31 August 2022

LAST DAY to purchase your 2022 National Conference ticket!

Today is the LAST DAY to secure your ticket to the biggest family day care event of 2022.

To purchase your tickets, click here.

Reminder: any tickets purchased in 2021 remain valid for the 2022 National Conference.

With 24 workshops to choose from and a stellar lineup of Keynote Speakers, our 2022 National Conference is not to be missed!

View the workshop summaries on the conference website and click here to download the conference program.

Contribute to a Kindicare article on dancing in family day care!

Kindicare, a popular early childhood education and care application platform, is inviting you to contribute to a written piece on the joy of dancing within family day care environments.

With the benefits of physical activity, movement and music well-known, we invite you to consider the following questions and have your answers and your business featured in an online Kindicare article:

How do you incorporate dancing into the family day care day, and why is it so wonderful for children’s development?

Which (two or three) songs do your children really love to dance to, and why?

A big thanks to those that have submitted so far! If you’re still interested in being featured in the article, submit your answers to the above questions via email to enquiries@fdca.com.au

Member Elected Director nominations 2022

Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) is calling for nominations to fill vacancies arising upon the cessation of the tenure of two current Member Elected Directors at this year’s Annual General Meeting.

The FDCA Board of Directors is focused on the effective governance of the company, including strategic direction, finance, compliance and risk management. The Board comprises seven to eleven positions, made up of:

- A minimum of five and a maximum of six Directors elected by the national membership

- A minimum of two and a maximum of five skills-based Directors appointed by the Board

Please click here to view FDCA’s current Board of Directors.

If you are interested in considering a directorship with FDCA, please contact Scott Rollason, FDCA General Manager, via scott.rollason@fdca.com.au for a copy of the Board Candidate Nomination Pack and instructions on submitting your nomination.

Nominations must be received by close of business (AEST) Friday 9 September 2022.

2022 Child Protection Week - “Every Child, in Every Community, Needs a Fair Go”

Sunday 4 September to Saturday 10 September 2022 is National Child Protection Week, an annual campaign run across the country to raise awareness of child abuse and neglect, and the right of every child to grow up safe and supported.

In 2022, National Child Protection Week will continue to embrace the overarching message that ‘every child, in every community, needs a fair go’.

The impacts of child abuse and neglect are devastating for children, families and communities. Identification and intervention are crucial to stop the cycle of abuse and allow children to begin healing, in environments that prioritise and support their health and wellbeing.

National Child Protection Week is an opportunity for early childhood professionals to elevate the voices of children in need and spread awareness of this important topic.

‍Download resources to display at your home or service or take the Child Protection Pledge for 2022 here.

Update from the Department of Education

National Workforce Census

The Department of Education has published the results of the 2021 Early Childhood Education and Care National Workforce Census.

Distributed in 2021, the Census collected a variety of Information including:

• details on service usage;
• children with additional needs;
• access to preschool programs; and
• staffing information, including demographics, qualifications, wages, and current study.

The Census shone a light on some of the important strengths of family day care, with some of the key findings being: 

• 41.5% of family day care workers work long hours (41+ hours) compared to 17.0% of those in centre-based care;
• a higher percentage of family day care workers (97.9%) had an ECEC related qualification than centre-based sector (92.9%)
• family day care workers were significantly more likely to have recent undertaken professional development training to strengthen their pedagogy or practice (93.2%) compared to centre-based workers (27.7%);
• average tenure was greatest among family day care workers at 5.0 years;
• 54.8% of family day care services had Indigenous children attending in the reference week, comparable to centre-based care levels;
• family day care services (34.1%) had the highest proportions of children from a LOTE background among all child care services, compared to 22.0% in centre-based services; and
• significantly, almost half of the total number of children attending child care services during the reference week from (or had parents / guardians from) a refugee or special humanitarian program background (4,590) attended family day care services. This compares to only 3,343 in centre-based services, a sector over 10 times the size of family day care.

In our most recent correspondence with Minister Aly ahead of the Jobs and Skills Summit, we have used this data to reiterate the importance of family day care in the ECEC landscape. We have also continued our advocacy efforts for  stronger levels of support for the sector, as we know that many services continue to struggle with recruitment, retention and viability.

More broadly, the information will inform early childhood education and care policy, and help ensure that children and their families receive quality early learning and care.

You can read the report on the Department’s website.