Our team

Our team is made up several highly skilled individual teams delivering a wealth of expertise in different areas.

This team consists of:

  • Psychologists
  • Occupational therapists
  • Speech pathologists.

Working collaboratively with our education team, our Allied Health professionals combine their areas of expertise to assess and develop children’s goals and provide clinical input into our programs.

Each Allied Health team member is trained and certified in the ESDM and shares their specialist skills into the group delivery of the ESDM. By using a transdisciplinary model, the team train one another in their specialist areas to support each child with generalisation of important skills.

For more information about Allied Health and what they do, please visit the Raising Children website.

Working together with our Allied Health team, our qualified early childhood educators target each child’s individualised goals in the classroom. All of our educators are trained in the ESDM.

Our education team are highly skilled in implementing the group ESDM, including:

  • shaping the curriculum to meet all children’s individual goals and interests
  • setting up the room to maximise learning and motivation
  • developing fun learning experiences to support children to engage with their peers
  • communicating with families, etc.

Our Key Workers are experienced ESDM certified therapists (Allied Health or teachers who are also certified/ing ESDM therapists). Each family has a Key Worker, who is their main contact regarding their child's individual ESDM program.

Your Key Worker will meet with you each term to assess your child’s progress and collaboratively establish a new set of goals based on their developing interests, understanding, communication, wellbeing and social skills and your priorities. Your Key Worker will also monitor your child's progress and share this information with you, share key information with the team, and coordinate referrals to other Allied Health specialists.

This team consists of our Centre Manager, Assistant Manager and Clinical Manager — all of whom are experienced Key Workers, Parent Coaches, Room Leaders and ESDM Certified Therapists.

As Centre Manager and ESDM Trainer, Kristy Capes has 20 years’ experience working with children with autism. She brings her extensive knowledge and passion to the forefront of our Centre’s values and practices.

Our Assistant Manager and Educational Leader Shannon Upson is an ESDM Certified Therapist with more than 20 years’ experience in early education.

Our Clinical Manager, Psychologist and ESDM Trainer Carolyne Jones has over eight years of experience working with children with autism and with their families.

Together, our Centre Management team display a strong commitment to inclusion and support for families through best-practice early education and care, learning, capacity building and evidence-based early intervention.