Everything Early Childhood

About Everything Early Childhood

Welcome to the Everything Early Childhood Podcast, designed for Approved Providers, Nominated Supervisors and other child care business leaders. This fun, light-hearted and very serious podcast features weekly episodes on strategy, advice and conversations with fascinating and inspiring people from across our sector. Join the journey and have access to the tools and inspiration you need to create high performing child care businesses.

Publisher

Leeza Browne

Category

business · education · kids & family

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

20 Apr 2022

Latest episode

9 Sept 2026

Latest episodes

144 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   9 Sept 2026

   Director File: If i walked into an underperforming service tomorrow, here's what i would do first

   What would you do first if you stepped into an underperforming early childhood service or began leading a brand-new centre? When everything feels urgent, it is easy for a new Director to start changing rooms, rewriting documents, fixing the roster, chasing enrolments and carrying every problem themselves. But lasting service improvement does not begin with a dramatic overhaul. It begins with understanding the truth. In this Director Case File, Platinum Education founder Leeza Browne shares exactly how she would approach the first 90 days of leading an underperforming childcare centre or early learning service. Drawing on her experience transforming services, Leeza explores how to identify immediate safety and compliance risks, understand the operational reality, rebuild trust with educators and families, improve occupancy and enrolment processes, establish clear expectations and create sustainable systems, without burning yourself out in the process. In this episode, Leeza discusses: • Why new Directors should observe, listen and ask questions before making significant changes • How to separate what is genuinely urgent from what is simply loud • The essential safety, compliance and operational areas to review first • How occupancy, staffing, enquiries, family experience and team culture are connected • Why clear expectations and consistent follow-up create culture • The difference between caring for your team and carrying their responsibilities • How to move educators from dependency to genuine autonomy • Why marketing cannot fix a poor enrolment or family experience • What “people before paper” really means in early childhood leadership • How to structure a practical 30, 60 and 90-day service improvement plan • The mistakes to avoid when taking over an existing childcare service • What owners should establish before opening a brand-new early learning centre Leeza also shares two powerful leadership lessons from her own career: what happened when her team transformed a newly acquired service before understanding what families valued, and why giving a dependent team autonomy before building their capability can feel more like abandonment than empowerment. Whether you are an early childhood Director beginning a new role, an Approved Provider opening a childcare centre, or a leader trying to improve an established service that is not quite where you want it to be, this episode will help you decide which brick needs to come next. You do not have to repair the whole service today. You need to establish safety, create clarity, stabilise your people and build the systems that allow great practice to continue—even when you are not standing in the middle of it. Platinum Education supports early childhood services through every stage of the journey, from start-up and service turnaround to growth, operational leadership and Exceeding practice. Connect with Leeza on Instagram: @leeza_browne_platinumed Contact Platinum Education: [hello@platinumed.com.au](mailto:hello@platinumed.com.au) Every moment counts.

2. 

   29 Jul 2026

   The wonderings of Nature-Learning from the land with: Birdwings Forest School

   What if the greatest classroom was never a classroom at all? This conversation with Jennifer and Narell from Birdwings Forest School challenged the way I think about childhood, learning and our connection to nature. Together, we explore what happens when we slow down, become learners alongside children, and begin to notice the stories the land has been telling all along. From ecological storytelling and dynamic risk assessment to wonderings journals, connection to Country, and trusting children to play an active role in their own learning, this episode is a beautiful reminder that some of the richest learning experiences don’t need four walls, expensive resources, or carefully planned activities. Sometimes, nature already has everything we need. Whether you’re an educator, leader or parent, I hope this conversation leaves you feeling inspired to step outside, embrace curiosity, and rediscover the wonder that’s been there all along. In this episode, we explore: • The philosophy behind Birdwings Forest School • Dynamic risk assessment and building confidence outdoors • Ecological storytelling and learning from the land • Wonderings journals and following children’s curiosity • Why mentors are learners too • Supporting children of all ages to connect deeply with nature I’d love to know what resonates most with you after listening. What story is the land telling where you are?

3. 

   15 Jul 2026

   What If They’re Right About You?

   What If They’re Right About You? What if the people around you can see something in you that you can't see yet? We are so quick to see the gap. The conversation we could have handled better. The boundary we still need to hold. The things we haven't finished. The person we haven't become yet. Meanwhile, the people around us might be looking at our impact. In this episode of Everything Early Childhood, Leeza shares a very personal reflection on growth, receiving the good and what happens when we are so busy looking at what's next that we miss what is happening right in front of us. We talk about borrowing someone else's belief until you have enough evidence to believe it yourself, why leaders should never stop telling people what they see in them, and the uncomfortable question Leeza has been asking herself lately... What if they're right about you? Maybe you don't have to completely believe it yet. Just don't hand it back quite so quickly. 💗

Who has been a guest on Everything Early Childhood

Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.

• Vicki Scheafer
• Stefanie Hohl
• Leeza Browne

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

YouTube views

34,712

Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025

Apple Podcasts (US)

5.0 / 5

1 ratings

Spotify

4.7 / 5

25 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 75 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

94

Social presence

0

YouTube

92

Engagement

51

Contact Everything Early Childhood

Guest appearances

Books guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.