Meet the ELC leaders

Meet the ELC Director – Shelley Laycock

 

Shelley Laycock is an Old Girl of Abbotsleigh and has been an Early Childhood Teacher since 1982, commencing as the Abbotsleigh Early Learning Centre Director in 2013. She has recently attained a Master in Educational Leadership and is committed to continuous learning. She believes all children should be afforded high-quality education and care. She firmly believes that education is to construct a dialogue with life, and it is imperative to educate children to look beyond their community, towards global citizenship.

At the core of Shelley’s philosophy is the belief that teaching is a journey travelled alongside children in which educators honour and empower them to express their voice through an educational program that recognises and celebrates every child’s uniqueness. She acknowledges there is much to learn from children by listening and then extrapolating the many possibilities to promote and extend their thinking. Children’s learning approaches and dispositions are revealed when they are active participants in their learning.

 

 

Meet the Educational Leader – Lisa Davies

 

Lisa Davies has a Bachelor of Education (Early Childhood) and has worked in the early years, since 1990. Throughout this time, she has taken on numerous roles including classroom teacher, centre director as well as leadership roles in operations and recruitment for a group of early learning centres.

Lisa has been at Abbotsleigh since 2011 where she began as a class teacher, before taking on the role of educational leader and subsequently Assistant Director.

Lisa works with Abbotsleigh’s Director of Learning Innovation to ensure the Early Learning Centre’s curriculum, pedagogy and practice reflect the school’s ethos and values.

At the core of Lisa’s philosophy as educational leader is to build a culture of learning and innovation for teaching staff and children, shaped by current research, within our educational faculty and beyond.