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20 July 2022

2022 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards – Regional Educator Award Winners announced yesterday

Congratulations to all 69 of our Regional Educator Winners in the 2022 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards, announced yesterday! We are proud to recognise your dedication, passion and commitment to continuous improvement.

You can view the full list of all Regional Educator Winners by clicking here.

You can also visit our Facebook page to pass on your congratulations and view the ongoing announcements and coverage of our winners.

2022 Awards Calendar

FDCA will announce our STAR Award winners on 28 July 2022. Our STAR Award winners are comprised of both new and long-serving educators, coordinators and services that have shown outstanding practice and provide amazing outcomes for children.

More information about the Excellence in Family Day Care STAR Awards is available here.

All of our Regional Educator Winners now go into the running to be named as one of four National Educator Finalists. National Finalists will be named on 9 August 2022.

Importance of the Awards

Celebrating its eleventh year, the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards is the only program of its kind celebrating the family day care sector across Australia. It’s our chance to showcase the stories and achievements of educators, coordinators and services and promote family day care as the natural choice in early childhood education and care for more Australian families.

FDCA commends all winners and nominees in the 2022 Awards, with a special thanks to our members for participating and making it another successful year for the awards.

We encourage you to keep an eye out over the coming weeks for media stories on our Regional Educator Winners, which will be shared on our Facebook page and website.

Engaging with families at Wynnum Family Day Care - AERO case study

Following on from Family Day Care Australia (FDCA)’s participation in a Project Advisory Group run by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO), Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service has engaged with the organisation to develop a series of case studies on Engaging with Families.

Located in Brisbane, QLD, Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service worked alongside AERO to explore three key strategies used by their family day care educators to encourage family engagement.

The case study describes, using real examples and links to the National Quality Framework and Early Years Learning Framework, how educators can build and sustain collaborative partnerships with families to support children’s learning and development.

We extend our thanks to the team at Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service for participating in the development of this case study and encourage members to access the full study here.

Have YOU logged into FDCA’s brand new Learning Hub?

We’ve partnered with Early Childhood Australia (ECA) to provide our members with access to over 25 online courses, housed on our brand-new Learning Hub!

Professional development that “speaks the language” of educators

Like you, we strive for ongoing excellence and quality outcomes for more Australian children – and we know that the best way to make that happen is to support our members to learn, grow and share their expertise.

Here are just some of the exciting new modules you’ll be able to access on the Learning Hub:

  • Playing with gratitude;
  • Supporting children's self-regulation;
  • Reconciliation in action;
  • Using critical reflection;
  • Maths is everywhere; and
  • Delving deeper into documenting and assessing.

Best of all, each module can be completed from the comfort of your home, or in the company of your colleagues, at a pace that suits you.

Accessing the Learning Hub

Access is at your fingertips, through the FDCA Member Zone.

Watch our video tutorial here to help you navigate the Learning Hub.

What if I haven’t activated my FDCA Member Zone?

To activate your online account:

  1. Click here to activate your free account (for the best experience, use the latest Chrome browser)
  2. Enter your registered email address
  3. An email will then be sent to your email address; click on the 'create password' button
  4. Create and confirm your password
  5. Click here to login and enter your FDCA Member Zone.

Updates from the Department of Education

New CCS eligibility rules

From 11 July 2022, children who haven’t used care at least once in 26 weeks will no longer be eligible for Child Care Subsidy (CCS).

Children who haven’t attended care since 10 January 2022 will lose their eligibility from 11 July 2022. The rule will then apply on an ongoing basis.

Families can submit a new CCS claim if their child re-commences care.

In addition, the following CCS changes have been introduced:

  • Allowable absences have reset. Children have 52 absences for the 2022–23 financial year.
  • You can waive gap fees if a child is unable to attend care for one of three COVID-related reasons until 30 June 2023.
  • Providers have until 11.59pm on Sunday 7 August to submit session reports to Services Australia for the 2021–22 CCS year.

Australian Child Care Providers and Services facebook group

Have you joined the Australian Child Child Care Providers and Services Facebook group?

Newly created by the Department of Education to share news directly with services, staff and educators, the group is a dedicated space to network and connect with others in the sector.

The group recently shared information on updated CCS fact sheets, providing an overview of commonly asked CCS questions from service providers, educators and families.

The fact sheets are available in a number of different languages to support the early childhood education and care (ECEC) community.

You can access the fact sheets here or through the Facebook group to print and display at your service or home, or to share with families.

FDCA 2022 National Conference – Less than two months to go!

Tickets are still available for the biggest family day care event of 2022 and can be purchased at the early bird rate that has been locked in, supporting more members to access an unmissable professional learning opportunity.

To purchase your tickets, click here.

Services can also access our exclusive Buy 4 Get 1 FREE offer until the end of July here.

A one stop shop with all your conferencing needs

The FDCA 2022 National Conference will give you access to an amazing range of sector experts.

With 24 workshops to choose from there will be no shortage in choice! 

You can view the workshop summaries on the conference website and click here to download the conference program.

Not only will you have access to wealth of quality content during the conference, you will also be able to access a number of industry leading suppliers of products and services in the exhibition hall.

To view a list of the conference exhibitors, click here.

Covid-19 refund guarantee

Don’t forget, your conference ticket comes backed with a peace of mind guarantee: any members who are unable to attend the conference due to COVID-19 related circumstances will receive a FULL refund on their ticket purchase.