An early education and care centre that’s part of the community.
Supporting local families since 1985
Gamumbi is a small, not-for-profit early childhood education centre and long day care service, teaching and learning on Gumbaynggirr land. Proudly operating in Toormina since 1985, we have strong ties to the Sawtell/Toormina community.
Gamumbi acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land, the Gumbaynggirr people. We are committed to Reconciliation and truth telling and we value and amplify the teachings and traditions of First Nations peoples as an important part of our philosophy and curriculum.
In full transparency we are not an Aboriginal owned service.
Our early education and care philosophy
We have highly qualified, experienced staff.
We support
play-based learning.
We foster connections
to nature.
We work in collaboration with families and community.
How does a
not-for-profit service benefit children?
Our long day care service is not-for-profit. That means that all of the income we receive through fees and grants is used to improve the centre and the service we provide.
Our community-led Management Committee makes decisions based on what is best for the children, families and educators.
This means we have:
A team of highly-qualified teaching staff committed to continuous improvement.
Additional educators to support inclusion and wellbeing.
High-quality, thoughtfully designed learning spaces. You can explore them here.
Who makes decisions at Gamumbi?
We share decision-making with children, families, educators and the community, so that every decision made is based on what it best for our children.
Our dedicated Management Committee is made up of parents who want to give children the best start in life. Decisions are made on our core values of relationships, inclusion, reconciliation and sustainability.
Families know their children best so we love to hear about what’s going on at home and incorporate this into the education program and learning environments.
We love the caring, calm and warmth that our children receive at Gamumbi. Our children are so relaxed and happy to be in this learning environment”
— Gamumbi parent
Meet our passionate teaching team
Lisa - Director | Nominated Supervisor (she/her)
Bachelor of Teaching - Early Childhood
Lisa has worked in early childhood education for over 20 years and is dedicated to providing quality and accessible early childhood education for all children.
Lisa is all about empowering children through authentic experiences. She believes in not answering children’s questions, but engaging them in the learning process to discover the answers together. That’s why she loves Gamumbi’s approach to learning through play and project based learning.
Part of the Gamumbi team since 2007, Lisa has been a teacher, parent, committee member and now Director. Her favourite thing about Gamumbi is the teaching team and the experience, knowledge and dedication that they bring to the curriculum and the group of families who are part of the Gamumbi community.
The sense of community that has been built by the Gamumbi families and staff gives children (and adults) a sense of place and belonging and makes Gamumbi a special place to be.
Kirsten - Educational Leader | Early Childhood Teacher (she/her)
Diploma in Teaching - Early Childhood
When people at Gamumbi talk about early childhood curriculum and teaching, Kirsten is what always comes to mind.
With over 30 years experience in Early Childhood, her passion for children’s learning is immense and each day you will hear Kirsten excitedly sharing a story about something a child has learned or an artwork or construction they have created.
Kirsten is dedicated to reflective practice and as Educational Leader she leads the team in reflecting on current ideas, curriculum and routines to ensure what we do is always in the best interests of chidlren. Her high expectations ensure not only our team, but the children at Gamumbi challenge themselves and learn new skills.
Kirsten is often found in the art studio, discussing chidlren’s art with them and relishing in their ideas and new skills. Kirsten’s other passion is literacy and she has curated a fabulous library of quality children’s literature for families and children to explore.
Ness - Assistant Director | Early Childhood Educator (she/her)
Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care
Ness has been with Gamumbi since 2015, providing secure connections for all children in her care.
Ness is passionate about fostering a sense of belonging for all children and recognising the individual developmental, emotional and sensory needs of all children. Ness’s focus is forming strong relationships with children to ensure they feel safe and secure in their transition to Gamumbi.
Ness’s passion is for cooking and gardening and involving children in these real life experiences. She also shares her love of the natural environment by creating beautiful spaces for the children to explore.
You will also often see Ness in the office as she takes on the role of Assistant Director, doing what she does best which is supporting families and the team where and when its needed.
Jade - Early Childhood Educator (she/her)
Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care
Our gorgeous educator Jade has spent over 16 years in early childhood education and most of them at Gamumbi! She can’t imagine working anywhere else because she loves the strong sense of community and passionate team at Gamumbi.
Jade's favourite thing about early childhood education is the impact educators have on children’s learning and their journey at Gamumbi. She believes this is what drives educators passion for working in early childhood, and therefore gives the platform for children’s success.
