodstart CEO Dr Ros Baxter the stories of the winners “exemplify the commitment of our people to children, and the commitment of our organisation to keep investing in them.”

 

“Congratulations to all of our Goodstarters for an incredible, change-making 2024 – and a special congratulations to our winners.”

 

Singapore opportunity

 

This year, winners of key categories, including Educator of the Year, Educational Leader of the Year, Teacher of the Year, Rising Star, Goodstarter of the Year, and Enabling Environments Excellence (teacher-qualified Goodstarter), were awarded an incredible opportunity: a ticket to Goodstart’s second professional learning experience – a study tour to Singapore in 2025 – reflecting on Next Practice. 

 

Led by Chief Children’s Officer Sue Robb OBE, this professional learning experience is designed to foster knowledge exchange and critical reflection, allowing participants to bring back invaluable insights that will influence and enhance continuous practice improvement at Goodstart.  

 

Read more about the 2024 National Goodies Awards Winners below: 

 

Champion of Safety, Health & Wellbeing

 

Goodstart Tuggerah

 

Goodstart Tuggerah demonstrates a strong commitment to children, safeguarding children and Goodstarter safety through a comprehensive approach, embedded in high quality teaching and learning practices. A strength is their centre-specific protective strategies reflected in their centre safeguarding plan, which includes the “Tap Out” practice for educators. 

 

This practice allows staff to request support and take brief breaks to maintain their well-being and effectiveness. Children are engaged in intentional teaching practices with the “Look, Do, Tell” framework, including incorporating the learning through songs and storytelling. 

 

It is examples like these that collectively enhance the safety culture within the service and support consistent, high quality safety, health and well-being for children, families, educators and the Tuggerah Team.

 

Advancing Reconciliation

 

Goodstart Calala

 

Goodstart Calala has maintained a published Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) since 2020, treating it as a dynamic, working document. This year, they focused on deepening community relationships and contributing meaningfully – participating in NAIDOC week events, collaborating on community projects, and celebrating with their own NAIDOC event, where children actively planned and contributed. They also supported local hospital initiatives and integrated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into their daily routines, fostering cultural awareness and reducing discrimination.

 

Family and Community Partnership Excellence

 

Goodstart Forest Lake – Centennial Way

 

When one of their long-term families faced a serious illness, the team rallied together to raise nearly $1,000 for medical expenses. Their compassionate efforts not only eased the family’s burden but also strengthened community trust. This is a team focused on enriching their community and family through partnership, and in doing so, they are reaping the rewards of enhancing children’s outcomes through building trust and support in their community.

 

Making a Difference

 

Goodstart North Mackay

 

Goodstart North Mackay is the winner of the Making a Difference Award. Their submission demonstrated critical reflection over the long term to develop a deep understanding of all of the children in their centre. In so doing, they identified nearly 50 children attending their service with additional support needs. Their motivation for this reflective process was to ensure that each child’s individual need for relationship, security and safety in the early learning environment was planned for. They listened to the voices of the children and reflected on how their centre philosophy could be reviewed to demonstrate their intention to truly understand each child. 

 

This process led to the team recognising that their routines needed to reflect what each child needed. This included their decision and subsequent actions to slow down orientation  to enable children to settle and feel safe. North Mackay’s approach to making a difference to all children exemplified a child and family centred approach to truly know and understand children and families and create an inclusive, relational environment for everyone to thrive.

 

Enabling Environments Excellence

 

Goodstart Narwee

 

Goodstart Narwee holds exceptional standards in providing enabling environments every day. The team provides rich, reflective and purposeful environments across all rooms at the centre – driven by critical reflection and a commitment to quality improvement, which is central to their work.  Their environments are responsive and respectful, reflecting their children, families and community voices. The team at Narwee strive to stretch beyond the quality rating standards, embedding these in all they do.

 

Goodstart Teacher of the Year 

 

Yayuan (Annie) Yang – Teacher, Goodstart Ringwood

 

A standout aspect of Annie’s impact is her dedication to building strong partnerships. She collaborates with local primary schools, a local aged care facility, and even raises young children’s voices to parliament. Her Japanese exchange program adds an international dimension to her work.

