After being a mainstay of the early years of more than 1800 children, Janet Robinson is retiring after 30 years at Russell Court Kindergarten and Children’s Centre in Altona Meadows.
Mrs Robinson said she has looked after four to five year olds in the same room all that time.
“I will certainly miss the children,” Mrs Robinson said.
“They keep you young. They’re just a delight every day to work with. I’ve just enjoyed it more and more as I’ve gone on.
“It absolutely gets better and better all the time. I love it.”
Now that word is out that she is leaving, Mrs Robinson said the children are “spoiling her rotten” while the staff even held a “Janet Week” that was full of surprises.
Mrs Robinson, who has penned two children’s books, said her own children were aged five and six when she started.
After three decades, she has cared for the second generations of a number of families.
“We’ve got students here now whose parents were students here too,” Mrs Robinson said.
“So, I’ve got students coming back with their own children now. It’s lovely to see them.”
Mrs Robinson, who lives in Altona, said she couldn’t go anywhere in the local area without seeing a former student.
“It’s funny,” she said. “You wouldn’t think you’d remember the names, but it’s amazing – you see someone and it comes to you.”
