Melissa Messina on the right of every child to quality early learning

Freya Lucas

Dec 16, 2024

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Advocate, teacher and service leader Melissa Messina, Executive Manager of Early Learning at Northern Beaches Council, recently spoke with the New South Wales Department of Education about her work, what drew her to working with children, the need for strong leadership, governance and more.

An extract of her conversation appears below. To access the full version see here.

Ms Messina commenced her career as an early childhood teacher and had 55 children under the age of 3 in her care. Today, as Executive Manager of Early Learning at the Northern Beaches Council, she oversees 14 services collectively supporting nearly 3,000 children.

In her career spanning 30 years, she has held diverse roles - director, policy advocate, service leader, manager of a national team of validators and more.

“I now spend most of my time working in an office, and when I’m feeling too disconnected, I like to visit a service and interact with the children and staff," she said.

Throughout her career, she has come to see that strong leadership and governance is important in any early childhood education and care (ECEC) service, as is keeping children at the centre of decision-making.

“As a local government we developed a children's services strategy with input from the community,” Melissa added.

“This resulted in a vision for our services which is about being accessible, equitable and flexible and that enables us to have really strong community values.”

Recognising the importance of establishing a culture of accountability, collaboration and continuous improvement across their services, the strategy also included actions to support professional development for early childhood educators, opportunities for industry connection, networking and advocacy, and reviewing and refining employment policies to strengthen the delivery of accessible and integrated services for families.

Supporting leaders

Encouraging learning and development for all team members is a key priority for Ms Messina. Acknowledging that while finding time can be challenging, she believes that ECEC leaders play an important role in dedicating time and resources to continuous learning and reflection, and to supporting their staff.

“We put in the time, with regular one-to-one meetings with Educational Leaders, so educators feel heard and understood. We need to give educators the support they need to be able to do their job well,” Ms Messina said.

"Our leaders get together regularly to ensure we are meeting the needs of children and families, National Quality Framework requirements and the professional development needs of staff."

A career driven by purpose

Melissa is a member of the Apiary Fellowship – a national network of ECEC advocates working to drive positive change in the ECEC system.

“If you think the system is broken, the challenge back to the sector is, well, we are a part of the system – we have the power to help fix it,” she said.

Fighting for the voice, rights and safety of children in ECEC has given her work a strong sense of purpose. Her dedication has been recognised, most recently as a finalist in the Australian Childcare Alliance’s State of Our Sector awards for her advocacy and work in uplifting the teachers and educators in her charge.

“Being in an office can make you forget that all these documents and policies and budgets are ultimately about children’s wellbeing,” she said.

“But knowing that we can change the system and make a real difference to the lives of children is what keeps me going.”

Tips on strengthening governance and leadership

Ms Messina has a number of tips for others who would like to focus on strengthening their governance and leadership:

Make sure your educators have access to training and development opportunities tied to their goals and aspirations.
Survey your educators to ask for their input on what is working and what could be improved. Use these insights to create a shared plan with actions you want to take collectively.
Consider conducting an annual parent survey to seek parents’ views on what your service is doing well and what you could change. Share the results with families, along with any actions you commit to.

Melissa’s profile is part of the NSW Department of Education’s ECEC Spotlight series, which shines a light on passionate, excellent ECEC professionals as well as services, programs and initiatives from around NSW.

Nominate or share your story with the Department here.

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