Award recognises passion for quality childcare

A prestigious national childcare award presented to Manukau Leisure’s Annette Reilly last month was recognition of her passion for childcare and contribution to outstanding after-school services, Brett Jude, Manukau Leisure’s CEO said.

Winner of the elite Individual Award presented at the OSCAR (Out Of School Care And Recreation) Foundation awards dinner at the Wellington Town Hall, Ms Reilly, who is centre manager at the Allan Brewster Recreation Centre, was praised for making a real difference to hundreds of Manukau children through fun programmes that were also valuable opportunities for quality learning, play and recreation.

“Annette is someone who has made an outstanding contribution in this area. She is always highly professional in her approach to anything she does and we are delighted to see her work for young people recognised in this award,” Murray Upton, chief executive Office of ­OSCAR said.

Involved in providing childcare at Manukau Leisure over 19 years, Ms Reilly began working on OSCAR programmes 15 years ago. She has helped start and gain accreditation for four before-school, seven after-school and nine holiday programmes run by Manukau Leisure at several sites across the city.

She has also designed and runs a special “Monkey Time” programme building confidence skills for smaller groups of children over the last eight years.

“I’ve always had a real passion for working with children, so I’m lucky my job lets me do what I love and really care about,” she said.

“All the work that goes into accreditation and ensuring high professional standards is really important, but what I love most is being with the kids and seeing them develop into happy young people. I don’t think anything can be more important than nurturing the next generation.”

As the organisation’s ­OSCAR portfolio leader, she said the award was recognition for the whole team involved in the programmes at Manukau Leisure.

These programmes now cater for 260 children every week, drawing on the organisation’s wide resources to provide activities ranging from swimming, and basketball to hip-hop dancing.

“Annette has always been a leader in constantly seeking new and better ways to provide quality childcare,” Mr Jude said.

“As well as her role in our OSCAR programmes she has established internal audit programmes, run highly valued in-house training programmes and piloted a new training programme in association with the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT).”

Nick Fergusson, centre manager at the Manurewa Recreation Centre, who is also closely involved in the OSCAR programmes, said Annette has always provided exceptional knowledge and leadership in child services.

“It is a pleasure to work alongside Annie and to share in the passion for children, and their wellbeing which she brings to everything she does.”

Owned by Manukau City Council, Manukau Leisure Services Limited is focused on building active, vibrant communities in Manukau.

Last year Manukau Leisure’s facilities and programmes attracted more than 3.6 million visits.

Services include the operation of six aquatic facilities, seven recreation centres, eight fitness centres, 18 community halls and four early childhood centres.