What if you could plan for a family knowing you were completely supported by your employer as a parent?
Working within an industry where children are #1 has its advantages, and here at Affinity Education we strive to be #1 in supporting your parenthood journey.
Our National Pregnancy and Parenting Support Program starts the day you decide to start a family. Our Centres and Center Support Office understand that even in the early days, mothers and fathers can use some support. We do this through providing access to counselling and informative resources, flexibility for appointments and internal support from the start.
Your Manager, along with our People and Culture Team work to develop a risk management plan during pregnancy at work. This individualized pathway program is flexible and can change throughout the pregnancy journey. For an educator working with 0–2-year old's, a part of this program will also include room and duty changes to reduce the risk of Cytomegalovirus (CMV) to our at-risk staff members, maintaining a safe and supportive work environment.
Expecting parents have support when organizing Centrelink Paid Parental Leave, including encouragement to utilise the complete 18 weeks and create customised return-to-work programs to ensure the transition back to work is as straightforward as possible.
This program includes keep in touch days, welcoming breastfeeding-friendly area for when mothers are breastfeeding, pumping or bottle-feeding their babies at work and we encourage teachers and educators to enroll their children in their own centres where possible to create a more relaxed transition into childcare.
In March 2022 Affinity proudly announced our accreditation with the Australian Breastfeeding Association, and we maintain our commitment to ensuring that our workplaces across Australia offer safe and welcoming spaces for breastfeeding employees. Our parents also use these spaces while their babies are enrolled in our centres.
We sat down with some of our recently returned parents to discuss how the Parenting Support Program worked for their transition through pregnancy and returning to work.
Watch their story below.
Are you ready to become an Early Childhood Educator or Teacher? Contact our People & Culture experts for a confidential discussion on 07 3515 771 or [email protected].