Adamstown Community Early Learning and Preschool is 2025’s first Excellent centre 

Adamstown Community Early Learning and Preschool has again been named as Excellent by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA). 

• collaborative partnerships with professional, community or research organisations
• commitment to children that respects, reflects and celebrates culture and diversity, including place of origin
• positive workplace culture and organisational values, sustained commitment to professional development and support of educators.

• The service formed a new collaboration with an Australian university and a renowned researcher who studies risky play. This started after completing and publishing a practitioner research project about building children’s risk competence. Now a longitudinal study aims to build on this, focusing on infants and very young children. It has a dedicated research team which includes educators at the service. They are meeting regularly to discuss research progress, analyse emerging findings, and share insights. This is ensuring everyone at the service is updated and supported during the project.

• The service established the Connecting to Country Program (CTCP) and partnered with NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service to help children learn about culture and nature. The program includes excursions to a national park and the beach, where children can explore local plants and animals, engage in risky play, and deepen their connection to Country. Professional development sessions with a local Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ranger introduced CTCP to the team, aiming to upskill educators in facilitating the program and focusing on bush tucker, native plants, and respecting Awabakal culture. These sessions inspired educators to include culturally significant practices in their teaching and feel confident leading the program. The service worked with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rangers to create a tailored education and care program. They provided authentic guided tours where children explored bush tucker, learned about local stories, and developed a deeper understanding of caring for the land.  

• The service established a monthly network group to support collaborations between local education and care services and primary schools. This group has created actionable goals and outcomes, including adjustments to transition to school programs across all network members.