The Dandelion Program
You can already see the leader they could be.
This program helps them see it too.
Six months of expert mentoring, practical tools and a community of peers who understand this work.
I’m interested. Tell me more →
“You cannot give what you have not received. If we want children and families to feel truly seen,
heard and valued in our centres, we must first ensure that the educators caring for them feel
that way themselves.”
Gina Simpson, Head of Pedagogy and Practice.
Dandelion Program graduate
30 leaders. Six months. Something shifts in every single one of them.
For Directors
You can see it in someone on your team right now. The educator who stepped up, who the team turns to, who genuinely cares about doing this work well. You know they have what it takes.
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But caring about the work and knowing how to lead a team are two completely different things. In early childhood, almost nobody is trained for the second one. So your leaders try harder, take it home, and quietly wonder whether they’re actually cut out for this.
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That’s not a confidence problem. That’s a skills gap. And it’s exactly what this program closes.
The Team Has Changed.
The Leadership Skills Haven’t Caught Up.
If leading your team feels harder than it used to, you’re not imagining it.
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Newer educators bring different expectations, different communication styles and a different relationship with work. Many are highly capable and genuinely motivated. And yet somehow the conversations don’t land, the feedback doesn’t stick, and your leaders are left wondering what they’re doing wrong.
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What the neuroscience tells us is that different generations don’t have different values at their core. They have different nervous systems shaped by different experiences. The way they feel safe, receive feedback and build trust at work is different. And it needs a different kind of leadership to reach them.
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Here’s what our graduates consistently discover: the tools that work with a hesitant younger educator also work with an experienced one who’s lost their spark. They work across every generation because they work at the level of human connection. And that never changes.
Six Months. One Leader at a Time.
The first three months focus on the leader themselves.
The second three months turn that inner work outward into how they lead their team.
Months 1–3: Your leader’s inner work
MONTH 1
Reconnecting With Purpose
Leaders get clear on their values and philosophy so they can lead with direction and purpose, keeping them grounded and on track and inspiring others to follow.
MONTH 2
Foundational Learning
Two in-person training days, where leaders feel truly connected and understood. They leave with practical tools they can use immediately, ones that create change in how they lead. Every graduate describes this as the turning point.
MONTH 3
Listening With Presence
Leaders discover that being fully present is more powerful than needing to have all the answers. When educators feel genuinely heard, everything shifts and so does the way they lead.
Months 4–6: Leading others
MONTH 4
Creating Safe Spaces
Leaders build the skills to create environments where their teams feel safe, supported and understood, the foundation of every meaningful mentoring conversation.
MONTH 5
Professional Conversations
The conversations that matter most, had with care, clarity and confidence. Leaders leave with practical tools that make even the hardest conversations feel possible.
MONTH 6
Celebrating Your Growth
Leaders reflect on and share their journey with their cohort and leave with a clear plan for what they will take forward and implement in their service.
Is This the Right Program for Your Service?
This program was built for directors who:
→ Have a leader who stepped into their leadership role without the confidence or formal training to match.
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→ Are working with a team where the dynamics have shifted and their leaders aren't; quite sure how to
connect with and bring out the best in their educators.
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→ Want the hard conversations to happen, with care and skill, without them landing on your desk.
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→ Can see good leaders losing their spark, and know that supporting them now matters far more than
replacing them later.
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→ Believe their leaders deserve more than a day's training, they deserve six months of implementing their
learning in their day to day challenges with mentoring support every step of the way.
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→ Are building their NQS evidence and want professional development that produces real, visible outcomes
across QA4, QA6 and QA7.
What graduates say
They’re Learning From People Who’ve Actually Done It.
The Dandelion Mentors are experienced early childhood directors who have led teams, navigated the hard conversations and felt the weight of exactly what your leaders are carrying right now. No other leadership program in this sector offers this.
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They co-facilitate monthly sessions, hold the space in the two-day intensive, and are available for drop-in calls between sessions not on a schedule, but when your leader actually needs them.
Sarah Moore - Program Lead
Founder, Early Education Leadership
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Sarah has over 25 years in the not-for-profit early childhood sector. She is a certified Conversational Intelligence® (C-IQ) Coach and Emotional Fitness Consultant specialising in relational leadership and communication. The Dandelion Program is the embodiment of everything she has learned about what leaders in this sector actually need.
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Meet The Dandelion Mentor Collective:​
This Is Also Your NQS Investment.
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QA4 - Documented evidence of sustained, intentional professional development for your educational leaders and room leaders.
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QA6 - Communication Agreements and relational leadership tools that strengthen how your leaders engage with educators and families.
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QA7 - Clarity Compass Statements, structured mentoring records and a capstone presentation everything assessors look for in reflective, capable leadership.
Developing your Educational Leader and your room leaders simultaneously. Two leadership layers. One investment.
Your Investment
Investing in your leaders' capacity is one of the most impactful things you can do, for your service, your culture and for them.
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Six months alongside mentors who have led early childhood services just like yours and who bring that real, lived experience into every conversation.
$1,950 ex GST
Places are limited to 30. Registration closes Friday 26 June 2026.
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A payment plan is available. Contact Sarah to find what works for your service info@earlyeducationleadership.com​
The Next Cohort Begins July
Thirty places
If you’ve been reading this thinking of a specific person on your team, we would
love to talk to you.
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You don’t need to have all the answers yet.
Sarah follows up personally within 24 hours. A conversation first. No obligation.