InspirED Competition Rules

Official InspirED competition rules

Eligibility – This contest is open to all educators currently employed by Little Scholars School of Early Learning within Queensland, Australia. Employees must be in good standing at the time of entry and selection to be eligible.

Contest period -The contest begins on 26 April 2024 at 9:00 AM AEST and ends on 28 June 2024 at 11:59 PM AEST. Entries submitted before or after this period will not be considered.

How to enter – Participants must submit their innovative idea for advancing early education through the official submission form provided by Little Scholars. The submission should include a detailed description of the idea, the proposed implementation plan, and the anticipated impact on early education practices. Each educator is allowed one entry.

Judging criteria – Submissions will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

Innovation and creativity
Feasibility of implementation
Potential impact on early education practices
Clarity and coherence of presentation
Addressing challenges

A panel of judges, comprising Little Scholars leadership and external experts in early childhood education, will review the submissions.

Prize – The winning entry will receive a $1,000 travel voucher or one week of annual leave for individual entries, and for a group entry a equipment & resource voucher or group event to the value of $2,500. The prize is non-transferable and cannot be exchanged for cash. The winner is responsible for any expenses not explicitly included in the prize description.

Winner selection – The winner will be announced in August 2024 at a special event/through official Little Scholars communication channels. The decision of the judges will be final and binding on all matters related to this contest.

Intellectual property – By entering the contest, participants grant Little Scholars a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, publish, and display their submissions in all media for promotional and any other purposes related to the contest or the company.

Privacy – Personal information collected from participants will be used by Little Scholars solely for the purpose of administering the contest and awarding the prize, in accordance with Little Scholars’ privacy policy.

Compliance – This contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local laws and regulations. Void where prohibited by law.

Liability release – By participating, entrants agree to release and hold harmless Little Scholars and its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, and agents from any and all liability for any injuries, loss, or damage of any kind arising from or in connection with this contest or receipt or use of any prize.
Acceptance of rules – Participation in the contest constitutes the entrant’s full and unconditional agreement to these Official Rules and Little Scholars’ decisions, which are final and binding in all matters related to the contest.

Raising the Benchmark of Early Learning Services

At Little Scholars, we’re committed to instilling the knowledge and skills that will allow your child to thrive and succeed in life.

Government-approved
Kindergarten

Bush, Beach & Pram Kinder

Feed Australia-approved
meals and snacks provided by
on-campus chef

Family Time program to give
busy families more time together

Care available from
6am to 6:30pm

Intergenerational
Grandfriends Program

Qualified educators & teachers

Range of
extracurricular activities

At The Heart of Everything we do at Little Scholars are our Key Pillars

See What Happy Parents are Saying

At Little Scholars, we’re committed to instilling the knowledge and skills that will allow your child to thrive and succeed in life.

See what some of our parents say about their experiences at Little Scholars

We are committed to your child’s care, education and development each and every day. We pride ourselves on the level of care we offer and the difference we are making in your child’s life for a better tomorrow.

Hear from Kat & Poppy about their experience at Little Scholars

There's a reason nine out of 10 families who visit our campuses choose to enrol. Your child's journey to discover starts here.

Shannon shares how educators have helped bring Charlie out of his shell

Shannon tells us how his son Charlie has built wonderful relationships with his educators, his friends and even his family during his time at Little Scholars.

Matty tells us how Little Scholars has helped his little social butterflies!

Matty tells us how Little Scholars has helped his children gain independence and allow his wife and him to maintain a balance with their professional lives!

Our dads share how their children have blossomed at Little Schoalrs

Our Little Scholars dads share how their children have blossomed in our care!

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Meet Our Exceptional Team Members

Subheading here if needed

Melanie is a true leader and role model who has helped drive the quality and educational programs of Little Scholars. Melanie Excell has worked in the Early Childhood Education and Care industry since 2002 and is a university-trained teacher, holding a Bachelor of Education. She’s passionate about early education and preparing children for a successful future. Melanie has worked in various roles in the sector including teaching, centre director, area manager of both small and large groups of centres across Australia and more recently a senior management position in a large childcare company. Melanie manages her campuses wearing many hats, ensuring that our campuses are meeting the needs of the parent as well as the child, ensuring the very best outcomes for all involved. Melanie is dedicated to the early education sector to ensure the best level of care is available to our future generations. She is also passionate about mentoring, guiding and training our educators to ensure they are fully equipped to deliver a high standard of care and education to all children in their care. Melanie enjoys working collaboratively with all stakeholders to create safe, welcoming and playful learning environments in our campuses, which will, in turn, provide an optimal learning space for children.

