Kindergarten teacher, Auckland Kindergarten Association

Vicki Wright has a passion for helping children to play and learn. Picture / Kenny Rodger

Name: Vicki Wright
Age: 43
Role: Head teacher, Anchorage Park Kindergarten, Pakuranga, Auckland
Working hours: 40 hours, plus love and dedication
Average pay: Starting with a degree $38,277, head teacher top salary $58,376
Qualifications: Diploma in Early Childhood, Bachelor of Teaching and Learning: Early Childhood, teacher registered

Describe how you got this job?

As my family were growing up I attended playcentre and did playcentre training. I started working part-time and doing my diploma by correspondence.

As part of that you have to visit other centres and I visited two kindergartens from the Auckland Kindergarten Association and really developed a love and affinity with the philosophy in which I could see the learning happening.

As soon as I graduated, I applied for a teacher's job at another kindergarten. I was a teacher for three years and then applied for this job.

Describe what you do?

We have fun and we laugh. We have two sessions with 73 children a day - 43 in the morning and 30 in the afternoon.

As the head teacher, I have full responsibility for the kindergarten. That is for health and safety, maintenance, administration, communication with the community and parents, planning, and meeting requirements. We have to seek grants and set goals for fundraising.

On top of that, we plan the children's learning and set up the environment.

You support the team so you are providing the highest quality education you can.

What have you had to do to succeed at this job?

You have to be able laugh at the good things and learn fromany mistakes. You have to be committed to challenge yourself and be prepared to develop your own practice.

What sort of training or experience do you need?

Within the Auckland Kindergarten Association, you need a diploma or degree and then to work towards teacher registration after two years.

What skills and qualities do you need?

You have to have a passion to be with children. You have to enjoy all the learning and the interaction and have the patience to work with children. You also have to be flexible in your approach and take feedback.

You need to be able to work as part of a team and to communicate with people from diverse ethnicities and culture and with different language abilities. You need to be a manager, an administrator and an educator.

Best part of the job?

I love working with children, sharing and acknowledging the learning that is happening. The lovely children's anecdotes that come out, the expressions and the delight they get in what they have learned.

Knowing what you are doing matters and makes a difference. And also the relationship you build with the families. You are working together with the parents and it is a special relationship.

Most challenging part?

Learning to put on many hats at the right time. One minute you will be totally involved developing a forest inside and then the next minute you need to be able to move into play that is happening in another area and then turn on the administration hat.

How do you define success in this job?

The smallest things, the smiles and thank yous, the hugs, the nods, the children's delight in sharing with each other and their families what has happened.

What are your career hopes for future?

To challenge and develop my own practice and my leadership and to be a mentor to students and peers.

If I wanted a job like yours, how would I go about it, and what qualifications would I need?

I believe you have to find the right institute that has the right vision about the sort of educator you want to be. You should research the different providers and find the one that you feel you are going to be able to grow with. Find the one that is more challenging because at the end of it you will have risen to a level you didn't think you could go to.

What advice would you have for someone contemplating a career like yours?

Foremost, you have to have a passion to want to be with children and to work with children. The desire to be the best and to provide them with the best only comes through if it is genuine.

You have to be prepared to be flexible, to learn from others and not just think that your way is the right way, to work hard and develop different skills.