When places change, but purpose remains: Possums Community Preschool’s path to excellence

Some places hold more than walls and windows, they hold memories, relationships and a deep sense of belonging. For Possums Community Preschool, our original building was one of those places. In early 2022, like many services across the Northern Rivers, Possums Community Preschool faced a moment that would forever shape our story. The devastating floods that swept through the region did not just damage buildings and infrastructure; they disrupted places of belonging, connection and memory. The loss was profound. For us, it meant saying goodbye to a much-loved preschool building that had been home to generations of children, families and educators. Yet through grief, uncertainty and rebuilding together as a team, our community discovered something important: the strength of Possums had never been the building itself. It was the relationships, resilience and commitment that lived within it, a journey that ultimately led us to achieving the Excellent rating.  

Before the floods, Possums Community Preschool was already an exceeding-rated service under the National Quality Standard. Our beautiful old building sat within a natural landscape that strongly supported our philosophy of nature and place-based pedagogy. The physical environment was deeply woven into our program and our identity. When the floodwaters came, that environment was lost almost overnight.

In the immediate aftermath, our priority was not ratings or processes. It was people.

Children, families and educators were all navigating the emotional impact of the disaster in their own ways. Our service relocated to a temporary demountable building, a stark contrast to the environment we had previously called home. The loss was felt deeply across the community. The physical space that had held so many memories and experiences was gone, and with it a sense of stability.

For our team, acknowledging that grief was an important step forward. Rather than pushing those feelings aside, we allowed space for them to be recognised. Educators spoke openly about the emotional impact of the floods and what the loss of the building meant to them professionally and personally. This collective acknowledgement helped us move through the difficult early stages together.

A conscious shift in thinking followed.

We realised that while we could not control our physical environment, we could still hold onto what mattered most: our relationships with children and families, our sense of belonging and our commitment to meaningful learning. The building had changed, but our values had not.

Slowly, we began to reimagine what Possums could be in this new space.

Our educators leaned deeply into the strengths that had always defined our service. Relationships became the anchor point for our work. Creating a strong sense of belonging for children and families remained central, even within the temporary walls of the demountable. Our nature and place-based approach continued wherever possible, exploring the surrounding environment, connecting with local places and maintaining our respect for the natural world.

We began to see the demountable not simply as a temporary structure, but as a place where new memories could be created. Together with children and families, we worked to transform the space into a home, for now.

This process required determination, creativity and a shared commitment from the entire team. At times, shifting our mindset was difficult. There were moments when the loss of the original building felt overwhelming, and the uncertainty of the future was challenging. But as a team, we made a conscious decision to move the momentum forward, to swing the pendulum from grief towards hope, opportunity and bravery.

Through this, something remarkable happened.

Our team became stronger. Our connections with families deepened. The sense of community within the service grew in ways we had not fully anticipated.

When the time came to undergo Assessment and Rating again, it brought a mixture of emotions. Having already achieved an exceeding rating previously, the process felt daunting. There was also a sense of frustration, knowing that the physical aspects of our environment were beyond our control while we remained in temporary accommodation.

However, the assessment process brought an unexpected perspective.

Our assessor saw something that, in many ways, had become so embedded in our everyday work that we had almost stopped noticing it ourselves. They saw the deep connections within our community. They saw the resilience of the team. They saw a service that had faced extraordinary circumstances yet continued to place children, relationships, safety and learning at the centre of everything it did.

Despite the loss of our original environment, our commitment had never wavered.

It was during this process that we were encouraged to apply for the Excellent rating through ACECQA.

Initially, the idea felt almost surreal. Like many early childhood services, we had always viewed the Excellent rating as something extraordinary, something that perhaps happened elsewhere. But reflecting on our journey helped us see that the story of Possums Community Preschool was not only about loss, but also about resilience, leadership and community.

Submitting the application became an opportunity to tell that story.

When we were notified that Possums Community Preschool had been awarded the Excellent rating, the feeling was one of immense pride and gratitude. Not just for the recognition itself, but for what it represented, the collective strength of a team, the support of families, and the resilience of a community that refused to lose sight of what matters most in early childhood education.

Today, we are still operating from the demountable building while we look towards the future. The journey is ongoing, and the dream of returning to a purpose-built home remains strong.

But if the past few years have taught us anything, it is this: the heart of a preschool is not the building.

It is the people within it.

And at Possums Community Preschool, that heart has never been stronger.

Author

Karen Shackell is the Director of Possums Community Preschool