Joanne Coils-Mead

Centre Manager - Community Kids Mornington

"As an educator, I have found it is important for us to adapt our teaching styles to suit what the children need, not the other way round."

I began my early childhood education and care career in 2000 and started working at Community Kids Mornington in 2018. I hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Advance Diploma in Community Sector Management.  

Each child is an individual and unique in their own way, they develop in their own time, and there is no right or wrong way in learning. As an educator, I have found it is important for us to adapt our teaching styles to suit what the children need, not the other way round.  

I am very passionate about helping children in their learning and life journey. I want every child to feel safe and secure in their learning environment. We are there to make sure that they are confident to take risks and accept new challenges. But to also know we are there to support them no matter what and help them achieve a positive outcome.  

Children learn from each other, form close bonds with their educators and friends. And this is all beneficial to their learning and development. Being at an early education centre, we focus on the child. We also work closely with the families to ensure we have a learning-rich program with lots of variety for their child.  Some examples of our learning environments include dinosaur exploration, the children telling stories using puppets, camping and the links to bush kinder. 

Our team understands just how important your children are to you, and we ensure we take our responsibilities seriously. At Community Kids, we make sure all children feel safe and secure in their learning environment and treated as an individual. We ensure we follow all correct health and safety policies, and we regularly clean throughout the day. We teach the children about washing their hands and the appropriate times to do this. 

We are more than a team at Community Kids Mornington. We are a family! We have staff members who have been at the centre for many years, with many living in the local community. As a smaller centre, we have the great advantage of getting to know all our families and children no matter what room they may be in. They work together as a team, and their main priority and passion are the children in their care.  

As a parent with their child at the centre, I understand how daunting it is trying to find the perfect centre that fits the needs of yourself and your child. When the parents come into the centre, I talk through the main aspects of the centre and let them know some of the differences we have to other centres. I answer any questions on the spot and reassure them. If parents struggle with the enrolment papers, I am more than happy to talk them through the, as well as setting up their Xplor accounts and organising their Child Care Subsidy (CCS). I do that one step at a time to ensure that the parents understand it.  

Welcome to Community Kids Mornington!