Jade insists that working with children and working at Gamumbi really makes us remember to enjoy all the simple pleasures in life and this is seen (and heard) often in our environment through her big smile and belly laughs.
Sam - Cook | Early Childhood Educator (she/her)
Diploma in Children’s Services
Sam has been with Gamumbi for 14 years and has recently stepped into the role of cook.
From day one Sam has stepped up to the challenges with this role to ensure children’s food preferences, allergies and requirements have been catered for in an inclusive, nutritious menu.
Sam has always had a passion for cooking, and as an educator, often spent time cooking with children of all ages from smoothies and pancakes to fruit sticks and pizzas.
Currently studying nutrition, she is committed to providing a menu with varied, tasty and healthy options - the lentil dahl and banana pancakes being two of the children’s favourite!
The best bit, is Sam still gets to spend time sharing laughs with the children as they visit her in the kitchen for a chat or as she drops off the lunch trolley.
Kelsi - Early Childhood Teacher (she/her)
Bachelor of Education - ECE and Primary
Our Early Childhood Teacher Kelsi was drawn to the centre because it’s a not-for-profit, community-led service.
Kelsi is a big supporter of play-based learning, seeing it as a time for rich discovery. It’s important to Kelsi that children are seen as capable and she loves that Gamumbi’s challenging outdoor play space and resources support this.
Her favourite thing about Gamumbi is the intentional, thoughtful and reflective teaching of the educators. Here, everything has a purpose.
With a background in student support, Kelsi is passionate about inclusive learning, celebrating differences and finding ways to meet the needs of each and every child. Kelsi continues to support the team in reflecting on inclusion as she continues study with her Masters of Special and Inclusive Education.
Rowena - Early Childhood Educator (she/her)
Diploma in Children’s Services
Our amazing Rowena has spent over 15 years at Gamumbi, dedicated to the care and education of children.
Rowena enjoys real work with the children and supports their respect and care for our environment. She is always the first to turn up for a working bee and the last one working. With children she will often be seen with a group of children as they rake, sweep and tidy up. Her ability to make our environment sparkle without obvious effort is always appreciated.
Rowena has been instrumental in supporting Gumbaynggiirr language with children (her fourth language!) and shares what she has learnt in language classes in daily routines, stories and songs with children.
Rowena loves working with all children and she is so valuable as an educator who can adapt to working across all ages, but we know her specialty and love is in the infant space - with many children’s first words at Gamumbi being ‘Weena’.
This is a testament to the strength of the relationships she has with children and respectfully and responsively meets their physical and wellbeing needs.
Emily- Outdoor Leader | Early Childhood Educator (she/her)
Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care
Emily has been at Gamumbi for five years now and is no longer the ‘new educator on the block’. Completing first her Certificate III and then her Diploma as a trainee with us, her skills and professional knowledge has developed significantly in this time.
Emily is our Outdoor Leader, supporting the planning and implementation of outdoor experiences for the Jaliigirr and Dunggiirr rooms.
Emily is also our unofficial excursion coordinator and enjoys taking the children into the community. You will often see her and a group of blue hats as the children go exploring the neighbourhood, local schools, shops and play sessions at TAFE. One of Emily’s favourite excursions is to the Toormina High School coffee shop, where many teachers still remember her from her time as a student.
They are not the only ones who remember Emily. Coming to Gamumbi herself as a child in the early 2000’s, she was one of the many children our Educational Leader Kirsten has cared and educated for.
Troy - Early Childhood Educator (he/him)
Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care
Troy has been with Gamumbi since 2015, beginning with us as he completed his Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.
Troy brings a calmness to the space as he builds secure attachments with children at Gamumbi. Troy will often be found in a quiet space engaged in thoughtful and intentional conversations with children, expanding their ideas and knowledge as they play, inspiring further investigations and projects.
Troy has shared many interests with the children to diversify our curriculum, and he brings his love and skills in music to our group times to enhance children’s language and also bring some fun. He also enjoys excursions into the community, where he brings children’s attention to items of wonder in the world around them.
Troy is dedicated to the inclusion and understanding of children’s individual needs and gives children space to safely be themselves and gives children time to explore and investigate without interruption.
Troy continues to build his skills as a leader at Gamumbi, often stepping into tasks and roles when other educators are on leave.