Investing in Rural Care: How the Family Day Care Capability Trial Helped Kate Bring High-Quality Family Day Care to Her Community

When Western Australian educator Kate opened her family day care service last year, she fulfilled not just a personal dream, but a crucial need for working families in her small rural community of Gidgegannup. Before she opened, local families were navigating long waitlists, limited care options and very few flexible choices, forcing some to reduce work hours or consider leaving the workforce entirely.

Chrissy, whose child now attends Kate’s service said: “If I didn’t have a place with Kate, I would have had to reduce my hours and days significantly, which would have put us under a lot more financial stress.”

Another parent, Sophie, shared: “Getting a place at Kate’s family day care has allowed me to return to work permanently since maternity leave. Without child care I wouldn’t have returned to work.”

The impact of Kate opening didn’t just add another early childhood education and care option, it has enabled parents to stay employed, reduced stress and provide the type of care families were seeking.

Originally from New Zealand, Kate holds a Diploma of Teaching in Early Childhood and has worked in long day care, kindergartens and schools. She previously operated as a family day care educator and after raising her own children she wanted to return to the sector for flexibility and to pursue her passion for early learning.

Kate envisioned a calm, nature-rich environment that reflected her rural setting and supported children’s agency.

“I’m very big on nature play, children learn so much outdoors. It’s where they’re happiest,” she said.

After purchasing a property with a large backyard, she identified an ideal space to create a purpose-built family day care environment. But finding the property was just the beginning. Opening a new family day care required significant work and investment, particularly to meet the compliance requirements.

“It was going to be quite a prohibitive cost, but in the long term this area is a huge selling point of my service; without the Capability Trial I would have had to fence in a much smaller space,” explained Kate.

The Australian Government–funded Family Day Care Capability Trial, facilitated by Family Day Care Australia, supported Kate to establish a safe and compliant indoor and outdoor environment. Her space now includes a large sandpit, trees, hills, chickens, and neighbouring sheep reflecting her nature play philosophy and supporting children’s rich learning experiences through play and exploration.

Kate also completed a comprehensive onboarding process with her service, Nature Alliance, which helped her feel confident and prepared.

“It’s been a while since I’ve been in the industry and so much has changed. By the end of it, I felt like I had my head around everything” Kate said.

With that confidence, Kate shaped her service around the community needs offering longer, more flexible hours, along with a calm and consistent routine.

“Some families had experienced the closure of their previous child care, so I feel privileged I could step in. Other families now have more flexibility, as I offer longer hours, and some have secured extra days of care,” she explained.

Families living in the community also wanted care that reflected their surroundings and preferred their children to play and learn outdoors. Many preferred the small group setting, especially when children hadn’t settled in larger services. One family had been driving two hours each way for care due to the lack of local options.

Chrissy shared: “Kate has made a huge difference to our family and to my stress levels. It’s amazing to have a quality educator who cares deeply about the wellbeing and learning of my child.”

Sophie added: “Family day care was our preference, but all the local ones had two-to-three-year waitlists. Kate has made us feel so much more comfortable leaving our daughter with someone else.”

Kate’s program follows a slow and gentle rhythm to the day. Children enjoy unhurried routines and spend much of their day outdoors, engaged in water and messy play, art, and nature exploration. Their current fascination with small creatures in the garden has led to deeper investigation and rich learning opportunities.

Looking ahead, Kate plans to offer before and after school care to meet emerging community needs.

Having the support of her service and the Capability Trial, returning to early childhood education has been positive and affirming.

“It's just so nice being back in the early childhood sector for me, because this is where I feel like I belong. I would highly recommend that others consider family day care as the sector really needs more passionate and dedicated educators.”