A decade measured in childhoods

Ten years means something different when your work is centred around children. For an organisation, a decade is a milestone. It invites us to look back, consider what has been achieved and think about what comes next. In the life of a child, however, ten years can be everything they have known. 

The figures in our anniversary e-book located at the foot of this article tell an extraordinary story of growth, and they deserve to be celebrated. But when I think about the first decade of St Nicholas, I don’t begin with figures. 

I think about morning handovers, when a parent places their trust, and often a very small hand, in ours. I think about the educator who learns what makes a child laugh, how they like to be comforted and when they need a little more encouragement. I think about the child who arrives at OOSH after a long day at school and finds a familiar face and a place where they can simply be themselves. I think about a trainee discovering that working with children is not just a job, but the beginning of a deeply rewarding career. 

When our first Early Education centres opened in Newcastle West and Singleton in 2016, our purpose was clear: to create places where children would feel safe, supported, known and able to thrive. Ten years later, St Nicholas looks very different in scale. Early Education, OOSH and Pathways now reach children, families and aspiring educators across the Diocese. Our services are embedded in communities and closely connected with Catholic Schools, creating a seamless educational pathway for children from their earliest years through to school and beyond. 

Growth has given us the opportunity to support more people, while remaining firmly anchored in the purpose with which we began. Children are at the centre of our decisions, families are welcomed and heard and our educators are supported to do their best work. The trust placed in us is something we work to earn every day. 

Families are navigating cost-of-living pressures and need care that is affordable and responsive to the realities of working life. Access is uneven, particularly in growing and regional communities. Across the sector, workforce shortages and workload pressures continue to affect the ability to attract and retain skilled educators. 

At the same time, serious concerns about child safety have rightly brought greater scrutiny to every part of our sector. Providers are being asked to look closely at their culture and systems, and to demonstrate that the safety and wellbeing of children come before every other consideration. This scrutiny is necessary. We should welcome anything that makes services safer and gives families greater confidence. 

For St Nicholas, child safety cannot exist only in policies, procedures or ratings. It must be visible in our environments, the way children are supervised, the way concerns are raised and acted upon and the way children themselves are listened to. Compliance is the baseline. Our goal must always be a culture in which every person understands that protecting children is their responsibility, and their priority. 

Strong relationships require skilled, supported and consistent educators. Securing the Australian Government Worker Retention Grant and delivering the associated wage increase to eligible educators was an important recognition of this work, but pay is only part of the answer. St Nicholas Pathways is helping to develop the next generation of professionals by giving school students and other aspiring educators qualifications, practical experience and a supported entry into the sector. 

Our ambition is not to fill a map with St Nicholas locations, but to help more families access trusted education and care where there is community need. Being part of the Catholic Diocese of Maitland-Newcastle gives that ambition a deeper purpose. We are contributing to communities where children are valued, families feel supported and people are given opportunities to learn and grow. 

By the time St Nicholas marks its 20th anniversary, a child born today will be 10 years old. A child beginning Early Education with us now may be preparing to start secondary school. They will not remember how many services we operated or how many care sessions we delivered. They may remember the educator who noticed they were unusually quiet, the first friend they made or the OOSH service where they felt at home after school. Their family may remember the person who listened when they were worried and helped them feel that their child was understood. In the life of a child, these moments can be defining. 

That is how I hope we measure the next decade. Not only by how many children and families we support, but by how well we support them. Not simply by growth, but by the trust we earn, the safety we uphold, the people we invest in and the sense of belonging we create. 

To every child, family, educator, trainee, school, parish, community partner and team member who has been part of St Nicholas over the past decade, thank you.