G8 Education welcomes code restricting use of personal phones in early childhood education and care services

Posted on July 2, 2024July 2, 2024 by dli

G8 Education, a leading national provider of quality early education and care, welcomes today’s joint announcement by Federal Minister for Education, The Hon Jason Clare MP, and Federal Minister for Early Childhood Education and Minster for Youth, The Hon Dr Anne Aly MP, introducing a new voluntarily National Model Code and Guidelines for the use of personal phones in early childhood education and care services.

G8 Education’s Chief Executive Officer Pejman Okhovat confirmed G8 Education’s support of the voluntary code that forms part of a range of actions Federal, State and Territory Governments are taking to respond to the 16 recommendations of the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) Review of Child Safety Arrangements under the National Quality Framework.

“G8 Education is committed to a culture of safety where safeguarding children within our centres is paramount. We are encouraged by the joint release of the code as a benchmark standard to ensure the safety of children is always the number one priority,” Mr. Okhovat said.

“The safety and wellbeing of children in our care is our highest priority which is reflected in the practices and supporting polices that guide the operations in our centres. The operations in our centres have aligned with the guidelines outlined in the voluntary code for several years.

“We unreservedly welcome its release and encourage all sector operators to adopt the voluntary code and to ensuring personal electronic and mobile devices are not taken into areas where children are present.”

G8 Education Appoints Linda Carroll as Chief People Officer

Posted on July 1, 2024July 2, 2024 by dli

G8 Education, a leading national provider of quality early education and care, is pleased to announce the appointment of Linda Carroll as Chief People Officer (CPO).

Joining the Executive Leadership team, Linda will play a pivotal role in cultivating a performance-driven culture, guided by G8 Education’s purpose and values. With more than a decade of sector-specific experience and the ability to lead high-performing teams, Linda brings invaluable expertise to her new role.

G8 Education’s Chief Executive Officer Pejman Okhovat expressed his enthusiasm for Linda’s appointment.

“We are thrilled to welcome Linda to our Executive Leadership Team; her experience and proven track record in the education sector make her an ideal fit for G8 Education,” Mr. Okhovat shared.

“We are confident Linda will play a pivotal role in driving our performance culture and aligning our people with our core values of passion, innovation, dedication, compassion, and integrity.”

Transitioning to G8 Education from Affinity Education Group, where she has been serving as CPO, Linda’s appointment is poised to bring a wealth of experience and knowledge to the organisation.

“I am delighted to be joining G8 Education and I am eager to contribute to the organisation’s purpose in delivering quality care and early education to children from all backgrounds,” Ms. Carroll said.

“I believe in the power of people to drive organisational success and I am committed to fostering a culture where everyone can thrive and achieve their best.”

Linda’s accolades, including HR Director of the Year award at the Australian HR Awards in 2019, underscore her dedication to her field. With expertise spanning people and culture transformation, talent acquisition, capability development, employee and industrial relations, and engagement, she is well-positioned to steer G8 Education towards continued success.

New partnership a positive move to address workforce demands of early childhood education sector

Posted on June 7, 2024June 7, 2024 by dli

A new partnership between TAFE Queensland and G8 Education will support the learning and development of Queensland’s early childhood education workforce with access to nationally recognised fully funded qualifications.

Approximately 1,400 G8 Education team members across 65 Queensland centres will have the opportunity to achieve a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, and the Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care alongside their current employment.

In addition, the partnership will offer more than 200 school-based traineeships, that will provide a career pathway for high school students across the state.

TAFE Queensland’s Chief Executive Officer, John Tucker said skilled workers are currently in high demand in the early education sector, and providing training and development opportunities will enable G8 educators to upskill and progress their career while employed in the sector.

“Offering new and existing G8 team members with fully funded qualifications is a positive incentive for them to stay in the sector and will ultimately achieve better outcomes for children through a workforce that is more highly qualified, skilled and valued,” said Mr Tucker.

“The partnership provides early educators with new professional pathways to develop their career, while supporting G8 Education with a learning and development program for their existing and potential team members.”

The three-year partnership improves access to training with more than 20 TAFE Queensland locations from North Queensland to the Gold Coast and west to the Darling Downs region offering Early Childhood Education and Care courses both online and on-campus.

G8 Education’s Acting Chief People and Culture Officer, Stewart Silk said the partnership is a positive and future focused initiative that will support the ongoing formal learning and development needs of G8 Education team members and will support high school students seeking to work in the sector.

“Our partnership with TAFE Queensland provides all our Queensland team members with access to sector leading teaching and learning facilities at their local TAFE Queensland campus which will provide a quality and consistent learning outcome which we are really excited about,” he said.

“Studying with TAFE Queensland, Australia’s 2023 Large Training Provider of the Year, team members at G8 Education’s childcare centres will receive the highest quality of training in Australia.”

This strategic partnership highlights the commitment of both TAFE Queensland and G8 Education to the professional development of early childhood educators but also sets a precedent for how educational institutions and private sector entities can collaborate to foster lifelong learning and career progression.

G8 Education welcomes inclusion in Australia’s Top 10 desirable workplaces list

Posted on May 22, 2024May 22, 2024 by dli

G8 Education has welcomed its inclusion at fifth spot in Randstad’s Australia’s Top 10 desirable workplaces list.

G8 Education’s Acting Chief People Officer Stewart Silk said as Australia’s largest ASX-listed early childhood and care provider, we feel proud to be recognised as one of the nation’s top ten attractive employers.

“Our purpose is to create the foundations for learning for life, and we recognise our team members are at the core of delivering on our purpose for families at our centres,” he shared.

“In recent months we’ve increased our team retention on the prior year and our teacher retention has also increased. This was achieved by focusing on ongoing employee education and other workplace factors including the health and well-being of our people.

“We know our people choose G8 Education to do meaningful work with a shared purpose to help shape the lives and minds of thousands of children attending our services every day while creating a fun, inspiring and safe place where all children thrive,” Silk said.

G8 Education welcomes funding commitment to support Early Childhood Education sector

Posted on May 15, 2024 by dli

G8 Education has welcomed the Federal Government’s budget commitment to support the Early Childhood Education sector that includes a commitment to fund wage increases for early childhood educators and investment in inclusion support, to support children with additional needs.

The Government’s budget commitment signals its support for Early Childhood Education sector workers against the backdrop of the ongoing Multi-Employer Bargaining (MEB) Agreement process.

G8 Education will continue to advocate for the whole sector and will be at the table and committed to working towards an outcome that achieves a fully funded wage subsidy.

As the largest childcare operator to join the MEB process, G8 Education is committed to continuing to work closely with the Government, Unions and the Fair Work Commission to ensure the best outcome for educators in the sector.

G8 Education looks forward to further clarification around this wage increase being released through the ongoing MEB bargaining process and we remain committed to being at the forefront of this process as we continue to work hard to advocate for our educators and the sector.