More about Hayley
What are you studying?
I’m getting my graduate diploma in early childhood education because I want to become an ECT (early childhood teacher). So it was a really good opportunity for me to be able to do it that way.
How long have you been working in the industry?
This would be my sixth year.
What are the other benefits of becoming an ECT?
I want just to like broaden my knowledge some more. I started doing, I started as a trainee back in 2017. So I did my Certificate III, I've done my diploma, and now I'm doing like my graduate diploma and I just want to be able to support the children more. Especially if you're an ECT, you're able to help them with that transition to big school and give them the opportunities to feel comfortable, knowing that they're going to be able to do transition because we've helped to support them, they feel safer and they feel more confident going into such a big change.
“I like working in the industry because I get to be there for the children. You get to help support them, obviously their families support them, but you get to help support them in a lot of ways. You learn about how children develop and the different skills that the children learn at different times and then you can help them to refine those skills. And then you just give them the confidence so that they know that they are supported.”
How has the Fraser Foundation scholarship helped you?
If I didn't have the scholarship, well I would've been able to do it, especially at like this point in time. We're building a house, we also have our daughter and she's about to go to school like next year, so we didn't exactly have any extra money to chuck on me doing my study again. So it was helpful about fact that I could actually be able to go and do it, and actually do the study that I wanted to do and not have the barrier of financial issues.
Why do you like working in this industry?
I like working in the industry because I get to be there for the children. You get to help support them, obviously their families support them, but you get to help support them in a lot of ways. You learn about how children develop and the different skills that the children learn at different times and then you can help them to refine those skills. And then you just give them the confidence so that they know that they are supported.
Relationships, it's not just with the children, with the families as well. You get to build those relationships and the families like get to feel supported - you are part of their village.
I would say that maybe some people don't realise just how much work goes into it. Because it's not just play. We are building those relationships with teaching, helping to teach skills, helping them to reach milestones. And I think that sometimes people just think, ‘oh no, it's just babysitting.’
We've actually had parents who have decided to work with the industry, after having their children here because they've seen how much work actually goes into it. But I know that's what I want to do. I want to be able to do that and makes a change.