Everything you need to know about being an ECEC room leader

Lead educators are vital elements of the early childhood education and care (ECEC) ecosystem. 

Lead educators not only serve as educators in their spaces, they give guidance and support to other educators in the room, are a primary source of information, advice and support for families, and also help the leadership team in the service to meet their continual improvement goals. 

What is a lead educator? 

Sometimes known as room leaders, lead educators are ECEC professionals who lead and develop the curriculum and educational program for a group of children, with the assistance of other educators in the room or space. 

Working closely with the leadership team, such as educational leader, centre manager and other leaders, the lead educator has a number of responsibilities, duties and job role aspects in line with the policies and procedures of the service. 

What makes a good lead educator?

Lead educators have a number of different aspects to their job role, and while each lead educator is an individual, there are a number of qualities that make someone a good choice for this position, including: 

• Strong communication skills
• Ability to be a mentor 
• Interest in professional growth and development
• Is able to lead by example
• Has strong relationships with children, families and educators 
• Understanding of developmental milestones
• Capacity to be approachable 
• Empathetic and understanding 
• Transparent and open to learning 
• Able to effectively delegate.

What are lead educators responsible for? 

Some of the responsibilities a lead educator have include: 

• Making the program available to families 
• Supporting educators to plan the program 
• Making the room a warm and welcoming place
• Driving positive relationships between team members and with families 
• Designing learning experiences
• Documenting children’s learning 
• Completing day to day tasks in line with position description
• Mentoring educators. 

To learn more about leadership in early childhood, please see here.