Dr Leanne Gibbs, Sarah Wilcox, Amanda Tobler, Teresa Thomas and Katherine Hellwig

Sarah Wilcox, Operations Manager, Wonderschool with over 30 years’ experience in both the profit and non-profit sectors, a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Sarah Bampton and Teresa Thomas, Quality Engagement Program, CECA, ACT Education Directorate. Katherine Hellwig, Executive Director of Children’s Services and Emily Andrews, Quality Support Officer, YWCA Canberra

Dr Leanne Gibbs, Senior Lecturer, School of Education,Charles Sturt University specialising in leadership, policy, and advocacy in early childhood education. A published author, podcaster, and Board Member, Leanne brings deep expertise in organisational leadership and workforce development,championing children’s rights and ECEC sector advancement nationally and internationally.

Children’s Education and Care Assurance (CECA) hosted itssecond ACT Early Childhood Education and Care Symposium at the National Museum of Australia.

This year it explored governance requirements under the National Quality Framework and how to embed good governance in ECEC.

Attendees were welcomed by Minister Yvette Berry, DeputyChief Minister, Minister for Early Childhood Development and Minister for Education, who spoke about the Legacy building work of developing new leaders in the sector.

Respected academic Dr Leanne Gibbs from Charles SturtUniversity talked about good governance and leadership theory in early childhood settings and the realities that come with it. She spoke about her own varied experience and about developing empowered teams who are accountable and responsible even touching on embracing compliance to foster high-quality governance and leadership.

The CECA Quality Engagement Program Team who presented on Quality, its roads blocks, questions and how to leadership and governance promote sustainable quality improvement. YWCA Colleagues shared their Quality Improvement plan journey and learnings from the being part of the Quality Engagement Program.

Sarah Wilcox, from Wonderschool, with over 30 years’experience in both the profit and non-profit sectors, a Bachelor of Early Childhood Studies and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors discussed what good governance looks like in practice, including the responsibilities of those in management positions.

The ACT ECEC Professional Learning Network and theleadership group who are supporting the design and implementation were introduced by Amanda Tobler, from ELM, a dedicated advocate for children and young people. With over 30 years of experience in the social services sector, including early education and care.

The symposium concluded with a panel discussionabout governance and leadership

Full recording of all presentations.

This meeting concluded with a panel discussion involving presenters and OSHC sector representatives.

Communities at Work colleagues shared insights on engaging and collaborating with children, families and the wider school community to enhance educational programs. Provider level quality assurance systems, and critical reflection strategies were also shared with participants.

CECA’s Quality Assurance Assistant Directors Jessica Annerley and LaurenKapper provided an overview of the quality in ACT OSHC settings and diverseways that OSHC can meet or exceed the NQF.

National and local National Out of School Hours Services Alliance (NOSHSA)representatives provided an update on current priorities, activities andinitiatives of NOSHSA.