Meet our members

Sarah-Jane Barr Championing the arts

This IEU member turned her passion for dance into a rewarding teaching career, writes Andrew Taylor.

Sarah-Jane Barr initially embarked on a career in office administration when she finished school. But a lifelong passion for dance steered her away from a desk job.

“When you’re young and just out of school, you don’t always know what you want to do, but teaching quickly felt like the right fit for me,” she said.

Three decades later, Sarah-Jane is a performing arts teacher specialising in music, dance and drama. She is also the religious education coordinator at Mater Dei Catholic Primary School in Blakehurst.

“One of my colleagues once pointed out to me that I get to create many of the lifelong memories and opportunities that our students remember forever,” she said.

Incredibly humbling

Sarah-Jane won a performing arts teacher exemplary service award at Sydney Catholic Schools’ 2026 Eisteddfod Showcase held at the Seymour Centre in June.

The judges said Sarah-Jane used the performing arts “to nurture student learning, wellbeing, faith, and belonging”.

“She has consistently championed the transformative power of arts education to support the holistic development of students, empowering self-expression and fostering meaningful relationships through creativity,” the judges said.

Sarah-Jane said it was “incredibly humbling” to be nominated, let alone receive the award.

“I’ve always been passionate about the creative arts, so I suppose I don’t really see what I do as service, which made the recognition even more meaningful,” she said.

Sarah-Jane said she was fortunate to teach with colleagues, a principal and school community that valued the arts.

Genuine joy

Sarah-Jane said one of the rewards of teaching creative arts is watching students grow in confidence as they take creative risks, perform and discover their own artistic voice.

“The performing arts brings genuine joy into the classroom; students, believe me, are always energised, enthusiastic and fully engaged,” she said.

The challenges of teaching creative arts include limited class time and the organisational demands of staging performances for Eisteddfods, assemblies, special masses and event days.

Sarah-Jane said the demands on the teaching profession had increased dramatically since she first stepped into a classroom.

“The biggest shift has been the sheer amount of paperwork and documentation now required,” she said.

“It can be overwhelming, and you often need to remember to focus on the actual teaching moments.

“I always laugh when people say teaching is a nine-to-three job. It certainly is far from that, and I am sure many teachers’ families would support them on that point.”

Strong collective

An IEU member since 2008, Sarah-Jane joined the union to be part of a strong collective that supports and represents teachers.

“Joining gave me reassurance that I had advice and protection if I ever needed it,” she said. “The sense of solidarity and support from the wider IEU network has been grounding.”

Sarah-Jane said the union provided great advocacy for the teaching profession.

“Knowing the IEU fights for fair conditions and workload expectations has been invaluable,” she said.

“Having the union in my corner has given me peace of mind throughout my career.”

Beyond the classroom

Outside of work, Sarah-Jane and her husband spend much of their time supporting their three adult children.

“With my son currently playing rugby union, weekends often revolve around matches,” she said.

“My two daughters and I are heavily involved in the artistic dance sport of calisthenics.

“Calisthenics is not very big in NSW, so we often travel interstate for competitions and growth opportunities.

“Dance has always been a big part of my life, and calisthenics keeps that passion alive.”

''The more people who join their union,the more opportunity the union has tobring about real change.''

Felicity Barclay A love of variety

This early childhood education and care leader relishes the opportunity to shape future generations, writes Tania Yardley.

Felicity Barclay became the director of an early childhood centre at a young age, initially combining teaching responsibilities with her leadership role.

“One minute you’re jumping around like kangaroos to music,” she said.

“And the next you’re dealing with a parent who’s crying in your office because they’ve just found out their child’s been diagnosed with a developmental delay.”

For the past 27 years, Felicity has been the non-teaching director of Gordon Community Preschool.

Felicity said she loves the variety of a role that can be hard to define.

“There is an intellectual rigour,” she said. “You use your brain, you’re thinking about psychology, there’s human relations, there’s pedagogy, there’s policy.”

At the heart of Felicity’s work is communication – with teachers and educators, parents, the board and the community.

“It’s a very people-driven job,” she said.

After a brief period working in a for-profit preschool, she said, “I decided the community-based sector was really where I wanted to be.”

“I don’t think that preschools and childcare should be corporatised,” she said.

“All children have a right to a high-quality early childhood education.”

Important job

Gordon Community Preschool is currently rated as exceeding the national quality standard by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority.

Felicity said she and her team strive to improve systems to ensure they align with best practice.

This includes a regular weekly meeting with the educational leader and assistant director, along with scheduled time working on a self-assessment tool to make sure the national quality standards are “embedded in our practice”.

Continuous improvement extends to all staff, she said. “We utilise our staff meetings for professional development.”

This can mean watching a webinar together, going through child safety standards or exploring research on neurodiversity.

Felicity also has a passion for the written word and has created articles and guidelines for staff and parents to use.

Her guide to supporting preschoolers as they develop patience will be featured in the next issue of Bedrock, the IEU’s professional publication for members in the early childhood education and care sector.

Impactful work

Like many in her profession, Felicity is deeply aware of the impact her work has on children, families and the community.

“I’ve always thought that early childhood education is a really important job,” she said.

“Contrary to what [One Nation leader] Pauline Hanson has recently said, I think we do need qualified teachers looking after these future generations.”

Felicity views her work as helping to shape the lives of young children through the programs and care at the preschool.

“It’s a privilege to be involved in this area,” she said.

“We’re supporting children in learning about social skills and values and being part of a community.”

Collective action

An IEU member since 2007, Felicity grew up in a proud union family.

“My grandfather was a boilermaker and a welder, and he was a very proud union man,” she said. “I think conditions will only change if we join together as a collective.

“The more people who join their union, the more opportunity the union has to bring about real change. That’s important for our profession.”

When she is not working, Felicity enjoys cooking, reading, playing piano and gardening.

“And I like to spend time in the sunshine with my cats and my partner,” she said.