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Careers at Kiama Downs Community Preschool

Big benefits

💰Above award pay, on average up to 5% more for Educators and on average more than 10% for Teachers (four year trained)

🔍 More non-contact time each week - up to 4 hours on top of award entitlements

🌈 Flexible work options such as rostered days off, compressed work week and part-time hours available

👶 6 weeks parental leave at full pay for primary and secondary carers

👫 60% discount on our Early Learning and Out of School Hours Care services for full-time and part-time employees

📚 Support and financial incentives to further your studies, such as scholarships, time off floor for coursework, study leave and more

🧠 Exclusive professional learning opportunities and access to our Learning Hub with 50+ online modules

🎨 Free access to our Wellbeing Platform which has a wealth of articles, toolkits, podcasts, assessments, programs and more that covers areas related to family, health, life, money, and work

🙏 Free access to Health and Wellbeing webinars

🌈 24/7 access to professional advisors and counselling through our Employee Assistance Program

🏈 Generous discounts with the The Good Guys, and a range of partners with our Family Fun Card (including St George Illawarra Dragons, Early Start Discovery Space and Kai Yoga, Future Steps for Kids and more)

💖 Not-for-profit salary packaging and novated car leasing to reduce the tax you need to pay which means even more money in your weekly pay cheque

📈 Help with making the most of your superannuation, including support and tools or book a time to talk to a super specialist

Big Smiles and Bigger Opportunities

We’re Big Fat Smile. A not-for-profit that plays a pivotal role in the lives of thousands of children and families across Australia. We’re early education enthusiasts, with 40+ community preschools, long day care centres and out of school hours care centres, and a variety of community and inclusion programs. Each one dedicated to giving every child the best start in life. And each well-respected for the work it does.

Due to our size, there are big opportunities for those who want to go further. Right now, we’re looking for superstar Early Childhood Educators and Teachers for our Kiama Downs Community Preschool.

What makes this place special is the unique community spirit that you’ll feel part of. The experienced team of educators and teachers care for around 70 children aged 0-5, in our modern purpose-built facility that has three spacious rooms and a beautiful back yard. With meditation, yoga and brain breaks embedded into our daily routine, it’s just one way we’re looking after everyone’s wellbeing.

More than a job, this is an opportunity to make a child’s world a better, brighter place. Join us and you’ll be smiling too, when you make more of a difference. 

About the centre

Kiama Downs Community Preschool is a modern purpose-built facility with large open-plan play spaces developed from natural outdoor play environments. There is one large yard, which includes a water wall, music wall, outdoor kitchen, chalkboard and painting wall, walking beams, a large sandpit. We even have a stage are where children love transforming into superstar performers. We also take great pride in our vegetable garden where we grow fresh, healthy produce.

We aim to provide inclusive environments with play-based learning. We offer individualised programs in each room to ensure that our programs cater for children’s unique strengths, skills and interests. Working in a multicultural community, the children are encouraged to learn a language and cultural competence.

We work closely with intervention programs and offer a Transition to School program alongside local primary schools to ensure school-readiness for our children.

Meet the centre team

Our team consists of a close-knit group of passionate, experienced educators. In fact, combined we have worked at Kiama Downs Community Preschool for over 38 years. We’ve all formed beautiful relationships with each other and the children and families in our care. There’s a real in it together feeling here, and when the going gets tough (as it sometimes does), our leaders have our backs and we support each other across the three rooms of our service.

Working at Kiama Downs Community Preschool we enjoy the opportunities we have to further our skills and experiences. Four of us are currently undertaking a Certificate III or Diploma Traineeship, others are studying outside of work. Although we have the opportunity to take on additional responsibilities to further our careers in our service, there’s also meaningful career paths in our local OSHC services as 2IC or Centre Director. And our previous Centre Director even took on the role of a Big Fat Smile Operations Manager, overlooking a portfolio of services.

We work hard to provide children at Kiama Downs Community Preschool a safe, fun place to learn and grow. It’s a role we take seriously, which is why we pour as much into the care we give, as the fun we bring. And, boy, is there fun to be had!

Educator jobs in Kiama - Now Hiring

Working with a supportive, expert team in the day-to-day running of our centres, our Early Childhood Educators play a critical role in shaping young minds. Passionate about providing for the care, education and wellbeing of every child in your room, you’ll help create happy, healthy relationships between a child and the most important people in their lives.

Together with the children, their families and your team, you’ll design and deliver colourful learning experiences that match a child’s interests and needs. You’ll work out how each child learns best, and be involved with planning and applying your unique programs, always reflecting and thinking about how we can improve. Building strong relationship with the families, you’ll jointly set goals and keep them updated on the children’s progress against them.

You’ll bring fun, laughter and play to each day, but most importantly, you’ll create magical moments for children to experiment and grow.

Available Positions at Kiama Downs Community Preschool

What you need to succeed

On top of a fun-loving attitude and big smile, the other things we look for in our early childhood educators:

You hold an ACECQA approved qualification, or are working towards a Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care or a Bachelor of Education (Birth to 5 years) – if not – you are willing to work towards a qualification through a Traineeship with Big Fat Smile
You hold a Cleared Valid for Paid Work, (WWCC) or are willing to get one
Passion for creating better outcomes for local children, families and communities
Commitment to making sure the children in your care are safe and healthy
An advocate for ensuring all reasonable steps are taken to protect children from abuse or harm

We share to grow

As leaders in our field with 40+ centres across NSW, we’re never not learning. Or growing. It’s at the heart of everything we do. You’ll have a front row seat to the latest research and thinking on early childhood education. And your own platform for sharing ideas while getting exposure to different practices and reflections across our centres. This is how we grow, get better and solve problems: together.

We're in it together

There’s a real in-it-together feeling here. We’re in it together as teammates and leaders. We’re in it together for our children and each other. This allows us to create a safe and supportive environment for everyone. With clear policies and procedures, you’ll know what to do and what’s expected of you. And with the infrastructure and resources of a big company, you’ll feel supported – at every level.

Big smiles all round

There’s a lot to smile about when you’re bringing fun, laughter and play to each day. Shaping young minds. And doing work you love with people who are as invested as you. When we work together as educators, families and a community to bring out the best in our children, we bring out the best in each other. We create happy, healthy relationships between all the most important people in a child’s life. It’s a job that’s joyful and rewarding.

Empowered to make a real difference

We treasure your expertise as an educator. You’ll be given the freedom to use your judgement and adapt approaches to create imaginative and inspiring ways for children to experiment and grow. And as we’re child-first, you get to design experiences based off your children’s unique needs and interests. Here, you will make each child’s world a better place.

More opportunities to progress your career

Because of our size, there are big opportunities for those who want to go further. You’ll find meaningful career paths with lots of promotions across our community preschools and long day care centres, and our Fun Clubs, offering out of school hours and vacation care. And with professional learning and growth at the heart of everything we do, you’ll have the support to progress anywhere from Certificate III up to Teacher or Director level, or into our head office, centre support, or community and inclusion roles.

At Big Fat Smile, you’ll have a front row seat to the latest research and thinking on early childhood education. Combine this with a platform for sharing ideas, where you’ll reflect on learnings and be exposed to different practices across our centres. This is how we grow, get better and solve problems: together.