Meet Megan Beerworth, Petone teacher

Meet Petone Early Learning teacher Megan Beerworth

If you stroll through Petone on a sunny morning, you might spot Megan Beerworth out walking her dog, Georgie. She’s lived in the Hutt Valley all her life, and for more than 30 of those years, she’s been an early childhood teacher with Barnardos.

Her journey into early childhood education began with her aunty, who was like a second mum to her growing up.

“My aunty was amazing. She set up her own centres in Auckland because she couldn’t get her twin daughters into kindergarten because there were long waitlists,” says Megan.

“I used to go up there and visit in the school holidays and work for her. She kind of drove me along the road of wanting to train to be an early childhood teacher.”

That early inspiration stayed with her through high school. “When I was in my seventh form year, I kind of thought, I need to decide if this is really what I want to do. So, I went along to the local Barnardos and every Tuesday, I would go along for an hour or so and play with the kids and help out,” she says.

What started as a few hours of volunteering soon became much more. “And then they offered me a job in the holidays and from there I got offered a full-time job. I’ve been with Barnardos ever since.”

That early hands-on experience with her aunty and at Barnardos Early Learning Centre in Lower Hutt shaped the way Megan approaches her teaching today. Since 1993, she’s taught countless children, and even some of their children.

“A former Barnardos tamaiti, she is 20 now, messaged me recently to say I’d inspired her to become an early childhood teacher, when I was her teacher at the Lower Hutt Centre. It was such a special moment.”

Megan is now a teacher at Barnardos Early Learning Petone. For her, teaching is about connection and building trust and relationships between kaiako, tamariki, and whānau. By forming these important bonds with the people around the tamariki, she can make a lifelong impact on their learning and development from an early age. 

“Now, it’s not just about the child’s learning. It’s about working alongside families and bringing their culture and beliefs into the centre.”

Megan is also passionate about supporting neurodiverse children. One story that stands out for her is helping an autistic child transition successfully into school.

“His dad didn’t think he was ready to move out of our centre, but we worked closely with the Ministry of Education, his new teacher, and his whānau to make it happen. I went on school visits, shared notes on how he communicates, and showed them what worked for him here,” she says. “A few months later, his teacher told me he’d settled beautifully and was making friends. The teacher said, ‘I finally know what you meant about his smile melting your heart.’ That meant a lot.”

Megan says working with neurodiverse tamariki has taught her as much as she’s taught them. It also meant that the tamariki in the centre got to learn about tamariki who are neurodiverse, learning different ways to communicate and developing skills that suit the people around them.

“They help us see the world differently. Our centre community embraces that – our tamariki learn that everyone communicates and learns in their own way. It’s beautiful to see.”

Over the years, she’s also seen how Barnardos’ inclusive approach gives every child the chance to belong.

“We’ve had children from so many cultures, backgrounds, and abilities. The diversity of our teaching team and our whānau makes every day so special, whether it’s celebrating Diwali together or watching tamariki teach each other about their cultures.”

After three decades of teaching, from Lower Hutt to Petone, Megan still finds joy working in centres with the tamariki and whānau.

“Every day, there’s a wow moment, a child discovering something new, saying their name for the first time, or seeing how much they’ve grown since they first started. Those are the moments that keep me here.”