Meet our centre manager

Helena Williams-Johnson

Years & qualifications in childcare:
I am a degree trained Early Childhood Educator from New Zealand, and have worked in many facets of the Early Childhood sector over the past 19 years. I have had the privilege of working directly with and alongside a number of our sectors leading doctorates from New Zealand to establish strong foundations for meaningful play based learning for children throughout New Zealand, United Arab Emirates and Australia. I am honoured to now have the ability to apply my professional experiences and ever increasing knowledge to my role within Kids Academy Erina Heights and the Affinity Education Group.

What makes you passionate about working in childcare?
My passion is drawn from strong desires to learn more about how children learn, what impacts their learning and how the human brain develops socially, emotionally and cognitively. Leaving just a small footprint in a child’s daily life of learning within a fun, safe environment. We have the ability to watch children develop into strong, independent, capable individuals who know they are loved and who celebrate their own successes makes my role that much more rewarding.

What is the funniest or most memorable moment you can share from working in childcare?
As an educator, one of my most memorable moments was here in Australia, when a preschool aged child asked what my plans were for the weekend. This child loved imaginative play, just as much as he loved hard facts. I said I was taking a trip to the moon because I wanted to feel weightless without the forces of gravity. The child asked how I was planning on getting there, so I told him, I would take my car because it can fly. He laughed so hard telling me I was silly because cars just cant fly. So I challenged his thinking and asked if he had ever seen the movie Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, It has a car that can fly. Then to challenge his thinking further we went to the computer to look up flying cars on the internet, only to discover futuristic designs for cars that have hovering ability. This then exploded into a full investigation of the engineering that allow them to hover and move through the air and attempting to make models using craft both at preschool and home to support his exploration. Our research finally landed us watching this young man take the lead in a whole class experiment with a range of materials from how hover crafts work, to how rockets work and how we might be able to combine the engineering of both to get a car that can fly to the moon, driven solely by his own natural curiosities about the world around him.

Why do you believe your centre is an excellent choice for parents seeking the best childcare?
At Kids Academy Erina Heights, we recognise children as individuals within their community. We encourage and support children’s individual capabilities to enhance their learning and development within a seriously fun, seriously connected environment where they feel safe and loved. I feel privileged to work with such a fun and passionate team who understand the importance of children’s emotional and social development as the foundation to children’s holistic development.