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Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is proud to announce the launch of the The National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy (2022-2031) - ‘Shaping our Future’, designed to support the recruitment, retention, sustainability and quality of the early childhood education and care workforce.
The National Workforce Strategy acknowledges and builds on existing workforce related initiatives, as well as a range of recent and ongoing initiatives launched by the sector.
It provides a living roadmap for ongoing collaboration and partnership between governments, service providers, education and training providers, peak associations, regulatory bodies, educators and teachers, and their representative bodies.
As a member of the National Co-design Stakeholder Reference Group, the peak consultative body appointed by ACECQA for the development of the National Workforce Strategy, FDCA has been instrumental in leading the charge for recognition and consideration of the family day care sector within the National Workforce Strategy.
Page 21 of the National Workforce Strategy quotes FDCA Chief Executive Officer, Andrew Paterson: “Family day care is an essential element of Australia’s early childhood education and care landscape. Not only does the sector enable flexible workforce participation, playing a particularly important role in regional communities, but it also represents an opportunity for greater engagement of Australians in small business - family day care educators currently comprise one of Australia's largest networks of women in small business.”
Our participation in the National Co-design Stakeholder Reference Group has been an important part of our ongoing advocacy strategy and will ensure the family day care sector is well represented in all major workforce initiatives moving forward.
To read the National Workforce Strategy or find out more about the history of its development, visit ACECQA’s website here.
The federal government has announced that proposed changes to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) scheme, due to come into effect from 11 July 2022, have been brought forward to 7 March 2022.
As a result, the $10,655 annual CCS cap will be scrapped on 10 December 2021 and applied retrospectively for the whole 2021-22 financial year, meaning that families who reach the cap before this date will have any additional out-of-pocket costs for the 2021-22 financial year reimbursed.
Furthermore a higher rate of CCS will take effect from 7 March 2022 for families who have two or more children aged under five years in an eligible form of early childhood education and care, with the rate increasing by 30 per cent for their second child, up to a maximum of 95 per cent.
Families will continue to receive their income tested CCS rate for all children, and those children eligible for the higher CCS rate will have the increase automatically included in their CCS percentage reported to services.
For more details on the upcoming changes to CCS, visit the Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) website here.
There are less than two weeks to go for the announcement of our first National Finalists, in the lead up to our Gala Dinner and the announcement of our 2021 National Winners.
Check the Awards calendar below to make sure you don’t miss our Award reveals in the coming weeks.
National Finalist Awards
· Coordinator of the Year National Finalists – 26 October 2021
· Service of the Year National Finalists – 2 November 2021
· Educator of the Year National Finalists – 9 November 2021
Gala Dinner and National Awards
· National Award Winners - 26 February 2022
Awards in the media
The Excellence in Family Day Care Awards continue to play a key role in FDCA’s media and public relations strategy as a dedicated platform to showcase family day care on a national scale.
It’s also a chance to recognise and promote our educator, coordinator and service Award Winners.
We’ve seen a number of stories come through on our 2021 Award Winners in the media, which you can access on our website here.
We look forward to continued media coverage on the 2021 Awards!
FDCA’s Family Day Care Legal Services provides you with access to a team of trusted legal professionals to have your back when you need it most.
FDCA have teamed up with Clyde & Co, a multi-award winning law firm and specialists in the family day care field, to provide our members with legal advice and resources tailored to their business.
For as little as $3.15 a week, you can access expert assistance to tackle a range of legal, regulatory and operational issues, helping you save precious time and money.
Click here to begin your legal services subscription today
One of our educators was able to begin the process of recovering over $4000 of debt through her Family Day Care Legal Services subscription - giving her much needed peace of mind and greater financial security.
FDCA’s Family Day Care Legal Services is just one of the ways that we are supporting you, our members, to feel confident that your business is in good hands.
Would you like to take part in a research study looking into the health and wellbeing of educators?
Edith Cowan University is currently conducting a research study to better understand the health and wellbeing of family day care educators and the factors that may affect this – so your input is invaluable!
Part of the research involves collecting responses via a questionnaire. The questionnaire is open to all family day care educators who are registered with an approved service.
Click here to have your say and participate in this worthwhile project.
The questionnaire will take approximately 20 minutes to complete and all data collected will remain confidential.
Further information can be obtained by clicking on the link or by contacting the researcher Theresa Rayfield at trayfiel@our.ecu.edu.au or Principal Supervisor Dr Ruth Wallace at ruth.wallace@ecu.edu.au
A reminder to submit your entry for our final edition of FDC Educator Hacks for 2021, for your chance to win a FREE Bunnings gift card!
Your challenge: to come up with a fun, low-cost and innovative program, activity or resource connected to an area or element of the NQS, that reflects this month’s theme.
Your prize: the winner of each month will receive a $50 Bunnings e-gift card and a dedicated post on our Facebook page featuring their creation!
Our final theme for 2021 is…
“Child-centred”
How to Enter
To submit your FDC Educator Hacks entry, simply send us a Facebook message with:
- Your FDCA membership number;
- A high resolution photograph or video of your creation; AND
- 100 words or less on how your creation fits this month’s theme and how it connects to the NQS.
Submissions will close at 11:59pm on Friday 29 October 2021, with the winner to be notified and announced here on our page on Friday 5 November 2021.
Our FDC Educator Hacks series will return in 2022 with a new and exciting twist, so make sure to get your entry in and watch out for the series’ return next year!
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