Goodstart Early Learning Pakenham

Did you know we invested $65.5M into our social purpose last year, a 14% increase on the year before? 👏 At Goodstart, we're proud of the impact we have on children, families and communities. As a not‑for‑profit, every dollar we earn is reinvested to improve outcomes – from high‑quality learning and educator development to extra support for children who need it most.
Because when we put children first, the impact goes further 💛

🌟 Meet Our Centre Champions! 🌟

At Goodstart Pakenham, we believe that great leadership is shared. Through distributed leadership, our educators are empowered to lead in areas they are passionate about, strengthening our team and ensuring we continue to provide the highest quality education and care for children and families.

We're excited to introduce our Centre Champions!

💚 Manpreet – RAP & Sustainability Champion
Manpreet leads our commitment to reconciliation and sustainability, supporting our team to embed Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into everyday learning while encouraging environmentally responsible practices that help children become caring custodians of our world.

🥗 Kiran – Food Safety Supervisor
Kiran oversees our food safety practices, ensuring meals are prepared, stored and served safely while maintaining high standards of hygiene and compliance to keep our children healthy and safe.

🦺 Harpreet – Health & Safety Champion
Harpreet supports a strong culture of health and safety by promoting safe work practices, identifying potential risks and helping maintain a safe environment for children, families and our team.

🌈 Sara – Inclusion Champion
Sara works alongside educators to build inclusive practices that ensure every child feels a sense of belonging. She supports our team with inclusion planning, behaviour support strategies, developmental monitoring and Individual Learning Plans so every child has the opportunity to thrive.

We are incredibly proud of these educators for taking on these important leadership roles and helping make Goodstart Pakenham an even stronger place to learn, grow and belong. 💛

The research is clear 📚 reading aloud is one of the most powerful things we can do for our children.

When we read with a child, we’re doing far more than sharing a story. We’re building the foundations for language, confidence, curiosity and a lifelong love of learning.

Decades of research shows that children who are read to regularly:

💛 Build stronger language skills
Hearing rich varied language in books exposes children to far more words than everyday conversation alone. This growing vocabulary helps them understand, communicate and make sense of the world.

💛 Develop early literacy skills long before they learn to read
Through stories, children learn how books work – that print carries meaning, that pages turn left to right, and that stories have a beginning, middle and end. These early understandings make learning to read feel familiar and exciting.

💛 Strengthen phonological awareness
Rhymes, rhythms and playful sounds help children hear the building blocks of language.

💛 Grow their comprehension and thinking skills
Talking together about a story, predicting what might happen, wondering how a character feels, and connecting events to real life helps children develop memory, problem-solving, and higher-order thinking.

💛 Experience connection, comfort and joy
Shared reading fosters calmness, closeness, and moments of joint attention. These warm interactions support a child's sense of security and belonging.

Most importantly, children who experience positive, engaging reading moments from a young age are more likely to develop a genuine love of books - something that matters even more than early literacy skills alone.

Reading is simple, joyful, and sets children up for success in school and life.

Here is a list of some of our favourites below 👇

🌟 June Educator of the Month – Congratulations, Harpreet! 🌟

A huge congratulations to our wonderful Centre Chef, Harpreet, for being voted our June Educator of the Month! 👏💚

Harpreet received so many lovely nominations this month, with comments including:
💚 "Harpreet, you cook delicious food!"
💚 "Thank you for introducing the new winter menu in such a beautiful and inviting way for the children."
💚 "The food always smells amazing."
💚 "The best cook ever!"
💚 "Thank you for listening to our feedback and diversifying the menu."
💚 "Always so helpful and simply the best."

While Harpreet may not work in a role that is directly family-facing every day, the impact she has on our centre community is enormous. Every nutritious meal, every warm smile from the kitchen, and every effort she makes to listen to feedback and continually improve our menu contributes to the health, wellbeing and happiness of our children. Her care, dedication and passion are felt throughout the entire centre, and we are incredibly grateful for everything she does behind the scenes to support our children, families and team.

Each month, families and educators are invited to nominate an educator who has made a positive difference this month. Whether it's through kindness, dedication, support or simply going above and beyond, we'd love to hear why they deserve to be recognised.

Congratulations again, Harpreet! We hope you enjoy your well-deserved recognition! 💚👩‍🍳🎉

🌟 A Proud Moment for Goodstart Pakenham 🌟

We are incredibly honoured to share that our Centre was recently recognised in the Australian Senate, with Senator Lisa Darmanin speaking about our Centre and the important work of early childhood educators.

During her address, Senator Darmanin acknowledged the quality of education and care provided by our team, noting that children leave our kindergarten program confident, capable and ready for school.

We were especially humbled by the recognition of our Centre and the acknowledgement of our incredible educators and management, many of whom have dedicated years to supporting local children and families.

This recognition belongs to our entire community. Our educators, children, families and support teams who make Goodstart Pakenham such a special place to learn, grow and belong.

Thank you for being part of our journey. We couldn't be prouder of what we achieve together every day. ❤️

🌟 Double the Recognition, Double the Celebration! 🌟

We are excited to share that our Educator of the Month for May 2026 resulted in an equal tie!

Congratulations to Sara Z and Iresha, who have both been recognised for their outstanding dedication, hard work, and commitment to our children, families, and team.

Both educators consistently go above and beyond to create warm, engaging, and supportive learning environments, while always lending a helping hand wherever it is needed. Their passion for early childhood education and the positive impact they have on our centre community make this recognition incredibly well deserved.

What makes this award even more special is that it is voted on by our colleagues, families, and children. Alongside the votes, some particularly wonderful comments were shared:

💜 "Sara Z, you are really hard working and the amount of work you are doing in the inclusion space is amazing."

💜 "Iresha, for being so considerate of others, always being a team player and helping with the whole centre."

These comments perfectly capture the qualities that make Sara and Iresha such valued members of our team.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to acknowledge the amazing work of our educators. Please join us in congratulating Sara and Iresha on this fantastic achievement! 👏💐

💛🌿 Our Sea of Hearts 🌿💛

This National Reconciliation Week, our children, families, and educators came together to create a beautiful Sea of Hearts inspired by this year’s theme: “All In for Reconciliation".

Each heart represents connection, respect, kindness, and the role we all play in walking together towards a more united future. Through art, conversations, and shared experiences, we continue to honour and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, histories, and voices.

Being All In means listening, learning, reflecting, and taking action together. ❤️🖤💛