Finding Joy in Early Childcare Education with Melissa Woodhouse

In this episode, Melissa Woodhouse of UTS Child Care Inc. (UTSCC) shares how her team’s “Pens Down January” experiment helped them move away from paperwork and rediscover the joy of play-based learning.

Our Expert Melissa Woodhouse

Melissa Woodhouse is the Head of Childcare at UTS Childcare Incorporated, bringing over 30 years of dedicated experience in early childhood education and care. Her journey began in the 1980s when she completed her diploma through the Triple C's in Randwick, starting as an educator in a toddler room at a community-based service in Bondi Junction.

Throughout her career, Melissa has worked across diverse settings including preschools, occasional care, long daycare services, and both private and not-for-profit organisations. Her progression from room leader to management roles, including a significant tenure with Liverpool Council in local government, reflects her natural ability to identify and nurture the strengths in others.

Melissa's passion lies in bringing out the best in people, particularly in supporting directors and educators to excel in their roles. Her reflective leadership style and commitment to evidence-based practice have made her a respected voice in the early childhood sector. She holds management qualifications and continues to be an active reader, researcher, and advocate for quality early childhood education.

About UTS Child Care Inc. (UTSCC) 

UTS Childcare Incorporated is a not-for-profit organisation that operates as a separate entity from the University of Technology Sydney, though maintains strong connections to the university community. For 35 years, the organization has been dedicated to providing quality, accessible, and affordable early education and care specifically for UTS students and staff.

Operating two long daycare services in Sydney's inner city, UTS Childcare is renowned in the sector for being a quality provider. The organisation's values include joy, and under Melissa's leadership, they have pioneered innovative approaches to reducing documentation burden while maintaining exceptional educational outcomes. Their recent establishment of a Children's Council as part of their governance structure demonstrates their commitment to embedding children's voices and rights in decision-making processes.

In this episode, we cover:

- Reducing documentation overload
- Reconnecting with purpose and joy
- Rethinking compliance
- Empowering educators and children

A sneak peek inside the episode:

"Compliance gives us the minimum standard, the framework to ensure that safety, equity, accountability is in place and children deserve access to compliant services... However, just being compliant isn't enough. The real opportunity lies in seeing that compliance is like the foundation and not the finish line."