NSW Training Awards: Early Childhood Education and Care - Vocational Student of the Year 2024 

Vocational Student of the Year 2024 - Samantha Zannes  

Jenny's Kindergarten and Early Learning Centre – Bathurst 

Driven to tailor education to children with additional needs, Samantha Zannes pursued a vocational pathway to become an Early Childhood Teacher.

Initially trained as a primary school special education teacher, Samantha took time away to raise her own children.

After a 10-year hiatus, she was ready to return to the profession but wanted to connect with an approach that mirrored her personal education philosophy.

Samantha recognised the importance of early intervention for students with additional needs and therefore set her focus on obtaining a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care.   

“I loved that I had the ability to study online in my own time while gaining relevant industry on-the-job training at an early education provider,” she says.

This helped her get the balance between work and life right – the demands of raising two teenage boys required flexibility.   

Not only was she bolstering her leadership, communication and mentoring skills but she was feeling more confident in her capabilities.

“The VET course was perfectly aligned with industry requirements, it gave me the confidence, knowledge, and skills not only to complete my work role but to mentor and guide educators around me,” she says.   

As a colleague and mentor, Samatha was recognised as a guiding light for many of her fellow educators pursuing their own learning journeys.

And her commitment to supporting them alongside the diverse needs of her early learners was garnering her great respect.  

Her level of dedication was only matched by the exceptional industry relevance her qualification represented.

“The course was vital in helping me establish an environment that met the emotional, social, educational and physical needs of all children enrolled at my centre,” she says.

“It also gave me the tools I needed to operate under the Education and Care Services National Law and Regulations and the approved learning frameworks.”  

Completing the qualification in just over 12 months, Samantha was then recognised within the teaching profession as an Early Childhood Teacher – a certification that would have taken her years to achieve through a university pathway.   

She is now the Assistant Director and Educational Leader of an early learning centre.

“My studies have contributed significantly to preparing me for this role, not only with the course content, but through the foundation of real-life training opportunities,” she says.