Bernice MathieMorris, Director of Early Learning at Bomaderry Community Preschool (BCPS), shared that effective governance and leadership, Quality Area 7, have a significant impact on quality learning and development for children.

“Well established and constructive leadership and governance underpins all six of the other Quality Areas,” she said.

“If Quality Area 7 is deeply embedded in service operations, informed by critical reflection, and developed with collaboration across the whole preschool community, then all other quality areas should be equally effective.”

The leadership team at BCPS have a solid and well-understood statement of philosophy which forms the basis of their effective leadership and governance.

“Time must be spent as a team developing a deep understanding of the service philosophy, whilst ensuring the voices of the children and parents are also included,” Bernice shared.

“Our service’s statement of philosophy is clearly articulated and underpins all of our decisions, practices and policies, expressing a strong commitment to continuous improvement.”

This commitment to continuous improvement means the BCPS leadership team encourages a variety of self-assessment processes, in line with Element 7.2.1.

“Self-assessment at BCPS takes many forms and includes children, families, the wider community and educators, through many different self-assessment processes such as surveys, discussions, casual feedback, and collaborative discussions,” Bernice said.

“The educator team engages in a formal self-assessment process annually, and informally on a spontaneous basis.”

“The formal aspect involves a written reflective process, with educators critically reflecting on their knowledge, skills and engagement in all areas of service provision. Educators are then actively involved in developing learning goals.”

“An important part of this reflective process is to also identify and share areas of strength.”

Collaboration and whole team involvement are vital elements of the self-assessment process, with all team members developing a sense of ownership and understanding of what contributes to a high-quality education and care service.

After the completion of self-assessment, BCPS’s Quality Improvement Plan (QIP) is updated and used as a working document to drive quality improvement, a document that outlines and supports the embedding of continuous improvement across all 7 Quality Areas.

“The building of knowledge, skills, confidence, innovation, artistry and striving for continuous improvement is central to the professional development of all educators at BCPS,” Bernice said.

“My role as an educational leader involves empowering the team to aspire towards a space where each member inspires, challenges and supports each other towards practices that deliver high quality outcomes.

“Although we are at different stages, we are all on the same journey of continuous improvement.”