Communication Training for Childcare Centre Managers and Early Learning Leadership Teams
Attract and retain more families and educators.
In-person communication training in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and beyond.
Owning or managing an early learning centre can be a tough gig. You have a lot of people to keep happy, and the pressure is on for occupancy, quality, and care.
One of the biggest issues raised by staff and families? Communication. But the good part is, it’s an issue that’s easily addressed by investing in your communication skills.
At the end of this workshop, you will:
understand different communication preferences, and how to tailor your approach to meet the needs of your clients and members
have tools and frameworks to tackle challenging conversations, from negative feedback to issues with billing, and everything in between
have more confidence to engage with your staff and families.
What to expect from your workshop:
Understand how your families’ and team members’ context could be shaping how they deliver and receive communication
Learn about different communication personality styles, and what that means for how you work with your families and team members
Get tips and tools for how to mitigate issues before they happen, like asking the right questions from the start
Learn how to tackle challenging conversations, like negative feedback, performance conversations with team members, billing issues, and everything in between.
Who should attend
This workshop is for people who…
are new to a Centre Manager or Centre Leader role and have little previous leadership experience
have managed early learning centres for a while but want to improve their skills
want to manage or own an early learning centre and make sure they have the skills and confidence to take on the leadership role.
How the course is run
To get the most out of your training, this workshop is best facilitated with your team, in person, over 4 hours.
Course Outline
Module 1: Understanding your audience
How our brains work, and the impact of the modern-day environment on our communication - both giving and receiving
Communication Personality Type - undertand people’s different communication preferences, and what that means for how you approach your communication with your families, and each other.
Understand how people respond to change, whether it’s a new Room Leader, a new learning curriculum, a fee increase, and what it means for your communciation.
Module 2: Building your rhythms
Creating a communication rhythm that meets the needs of your families and staff, but it also feasible for you to maintain
How to build a communication journey that helps people feel valued and informed.
Module 3: Challenging conversations
Understanding the different types of conversations you may have with your families or team members: receiving negative feedback, having a performance management conversation, navigating changes in fees or centre hours, and more.
Using tools and models to understand different motivators for different people, how people typically respond to feedback, and what can influence people.
Techniques for preparing for, delivering, and following-up challenging conversations.
Module 4: Practice time!
Using a hypothetical scenario or a real-life case study, participants will have time to put the learning into practice.
What you’ll get as part of this training
Each participant will receive printed tools during the training to help make the learning stick
Your team will receive a copy of the slides presented
If required, we can supply a Certificate of Completion for each team member
Your questions answered
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Your workshop includes:
Pre- and post-workshop meetings to ensure we deliver what you need for your team
A pre-workshop survey with your team to understand where we can make the most impact
A copy of the slides and materials presented
Printed collateral on the day to help guide the learning
Facilitation on-site by a master facilitator
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A four-hour, on-site workshop, including all pre- and post-workshop meetings, design, and printing, is $6,000 AUD + GST, for up to 15 people.
To secure your spot, we require a 30% deposit when you book. The remainder of the cost will be billed after the workshop is completed.
Any accommodation and travel-related costs will be added to your final invoice.
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We understand that unexpected things happen sometimes. We require 48 hours notice to reschedule. You must reschedule your workshop within the next three months.
If you need to cancel your workshop, you will need to do so at least two weeks’ prior to your booking. If not, you will forfeit your 30% deposit.
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For most teams, you will need to book a room of your choice at your premises.
If you want to go off-site for your workshop, please let us know and we can look at different options.
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We always prefer to run these workshops in person, as we find there are fewer distractions, and people get more out of the practice-based exercises.
If you have a team spread across multiple locations, let’s chat about designing an online version. This usually involves a series of shorter, online modules.
About your facilitator
Mel Loy SCMP
Founder and Director, Cuttlefish; IABC Asia-Pacific Region Board Member; IABC Asia Pacific Academy Partner
Mel Loy is a self-confessed serial ideator, obsessed with how humans behave and what that means for effective communication. After studying journalism she discovered a love not for reporting but for the power of communication — and went on to spend more than 20 years in increasingly senior corporate communication roles across emergency services, construction and mining, early learning, retail and more.
In late 2020, after leading her team through the COVID-19 pandemic, Mel started her own agency. Today her small-but-mighty team at Cuttlefish provides consulting and training to clients across Australia and overseas, specialising in internal, change, crisis and strategic communication.
Mel is the author of two books — Change Isn't Hard and Less Chatter, More Matter — and host of the Less Chatter, More Matter podcast. An international award winner for her training programs and strategies, a sought-after facilitator and keynote speaker, and a certified Strategic Communication Management Professional (SCMP), and a volunteer Board member for IABC Asia-Pacific.
Mel has extensive experience working with the early learning sector, including 5 years in communication roles with Goodstart Early Learning, and supporting several early learning clients with strategic and crisis communication since.
When she’s not obsessing over words and human behaviour, Mel is teaching group fitness classes and yoga at her local gym.