Wattle & Fern Early Learning
Centre Director · Grad Dip Ed Leadership
I opened Wattle & Fern in 2016 because I wanted a centre where children get dirty, grow things and feel truly known. Come and see a morning — you'll find gumboots by the door and children who can't wait to check on the worms.
Educational Leader · B. Ed (Early Childhood)
I'm the educational leader, which mostly means I chase an idea until it becomes a project — the worm farm started with one child asking where the scraps go and ran a whole term. I mentor our newer educators and keep our planning honest.
Lead Educator, Kindergarten · B. Ed (Early Childhood)
I lead our kinder program and I'm happiest outside — bush kinder, mud kitchen and long conversations over the veggie beds. I run our twice-yearly transition visits so the move to big school feels gentle, not scary.
Nursery Room Leader · Dip. ECEC
I lead the Nursery and write the daily sheet every parent reads at pickup — who slept, who ate, who finally rolled over. Six years in this room: I know which baby settles by the window and which one needs the low garden door open.
Nursery Educator · Cert III ECEC
I do the morning bottle round and the first garden walk — the babies go out in the pram-train past the tomatoes before the big kids are even awake. I trained here as a Cert III student and never left.
Toddlers Room Leader · Dip. ECEC
The Toddlers are mine, and my one firm rule is aprons optional, gumboots not — we're in the mud kitchen and feeding the worm farm every day, rain included. I toilet-train at each child's pace, never on a roster.
Kindergarten Educator · Dip. ECEC
I'm in the Kindergarten room with Tessa, and Thursday bush kinder is my favourite day — I carry the first-aid pack and the magnifying jars down to the creek and mostly try to keep up. I help run the term-3 transition visits to the local primary.
Centre Cook · Cert III Commercial Cookery
I cook every meal on site, and half the fun is what the children bring me from the garden — a fistful of herbs, the first cherry tomatoes, a zucchini the size of my arm. If they grew it, we find a way to cook it.