Kim Cassar’s transition into leadership at Affinity Education Group

Affinity Education Group recently shared the story of one of its ‘shining stars’ – Kim Cassar, who was recently promoted from her long-term Assistant Centre Manager role at the Exceeding Rated Milestones Early Learning Greensborough to Centre Manager of Papilio Early Learning Bundoora.

Ms Cassar (shown left, in the early days of Bundoora’s build) has been working in early childhood education and care (ECEC) since she was 20 years of age, a field she was drawn to after working with children as a swimming teacher.

“It was fun, but I realised there was a lot more to early education and I wanted to be involved,” she explained. 

“I took up a trainee position – back then we were called apprentices – with a privately owned company. It was ok but after a couple of years our little centre was acquired by Affinity Education Group which immediately led to my career taking off.” 

Once Affinity took ownership of the service, Ms Cassar was offered funded training to upskill to her Diploma in Early Education and Care through the Affinity Learning Academy, and since that time she has worked her way up to become Assistant Centre Manager, taken on temporary roles supporting newly acquired centres, being a Senior Educational Leader, and has now stepped up again to a Centre Manager role responsible for opening a greenfield (new build) centre at Bundoora.

One of the most surprising parts of her journey has been the feedback she has received from others in her broader professional network who are working with different providers when moving into each ‘next step’ of her journey.

“I absolutely love the opportunities Affinity gives me to stretch into mentoring and coaching roles, facilitating Communities of Practice events, actioning our Quality Improvement Plans, embedding our Lifelong Learning Curriculum, upskilling in business management skills – if you are willing to learn then so much is provided for you,” she said. 

Learn more about Affinity Education Group here.