Are you an early childhood educator looking to transition back to work? Do you already work in childcare but want more independence and flexibility? Or maybe it’s time for a change?
Council’s Family Day Care service is recruiting early childhood educators to join our growing team.
As one of NSW’s top childcare providers we’re recognised as Exceeding the National Quality Standard and offer a fully-supported opportunity to grow your own home-based business. And you won’t have to do it alone: from experienced mentors to an extensive toy library and much more, we’ll support you to succeed and thrive!
With local families increasingly looking for flexible and personalised home-based care options for their young children, our current vacancy rates are low, and educators are in high demand.
To give a taste of what’s involved, we spoke to Kellie Gielis, owner of a local family day care business. She shares what prompted her to give it a go and what she enjoys about running a business.
Why did you start your own FDC?
I started Little Gem family day care because I wanted to make a difference in the lives of young children and provide a safe and secure environment for them to explore, grow, learn and play.
Before that I worked for Council’s Children's Services as a casual educator. Having the opportunity to work in many of their services gave me a great understanding of their values, beliefs, cultural behaviours and educational outcomes. This also meant I was able to replicate Council’s philosophy of care and development in my family day care program.
What does a typical day involve?
I like to be prepared before the children arrive each day, because once families arrive, they’re my focus. This means preparing our menu for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea as well as setting up an exciting interactive play space.
Every day is different because even with a plan, you’re always reacting to children’s curiosity and interest and adapting your program to their needs.
To the outside world it looks like my day is spent playing with the children, which it is! But I’m also continually observing what makes them tick and monitoring their development and growth. As a family day care provider, you’re always thinking about ideas and program activities for learning opportunities for the children.
What do you love about your job?
I love spending time with young children, nurturing, building healthy relationships and watching them grow and develop.
The early years are so formative for children, and it’s a privilege to role model positive behaviour and help them develop key life skills such as kindness, friendship, emotional regulation, empathy and joy.
When they leave me to go to school or a childcare centre, because they often live locally, I often bump into them out and about. Seeing them grow up into compassionate and well-balanced young people is extremely rewarding.
Another element that I really enjoy is building strong relationships with families. It not only encourages conversation and makes for a more relaxed drop off and pick up, but is an opportunity for everyone to share information about their children.
How does the Council support you?
Being supported by Council gives me confidence that my family daycare business is as good as it can be.
The Family Day Care team are friendly and always available to offer advice and provide feedback and support. The most valuable thing for me, is that they keep me in the loop about policy and procedure via emails, newsletters and monthly visits. It means I can adapt my progams or the way I do things quickly, and this in turn gives parents confidence that their children are in the safest and highest quality environment possible.
Each monthly visit from my coordinator from Council is an invaluable opportunity to share ideas and feedback as well as discuss any questions or concerns I have. If the timing’s right, it’s also fun for the children to share a cooking or craft activity with our guest!
Today, being part of Council’s awesome team, and the access I have to the systems, support and resources, means I get to focus my day on doing what I most enjoy -spending quality time with the children.
Learn more about Council’s childcare services or to enrol your child.