Alongside the heroic efforts of our frontline workers, it was the unsung early childcare educators who played a vital role that allowed many essential workers to continue to keep us safe during the unchartered early days of COVID.

Lego boiled and put into individual air lock containers, cuddling teddy bears off-limits due to contagion, Play-Doh made with two parts sanitizer – these are all ways childcare centres could have looked with the onslaught of COVID-19 halting all unessential business to flatten the curve.

Since the begging of this pandemic, the early childhood sector has been a hot topic – a grappling decision to stay open or to shut the doors.

Both varied and strong, it was, and still is in parts of the country an endless debate about what is the right call.

Whatever the decision, we can all agree it is a very agonising and consequential call to have to make.

In light of these circumstances, childcare centres, such as Petit Early Learning Journey in Port Douglas, remained open to look after the children of frontline and essential workers while keeping a sense of normality to the lives of the younger generation.

By doing this, early educators became high risk to themselves and their families in the face of the same enemy, creating an uneasy feeling of going to work in the shadow of the lockdown.

With the world turning on a dime, Astrid Cancrini Centre Director at Petit said they did not have time to think! It was an easy decision to stay open.

“Our thoughts were in supporting families through this emotional time and keeping our children safe as well as maintaining normality for them as much as possible,” she said.

“A lot had to change as childcare is highly regulated – hygiene practices, cleaning routines and special sanitation of the service were immediate changes.”

It was a curve to understand best practices and how to implement them with a sensitive approach that allowed everybody to feel safe and comfortable.

“We had a point at the peak of COVID where only the children could enter the centre, parents completely trusted us and dropped off and picked up their children from and to the foyer only.”

At the best of times, it’s hard to get toddlers to stop putting things in their mouth. Teaching them to sneeze in their elbows, washing their hands regularly and guiding them through the COVID climate would seem next to impossible. Petit Early Learning engaged on a creative level to help them become more confident with the changes around them.

“Our children were absolutely amazing, we had to explain to them what was happing in the form of social stories, literacy, and songs. While supporting families by explaining COVID to children as well as going through the fears children were facing.

“We were so happy we could maintain some normality for the children, and they could come to our centre and play – the hardest for them was not being able to see families and friends as well as not being able to go out during lockdown,” she said.

Without a shadow of a doubt, there is a sense of anxiety having to go to work when most other sectors are urged stay at home.

Astrid is amazed at all frontline teachers and educators who did an amazing job at supporting families and the extended community.

“We were all very proud of being called to support our community,” she said.

It speaks volumes to the passion and commitment that educators have to keeping our children safe and healthy.

For our children’s educators, it is a role of privilege and great responsibility - if anything, the pandemic is putting front and centre the significance of this often-overlooked workforce – the people who shape our future.