We have the very best early education educators at Little Scholars School of Early Learning. It’s our great honour to present our 2023 Little Scholars Employee Award winners. 🎖
These outstanding recipients, through some challenging times, have demonstrated their dedication, commitment and have gone above and beyond this year with fellow educators, children, and parents. Time and time again they show us, their peers and the families who they have the privilege of looking after their enthusiasm, their eagerness to learn and grow, and their unfaltering dedication to educating and developing small humans.
Ella Stanton
Inspire – Little Scholars Pillar Award 2023
Learn more about Ella
How long have you been an educator, Ella?
I have been an educator for four years now, and with Little Scholars since my placement when I began my certificate 3 at TAFE.
How did you start your career?
I had been looking at Little Scholars as a centre for my daughter since I was pregnant and fell in love with it from the get-go. Since beginning to have my daughter at the centre, I saw the love and care that the educators gave the children. Working with children had always been on my agenda as I used to study to be a music teacher and knew I could do so much more as an early childhood educator to assist the children in excelling in all areas before beginning “big school.”
What did being recognised for the inspire award mean to you?
The award completely blindsighted me as I turn up to work each day just to do my best for these little humans so to be recognised for my relationship with the children in my centre was so special to me and really instilled my role within the company and the importance I hold alongside my other educators in this industry.
Ella’s nomination
Ella is an educator with the Little Scholars Deception Bay campus, which recently was assessed Exceeding under the National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care.
In Ella’s nomination to us, it said, “Ella is an inspiration for all in the Deception Bay community. We had some outstanding feedback from the department through our assessment and rating process. Before the process even started, the assessor had mentioned the passion and authenticity observed in Ella’s interactions with our children, families and community. In the assessor’s words – ‘she could sit and watch Ella all day long.’ From one of Ella’s colleagues, ‘the educator she is, is who I aspire to be in my future teaching career. She is strong, but also so caring to each individual child.’
Ellissa Gunn
Learn – Little Scholars Pillar Award 2023
Learn more about Ellissa
Ellissa is a lead educator at our Ormeau Village campus. She was named winner of the Pillar Award in the Learn category because she stepped up to become a lead educator, and we’re told she is always happy to keep learning from her peers and further her education in the sector.
How long have you been an educator?
I’ve been an educator since I was 16, but even younger I was at my mum’s centre helping out wherever I could.
How long have you been with Little Scholars?
I’ve been with Little Scholars for about 18 months, since Ormeau Village opened.
What made you want to become an educator?
I think just having the inspiration of my mum being in that environment, seeing what she does, seeing how she helped shape the children, it made me want to do it as well. Just seeing how I could help children as well.
What did winning the award mean to you?
I’m always trying my absolute best to do the best possible work I can do, so it meant that someone else was seeing that, that it was appreciated. It’s made it feel worth it!
What do you like about working with Little Scholars?
Just the support and having the creative freedom to do things that I couldn’t do at other places. Like taking them on Bush Kinder adventures and all these other fun things they get to do that they may not have the opportunity to do anywhere else. And everyone at head office as well, like Susan, Mel and Jae-them being so active in our centre, that’s something I really appreciate as well.
On the quick move from an assistant educator to lead educator, Ellissa says:
The support I had helped me to grow so fast, because if I was somewhere else and didn’t have the support, I probably wouldn’t have become lead, but the support from everyone about what I could do, what I would have to do, really helped when I stepped up.
Ellissa is finishing up her studies with her Cert III, then she’ll be moving onto her Graduate Diploma.
From the award submission: Ellissa has stepped up into her Lead role during last year and we have watched her grow from assistant to well-deserved Lead and take charge in her space, leading her colleagues while taking feedback on board and striving to excel.
Jackie Lowe
Contribute – Little Scholars Pillar Award 2023
Learn more about Jackie
How long have you been in educator?
I’ve been an educator on and off for about 20 years. I’ve been with Little Scholars for a year now.
Hey that’s pretty good to get recognised in your first year!
I know it was so good!
What’s made you want to become an educator?
Just from being young and starting off babysitting, which I loved, and then Year 12 back then we had work experience and that was just going to a centre and from that first day I knew what I wanted to do. I just fell in love with it, and from then it was my goal to finish school and become an early childhood teacher
What is it now, 20 years on, that you still love about working in this sector?
It’s just the love of being around children, i’m just being with a team of educators, and I missed that like when I went away from it and did my business, I just missed it so much. It’s just working children just gives me so much joy.
All my children are older, are grown up, and it was just not a grandmother yet or anything it was just that feeling, it just going back into a centre and it just makes me so happy.
You won the Pillar Award for ‘contribute’ and you’re known as a ‘jack of all trades’, what do you do?
No job is too big or too small! I do the bus, I’m the after-school care educator, I can work in the kitchen, I can listen to other team members, there’s nothing that I won’t try! That’s just who I am, when I’m needed, I’ll do anything to help the team out.
Especially your first year at Little Scholars, what did winning an award mean to you?
My goodness, it was just so good, firstly I was surprised, but it was then good to know that the little things that I’m doing are noticed, I felt like, ‘Wow I am noticed!’ It just made me feel so happy knowing that all the jobs that I am doing people have recognised it, so yeah so then makes you feel like you are doing a great job!
I love working for Little Scholars. It’s an amazing company, I’ve worked with the other centres before, Little Scholars is just amazing and I’m happy to be there and helping out.
In Jackie’s nomination, campus manager Elise said, ‘Jackie is our jack of all trades! Jackie fits many hats at our campus. From driving the bus to being in the studios to going on vacation care, she wears her many hats with a smile on her face. Her bubbly nature and willingness to help the team wherever needed is admirable. We appreciate her dedication and consistent contribution to the campus.
Aleisha Relph
Grow – Little Scholars Pillar Award 2023
Learn more about Aleisha
Ellissa is a lead educator at our Ormeau Village campus. She was named winner of the Pillar Award in the Learn category because she stepped up to become a lead educator, and we’re told she is always happy to keep learning from her peers and further her education in the sector.
How long have you been an educator?
I’ve been an educator since I was 16, but even younger I was at my mum’s centre helping out wherever I could.
How long have you been with Little Scholars?
I’ve been with Little Scholars for about 18 months, since Ormeau Village opened.
What made you want to become an educator?
I think just having the inspiration of my mum being in that environment, seeing what she does, seeing how she helped shape the children, it made me want to do it as well. Just seeing how I could help children as well.
What did winning the award mean to you?
I’m always trying my absolute best to do the best possible work I can do, so it meant that someone else was seeing that, that it was appreciated. It’s made it feel worth it!
What do you like about working with Little Scholars?
Just the support and having the creative freedom to do things that I couldn’t do at other places. Like taking them on Bush Kinder adventures and all these other fun things they get to do that they may not have the opportunity to do anywhere else. And everyone at head office as well, like Susan, Mel and Jae-them being so active in our centre, that’s something I really appreciate as well.
On the quick move from an assistant educator to lead educator, Ellissa says:
The support I had helped me to grow so fast, because if I was somewhere else and didn’t have the support, I probably wouldn’t have become lead, but the support from everyone about what I could do, what I would have to do, really helped when I stepped up.
Ellissa is finishing up her studies with her Cert III, then she’ll be moving onto her Graduate Diploma.
From the award submission: Ellissa has stepped up into her Lead role during last year and we have watched her grow from assistant to well-deserved Lead and take charge in her space, leading her colleagues while taking feedback on board and striving to excel.
