A new Dawn for Playhouse Educare

WITH 26 years of professional experience in childcare behind her, Playhouse Educare's new centre manager, Dawn O'Dowd is looking forward to facing the challenges of her new role.
"I'm only in my second week here," said Dawn, "but so far both the staff and the children have been really good. I feel that in a short time, we've all bonded well it's great."
Dawn's first experience with childcare was as a mum, using the services of a childcare provider for her own children.
From her maternal experience of the job, she realised that childcare was a career she would love to get into and enrolled in a New Zealand Childcare Association Course in Palmerston North, eventually completing a Diploma in Early Childhood.
Dawn's first jobs in childcare were in Palmerston North where she worked at the Kinderheim Child Care Centre, the Hokowhitu Children's Centre, the YWCA and Turitea Agricultural Research.
More recently she has worked at Rainbow Childcare Centres in both Hawera and Stratford. Although only new to Playhouse Educare, Dawn already feels she knows everybody well and is especially enjoying getting to know the young parents of the children in the centre.
"Working with young parents provides me with a good challenge. It's like working with first-time parents - I'm not just helping them out by looking after their children, I'm being supportive and helping them understand parenthood."
Playhouse Educare, while open to all members of the community, is linked to the Teen Parent Unit administered by Stratford's Community Learning Centre and it is the link to teen parents that Dawn particularly likes.
"It's such a great community facility. It's based on giving young people a second-chance at their education, helping them to stay ahead in life."
Dawn, a fully registered early childhood teacher with the New Zealand Teacher's Council, shares her teaching load with another full time staff member and a part-timer who is completing her own Diploma in Early Childhood.
Although she loves the teaching side of her role, she realises the importance of the management side too, and the centre has just had its Education Review Office (ERO) assessment.
"I believe we should always be trying to improve things and that ERO inspections give us important goals and identify what our challenges will be in the future. We know where to go and what to do next."
Future plans for the centre include the construction of entirely new buildings, and Dawn identifies this as a big stepping-stone in the future life of Playhouse Educare.
As she settles into her new role, Dawn is very positive about how things are going.
"The children here are really friendly and I definitely feel there is a lot of good will and community spirit behind the centre."
Playhouse Educare is open to all members of the community as well as parents from the Teen Parent Unit and is presently licensed for 20 0-5-year-olds. If you would like to learn more about the centre itself, call 765 0401.