Jill has extensive experience as a Junior School teacher and 25 years as an Assistant and Deputy Principal at Nelson Park School in Napier. In this role Jill led and managed the development of the Nelson Park way in transitioning children to school utilising a Learning through Play approach. Research outlining the success of this approach was published in 2018 in the International Early Childhood Education magazine. In 2010 Jill spent time in Reggio Emilio, Italy, as part of her Sabbatical leave to research early learning approaches that would support children transitioning from early learning environments into school. This sabbatical also investigated links between Te Whāriki and the New Zealand Curriculum.