On Wednesday 2 September, Australia's early learning sector marks Early Childhood Educators' Day, a national day of recognition for the more than 200,000 educators who care for and educate our youngest children. This year's theme, The Future Starts With Us, speaks directly to the responsibility our educators carry: what happens in a classroom today shapes who a child becomes tomorrow. It's been a big year for early education in Australia, and today is about the people who've kept showing up for children and families through all of it.
Across Affinity Education Group's network - Milestones, Papilio, Kids Academy and Aussie Kindies - thousands of educators bring this responsibility to life every day. They are early childhood teachers, educators and support staff, and their work goes well beyond the qualifications on their certificates.
Beyond the qualification
Great early childhood education is built on genuine training and evidence-based practice. But what shapes a child's experience is what educators do with that expertise - the relationships they build, the small moments they notice, the steady presence that helps a child feel safe enough to learn, try and grow. It's this combination of professional skill and personal care that makes the difference, and it's what we're proud to celebrate this Educators' Day.
Education is one of the most important forces for positive change in society. Inspiring curiosity, building children's confidence, and creating opportunities for their growth in safe environments - that's something educators do every single day.
On behalf of the Executive Leadership Team and the Affinity Board, thank you for your dedication, professionalism and commitment, and for the difference you make in the lives you influence and the futures you create.
Glen Hurley, CEO, Affinity Education Group
Thank you to our sponsors
This year, we're proud to be working with a range of partners who are helping us celebrate Australia's early childhood educators:
- Woolworths@Work(opens in new tab) - workplace savings and benefits for our teams
- COS (opens in new tab) - early learning resources and equipment
- Modern Teaching Aids(opens in new tab) - educational resources supporting quality learning environments
- Goldelucks(opens in new tab) - gifting and celebration treats for our centres
Their support helps us mark this day properly, and we're grateful for it.
Ways to say thank you this year
Every centre has posters and cards for families to share a message in person, and some centres have also set up VidDay(opens in new tab), which makes it easy to pull together photos, video clips and messages from the whole family into a single video tribute. VidDay has generously provided free videos for all our centres this year. If you'd like to put one together, check with your centre via Storypark to see if they've set up a link for their team. It's a favourite around our own Centre Support Office too - our executive and centre support team used VidDay this year to share their own thank you message with every centre team across the network.
You don't need to post it on social media for a thank you to matter - a face-to-face moment, a note on the noticeboard, or a message via Storypark means just as much as anything shared online.
To every educator across Milestones(opens in new tab), Papilio(opens in new tab), Kids Academy, Aussie Kindies and the wider Affinity network: thank you.
If their work has ever made you consider a career alongside them, you can explore opportunities on our Careers page.
And if you're looking for a centre near you, you can find one here.
The future starts with you.
Early Childhood Educators' Day is a national initiative of the Australian Childcare Alliance, held on the first Wednesday of September each year.
For more visit: earlychildhoodeducatorsday.org.au(opens in new tab)