Carmel Ellis is the Managing/Director of the Indooroopilly Montessori Children’s House (IMCH), a 175 place Long Day Care Centre in Brisbane, Queensland. IMCH is a specialised Montessori Centre of Excellence basing its educational style on Maria Montessori’s philosophy. Carmel worked in close consultation with a Behaviour Change specialist and was involved in the early writing of the internationally published (in 2004) “You Can Do It” Early Childhood Programme and the introduction into the Centre of a social/emotional guidance programme titled “Guided Choices”. Carmel has, for the last 12 years, ensured that the Centre encompasses an inclusion programme and she has been recognised personally as a winner of the ECIA Qld Chapter Quality Inclusive Practice Award, with staff at the Centre winning the team award. The latest innovation at the Centre is the establishment of a large self-contained nature based “Wilderness Playground” which provides the children with outdoor nature experiences and risk taking opportunities.
Carmel has also worked extensively with an Industrial Relations Lawyer in relation to developing a best practice guide for understanding and managing challenging staffing issues.