 

Rising Star

 

Kellese Woods – Trainee, Goodstart Canning Vale – Campbell Road

 

Kellese’s journey highlights her unwavering dedication to personal learning and development. From her initial steps as a school leaver entering the workforce for the first time, she has grown into a trusted educator celebrated for her child-focused approach. Her proactive approach to learning and research, right from the beginning, ensured that her interactions with children were grounded in solid research, amplifying children’s learning outcomes.

 

Goodstart Educational Leader of the Year

 

Nicole Roberson – Educational Leader, Goodstart Virginia

 

Nicole is an outstanding educational leader and has won this closely fought award due to her attention to detail when leading the educators across the centre. She finds their preferred learning styles and differentiates her input to ensure they succeed. Nicole actively seeks out feedback from everyone who visits her and always follows up with the difference that feedback has made. One of Nicole’s areas of deep reflection is using assessment for learning to support children’s next steps in their learning journey. Nicole also forges constructive relationships with Primary schools.

 

Goodstart Educator of the Year

 

Jing Jin – Senior Educator, Goodstart Canning Vale – Campbell Road

 

Jing Jin joined Goodstart in 2017 as a casual educator in the Northern Territory. In 2019, she and her family moved to Perth, where she continued her journey with the Canning Vale – Campbell Road team. 

 

Known as “the baby whisperer,” Jing is deeply attuned to the needs of each child and family. She embodies Goodstart’s vision and purpose through her daily interactions and engagement with children, families, and colleagues. Safety is her top priority, ensuring a secure environment for all. Jing builds strong bonds and trust with families and is passionate about inclusive early learning. 

 

Her commitment to her babies and families always goes the extra mile to ensure their safety, wellbeing, care and learning. Jing has supported and mentored a trainee in her room, providing guidance and on-the-job best practices to build a strong foundation of knowledge and skills.  Her mentorship gained great praise from the Trainee’s supervisor.  Her fellow educators consistently praise Jing for her thoroughness and dedication, and her support to build their knowledge and practices.  

 

Goodstart Early Learning Business Leader of the Year

 

Marlee Clarke – Centre Director, Goodstart Wangaratta – Moore Street

 

In just 12 months, Marlee has built a strong centre culture and led the team to exceptional achievements. The centre exceeded prior year targets by 35 per cent and surpassed current targets by 21 per cent, averaging 100.6 per cent occupancy from January to June. Despite being at full capacity, they continue to generate high tour volumes to build their waitlist. They also boast one of the highest family net promoter scores in the state, with the largest number of family responses.

 

Goodstarter of the Year (CSO)

 

Liping (Erin) Chen – State Performance Lead (Victoria North), Goodstart

 

As a State Performance Lead, Erin has gone above and beyond by supporting the Centre Directors with professional development initiatives during staff meetings held outside of business hours. She has been an attentive and supportive leader, understanding the challenges faced by team members and offering valuable coaching and guidance. This support has been especially important as the CDs work to change the culture of their teams.

 

CSO Team of the Year

 

Quality Team

 

The Quality team embodies Goodstart’s vision of providing the best possible start in life for Australia’s children and the purpose of ensuring optimal learning, development, and wellbeing outcomes. They work tirelessly behind the scenes, focusing on compliance and governance, which are foundational to delivering high-quality education and care. By ensuring that all legislative requirements are met, the team supports centres to create a safe and nurturing environment for children.

 

Goodstart Centre of the Year

 

Goodstart Blue Haven

 

Goodstart Blue Haven leads by example in inclusion, sustainability, and reconciliation. The team’s practices for supporting children with diverse needs show a proactive approach to ensuring every child thrives. A strong focus on team culture and community impact creates a nurturing environment for children, families, and educators. The heartfelt appreciation from families and the centre’s consistent high performance, including an Exceeding National Quality Rating in seven quality areas in their recent Assessment and Rating, highlight its dedication to making a meaningful difference.