New authorised officers

Three new authorised officers have joined the Education Standards Board. They are Shannon Osborne, Sharon France and Tegan Keast.

All have qualifications and extensive experience in the early childhood sector.

They are doing their authorised officer training and will be ready to visit services for assessment, rating and monitoring in the near future.

Shannon appeared in our recent Critical reflection webinar when she was an educational leader for an early learning centre. This experience led her to explore how she could support the sector as an authorised officer.

She grew up in a rural area and has a strong interest in Australia’s journey towards reconciliation.

“I hope to use my knowledge in this area to support the sector and community to reflect on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives,” she said.

Sharon worked in the UK and Spain as a primary school teacher before moving to Australia and into an OSHC director role. She has had leadership roles in long day care and family day care.

In her role as an authorised officer, Sharon is hoping to build “relationships with each unique service”. She wants to support “them to continue on their journey of ongoing improvement, providing high-quality education and care for every child”.

Tegan is a qualified early childhood teacher. She has worked in this sector for 16 years, mainly in long day care. She has also been a relief teacher in preschools and a family day care coordinator.

She is looking forward to “seeing a diverse range of settings, observing early childhood practices and ideas and supporting services”.