Our new education and care service, will open its doors in July 2024, led by Ms Kristy Holdcroft, an experienced Centre Director. Ms Holdcroft brings with her a wealth of expertise in operating education and care facilities throughout the South West and is excited to be part of this unique offering.

As a child, I always knew I wanted to work with children. I love watching them grow and change every day and celebrating every milestone with as much proudness as if they were my own.

My first job in Education and Care was in 1999, whilst I was still completing my Diploma in Children’s Education and Care. I have been in this industry now for over 22 years. Throughout my career, I was based at a local Long Day Care service in Bunbury where my knowledge, skills and experience were harnessed through many roles. I started as a casual assistant educator and progressed through to eventually managing the service.

I also filled an Acting Area Manager role for the company overseeing 11 services in the South West and subsequently became a certified trainer to new Centre Managers joining the company. These experiences allowed me to gain more knowledge from observing other services and implementing new ideas with my teams.

In 2017 I completed my Certificate IV in Leadership and Management which has been an integral part of being a positive leader to a team. I believe that a successful centre is one which feels like a home-away-from-home for children and families, so your educator teams need to feel like family. We need to share the values of passion, compassion, innovation, and dedication as without these, childcare would be “just a job” and not a calling.

I joined Bunbury Cathedral Grammar School this year with the challenge to incorporate all that I knew about this industry into the development of a new service that supports learning at the School from a younger age. I am looking forward to inviting a team of dedicated educators to our community and welcoming a new network of families and children onto the BCGS grounds.

My favourite thing so far about being here is the grounds. The sounds of nature calm a frazzled day and walking around the campus feels like walking through a park. The playgrounds for the children to explore offer so many additional learning opportunities that I cannot wait to see unfold and expanded.

My favourite part about working in this industry is greeting all the children, educators, and families in the mornings and seeing all their smiles. My personal philosophy around educating children is to be patient, be encouraging and follow their lead. If they are engaged, they will learn…. so play!