Preschool and kindergarten teachers arguably do the most important job of all: nurturing the next generation as their brain is developing, and they are developing their skills and knowledge.
It's a challenging and fulfilling profession that makes an enormous contribution to the lives and learnings of Australian children aged 3-5.
But what makes early learning such a special pathway for a teacher? And how does it compare to school?
We reveal some of the incredible and lesser-known perks of working as a teacher at Goodstart Early Learning:
You get to be a part of the first five years
You get to be a huge part of children’s most formative years. You’ll play a role in the vital period in their continuing learning, development and wellbeing in the years before school. How special is that?
And you get to see their development right before your eyes because it happens at a rapid rate.
You maximise age-appropriate play-based curriculum and pedagogy
Babies and young children are just as unique as they are individual. Discover the freedom to support each child’s growth and development!
The play-based curriculum allows you to support children’s learning by planning enriching experiences based on their interests and individual capabilities. Isn’t that awesome?
You’ll be in the perfect place for people-people
Early learning is the best place for people who love people! In a Goodstart teaching role, you’ll practice place-based and relational pedagogy – meaning teaching supported by the physical environment as well as the learner’s interpersonal networks.
So, you’ll get to use a holistic approach to build meaningful relationships with children, their families and the wider community. Think collaborating with families on projects and inviting local community members to participate in the educational program. For example, a vet coming to talk to the children about her job or partnership with First Nations Elders to learn about this land and its resources.
You’ll have more freedom and fun at work!
By that, we mean more professional autonomy.
You get true flex to understand children's individual needs and interests then create and deliver effective, high-quality teaching environments and enabling learning opportunities to suit them.
And we see the value in nurturing community connection through incursions and excursions. That means plenty of educational field trips!
You can access seriously amazing support
When you choose to teach at Goodstart, we’ve got your back.
You’ll work in a small team and consistent environment with extra early childhood professionals as per ratios required in early learning. And you’ll have on-the-ground support for children who need it most.
When you start, you’ll join the Teacher Mentor Program where you get your own mentor! They can help with registration and accreditation as well as ideas and direction.
You’ll also access a national and state-based Teacher Professional Program team and centre support teams year-round.
You can also tap into the dedicated Goodstart Practice and Inclusion Helpdesk for info, guidance and coaching. Call them up any time with questions about teaching, learning, practice and inclusion or to connect to more specialised or complex support.
You get epic professional development and career progression
Our paid staff meetings build team culture, reflective practice, continuous improvement and professional growth.
Stay up to date with access to experts and professional learning resources on our Learning Hub. These are informed by the latest research and aligned to the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers.
There’s potential to upskill during regular work hours and progress your career through leadership at centre level or in the centre support teams (pedagogy and coaching).
You get awesome discounts and perks
The benefits that come with a job at Goodstart are massive. Teachers get a generous 50% off childcare gap fees and four weeks of paid parental leave (increasing to six weeks from December 2023).
There are discounts across a range of experiences and retailers. And because we’re a not-for-profit, you can get tax benefits through salary sacrificing your childcare fees, rent, car loan, fuel and more – meaning more money in your bank.
You can also access counselling and support through our Employee Assistance Program.
You can be clever with your annual leave
When teaching at Goodstart, you have another amazing benefit: the option to purchase up to four weeks of additional annual leave.
And you will not be expected to do any work on your time off – holidays are just for you.
Plus, you can take your leave throughout the year, rather than during prescribed school holiday periods. Hello, off-peak prices and capacities!
You have a great work/life balance
In the school system, you tend to only get limited hours for programming. But our offering is more generous – and you can negotiate to complete your programming hours at home.
And forget unpaid overtime! When you teach at Goodstart, you’re paid for all the hours you work – including staff meetings and professional development – and any additional overtime is paid.
You get all the feels – and plenty of laughs!
Rediscover the pure joy of early childhood. From cuddles at story time to thank-yous at the end of the day, you’ll be working with children who will gain the most benefit of learning than at any other time in education.
You’ll support young children as they develop friendship skills with their peers. And you'll help them to express themselves and their understanding of the world through multimedia resources such as creative arts, using technology and recreating stories with new endings.
You’ll often find yourself singing, dancing and playing like a five-year-old while marveling at the hilarious and witty things the children come out with as they express the ideas their imagination creates.
So, what’s stopping you? Among our 661 centres Australia-wide, there will be one near you.
We have 266 centres offering government approved kindergarten programs in QLD and WA, 182 offering Three-Year-Old Kinder in VIC and 213 offering preschool in NSW, ACT, SA, NT and TAS.