The Margaret River Community Centre for Children (MRCCC) is one of 10 centres across Australia participating in a national and international research project looking at educators' work in exemplary early childhood education and care (ECEC) services.
MRCCC is a family-oriented, child-centred long day care centre, focusing on inclusivity and interculturalism.
Last week, Suzanne Richardson, a member of the research team from Macquarie University, visited MRCCC at the Margaret River Community Centre on Tunbridge Street for the final phase of the project.
Ms Richardson has worked with MRCCC coordinator, Amber Fairbrass and her team of educators to explore the centre's approach to ensuring quality programs for children.
On the most recent visit Ms Richardson worked closely with three of the educators to understand the nature of their everyday work.
"We are very proud of our involvement in this research and being selected as a case study for researchers to examine what it takes to provide exemplary early childhood education and care," said Ms Fairbrass.
The aim of the project is to identify how educators support continuous quality improvement, plus develop a deeper understanding of the nature and complexity of exemplary early childhood educators' work, in order to directly address the misconception underlying the causes of educator shortages.
MRCCC has attained the rating of Exceeding in all National Quality Standard and is one of only two centres in Western Australia invited to participate in the research.
The project is being undertaken by early childhood researchers from three Australian universities (Macquarie, Charles Sturt, and Queensland University of Technology) and two international universities (Manchester Metropolitan [UK] and Rutgers [USA]).
The project is funded by the Australian Research Council and eight Partner Organisations that include providers of ECEC, unions and advocacy groups.
For more information on the centre, visit https://mrcc.com.au/childcare, call 08 9757 2520 or email childcare@mrcc.com.au
