Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BADAC) has made history.
It has become Victoria’s first Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO)-led Early Years Manager (EYM).
Established in 1979, BADAC supports local Aboriginal people through health, social, welfare and community development programs. It covers 4 local government areas in the Ballarat and district area.
As a well-established organisation in the Ballarat community with more than 40 years of experience in service delivery, BADAC developed a plan to establish long day care and funded kindergarten programs. This would address a gap in early years education.
Today BADAC operates 3 inclusive, culturally rich kindergartens within the community:
- Perridak Burron Early Learning Centre in Brown Hill
- Yirram Burron Early Learning Centre in Sebastopol
- Yaluk Burron Early Learning Centre in Ballan.
BADAC will also run a new kindergarten opening at Gordon Primary School next year. BADAC is the first ACCO appointed to deliver a kindergarten on a school site.
General Manager of Early Childhood Education at BADAC Casey Brown said the expansion reflects a strong vision for community-led learning.
‘The motivation behind this growth is to provide culturally welcoming, safe and nurturing educational services while hopefully serving as an inspiration for other ACCOs to do the same,’ she said.
By becoming an EYM, BADAC will further enhance its role as a leader in planning and delivering high quality kindergarten services and supporting the Best Start, Best Life reforms. The professional environment that is supported through being an EYM will give staff more time to focus on children’s learning and wellbeing.
‘Educators working within an EYM are provided with further career pathways, professional development and support, and a larger scale 'team' to network, collaborate with and learn from, all within the same philosophy, values and mission,’ Casey said.
She added that becoming an ACCO EYM strengthens BADAC’s role as a committed, trusted and supportive organisation for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal families.
‘We are providing the wider community with an opportunity for their children to access high quality, culturally informed and supportive educational services, supporting closing the gap and enhancing the local level of reconciliation,’ Casey said.
Early childhood teacher at Perridak Burron Early Learning Centre Bridget Buttacavoli said the change will bring important benefits to educators and the service.
‘It will provide explicit support to mentor our provisionally registered teachers in being proficient in the industry. The ongoing wrap around supports that flow on from becoming an EYM will aid worker retention and systemic growth,’ she said.
Find out more
For more information, refer to the BADAC website.
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