Mel Excell

Operations Manager

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Jennifer is passionate and dedicated to early childhood development and is a strong advocate for children and their freedom and right to play. Jennifer has worked in early childhood education and care for almost 20 years. During this time, Jennifer had the privilege of working across all age-groups from babies to school-aged as lead educator and early childhood teacher. She has also worked in adult learning as a Trainer and Assessor teaching our future educators in their Certificate 3 and Diploma of Early Childhood Education and Care. Jennifer has recently worked for the Department of Education as an Early Childhood Officer, followed by becoming the Lead Quality (Pedagogy & Practice) for the South East Region. Her qualifications include an Advanced Diploma of Children’s Services, Bachelor of Child and Family Studies, Graduate Diploma of Early Childhood Education, Cert IV in Training and Assessment, Diploma in Leadership and Management and certifications in Coaching and the Abecedarian Approach 3A. Jennifer draws upon a range of theoretical perspectives within her work in early childhood education but is particularly drawn to Vygotsky’s socio-cultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems theory. This emphasises the importance that social interactions have on children’s development and wellbeing, particularly the profound impact educators can have on children’s learning and development through their meaningful interactions. This also aligns with Jennifer’s philosophy taken by from the African proverb ‘It takes a village to raise a child’ where she believes that an entire community of people must provide for and interact positively with children for those children to experience and grow in a safe and healthy environment. Jennifer is excited to be a part of the Little Scholars family where her goal is to lead the development and implementation of a high-quality educational program across the Little Scholars campuses.

Jennifer Haydock

Quality Practice Manager

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Skye is a dedicated leader driven to developing services, providing management to staff and tools to support and attain the highest of quality while helping to create an atmosphere of growth and increased job satisfaction. Skye is a dedicated leaderdriven to developing services, providing leadership to staff and tools to support and attain the highest of quality while helping to create an atmosphere of growth and increased job satisfaction. During her time in early education, she has had the opportunity to hold all positions; she believes this has helped shape her leadership style, as she has an understanding of the needs, expectations and job pressure the comes with each job role. Skye is a pragmatic contributor within the team environment, and believes it is important to work together to set goals as a team that allows campuses to continually improve and strive for the highest of quality in their environments, curriculum and the care that is provided for the children and families. Skye is passionate and advocates that the early years can have biggest impact on a child’s life, and that it is important to educate and mentor our educators to understand how valuable and important their roles are, not only to educate, but to nurture and help each child to have a strong sense of belonging. Skye shares her love in creating inspiring and engaging environments, that allow the children to explore their curiosity and imagination, as well giving them the opportunity to enhance their learning and development.

Skye Ible

Regional Manager

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Sasha joins Little Scholars with a wide range of early learning experiences spanning more than two decades, from having worked as a private residence educator in the centre of London, England, to working in early learning campuses in very rural areas of New South Wales, to working in all positions in between. She believes these diverse experiences have equipped her with a unique insight into collaborating with families and bolstering communities, acknowledging the wide array of aspirations, requirements, and educational achievements depending on the campus. Sasha believes all of her unique roles and experiences have helped shape her leadership style, as she understands the needs, expectations and challenges that come with each job role, in each studio, and even the communities in which the children live and learn. She believes the best learning environments are the ones that bring joy to children, that are vibrant with laughter, play, stories and singing. Sasha's experience with the littlest learners is extensive, and working much of her career in nursery settings, she understands communication goes beyond words. In her experience, she mastered the art of engaging with the littlest learners before they even became verbal, recognising that gestures, expressions, and emotional cues play a crucial role in understanding and meeting their needs. This nuanced approach to communication has not only been pivotal in providing high-quality, individualised care, but also serves as a cornerstone of her leadership philosophy, as well as connecting with those individual communities. Sasha believes that the essence of effective leadership lies in the ability to listen, interpret, and respond to unspoken signals. This skill enables her to lead her teams with empathy, fostering an environment where educators feel valued, understood, and motivated to pursue ongoing training and development.

Sasha Woodgate-Wheeler

Regional Manager

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InspirED Competition Rules

Official InspirED competition rules

Raising the Benchmark of Early Learning Services

At The Heart of Everything we do at Little Scholars are our Key Pillars

See What Happy Parents are Saying

Little Scholars Karalee Waitlist