I am a local Dhalwangu Yolngu women from Gapuwiyak with 20 years of experience and knowledge in Early Childhood education. I am a strong voice and leader in Indigenous Education in my local community and an advocate in the educational field. I believe creating a strong, meaningful educational pathway for indigenous children and their families can make a change in their individual lives and make their community stronger. As an Indigenous Educator and forward thinking and responsive early childhood professional:

• I support parents to understand the importance of developing their child’s brain through playing, reading, talking and interacting with their children. Through programs like Families as First Teachers (FaFT) parents are developing understanding of the importance of routines, good nutrition and sleeping and creating a happy home environment encouraging them to interact with, listen and respond to their child throughout the day. I engage with and support families within the community to connect, build confidence and develop parenting skills which supports their participation and transition to FaFT, preschool and school.
• I work collaboratively with department personnel and committees to ensure an indigenous voice is heard across the Northern Territory. I chair the Indigenous Early Childhood Parenting Reference Group advising and sharing my experiences, expertise and indigenous perspective as a Yolngu parent, Teacher and Early Childhood Educator. I work collaboratively with FaFT educators at early childhood forums and workshops and have been a role model and mentor for Family Liaison Officers (FLO) to empower them to step into leadership roles.
• I build partnerships with the community and stakeholders to develop community and interagency support for families. I have facilitated routine visits from health agencies, Families and Schools Together (FaST) and childcare to help parents build confidence and use language that helps them gain access to the different types of support they need. I support programs like FaST to promote and build mutual relationships and connections to our families in our community to help them actively engage with school curricula activities. To develop culturally responsive programs I have established and maintained close working relationships with community leaders representing the different clan groups. This supports families to grow strong and to use their cultural knowledge in the upbringing of their children.
• I value parent voice and have created different systems to support parents to provide feedback and actively engage in early childhood education. I facilitate meetings with parents and families, so that their voice are valued.
• I continue to promote and build capacity of Yolngu families by building mutual relationships by connecting them to school. Participating in attendance walks and promoting FaFT and Preschool in the community are some of strategies used to engage families in our early learning programs.
• I lead and mentor assistant teachers across the whole school supporting them to develop skills and knowledge around teaching practices and empower them to take initiative and be more proactive in the classroom. This builds their confident to step up to become tomorrow leaders and new voices in education.