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FDCA wishes to remind all those that have been nominated in the 2022 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards that this Sunday, 15 May 2022 (11.59pm AEST) is the deadline for the lodgement of supporting submissions.
The awards have once again been a huge success with over 3,400 nominations placed. This result demonstrates the important role that family day care plays in the lives of Australian families and also the amazing support provided to educators by services and service staff.
We would like to not only congratulate all those who have been nominated but also thank everyone who participated in the awards in the way of placing a nomination or promoting the awards.
Following the submission deadline, the review process will begin and the first release of awards winners will take place on 19 July 2022 with the announcement of this year’s Regional Educator winners.
To find out more about the 2022 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards please visit, www.familydaycare.com.au/awards.
For those that haven’t already, please register now for the new professional development program, Supporting the mental health of children, developed to help build the capacity of family day care educators, managers and coordinators to promote positive mental health and wellbeing in children.
Spearheaded by the national mental health institute, Everymind, with support from Family Day Care Australia (FDCA), the first-of-its-kind program offers research driven tools and techniques that have been specifically tailored for family day care.
The new online program aims to deliver professional development approaches to build confidence when talking to children about mental health and wellbeing, while encouraging educators, managers and coordinators to reflect on and look after their mental health.
There are six self-paced modules, plus the newly created Managers and Coordinators module, exploring various early childhood education and care practice areas. These align with the National Quality Standard, the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia and the My Time, Our Place Framework.
The professional development program is available to educators, service managers and coordinators free of charge and can be accessed by completing the registration survey here.
To find out more about this initiative, visit the FDCA website or hop onto the Everymind website.
Thanks to Everymind for their continued support of wellbeing in the family day care sector. We look forward to future initiatives in this space as part of our commitment to supporting you to thrive in every aspect of your business.
ACECQA has provided an update on the final stage of the 2021 Approved Learning Frameworks (ALFs) Update project, which is nearing completion.
From January to March 2022, potential updates to the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia (EYLF) and My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia (MTOP) were piloted in 16 early childhood education and care services across Australia.
A national consortium led by a partnership between Macquarie University, Queensland University of Technology and Edith Cowan University was engaged by ACECQA, on behalf of all governments, to deliver the 2021 National Quality Framework (NQF) Approved Learning Frameworks (ALFs) Update project.
A Literature Review and Discussion Paper developed in Stages 1 and 2, and stakeholder feedback, highlighted the strengths of the current ALFs. They also identified 20 potential areas for update in the ALFs, including strengthening Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives throughout the frameworks with the vision, principles, practices and outcomes; and the addition of a new sustainability principle.
The six-week pilot involved the consortium gathering weekly feedback from all 16 pilot sites, in particular on the clarity, useability and efficacy of the potential updates. FDCA would like to commend Wynnum Family Day Care & Education Service and Central Metro Family Day Care Scheme for representing the
A diverse range of service types contributed substantially over a six-week period. In particular, we acknowledge the efforts of those who remained so committed to this important work while managing the impact of ongoing COVID-19 outbreaks, and for some, recent flooding events.
Findings and feedback from the pilot will inform recommendations for consideration by Education Ministers. It is expected this will occur in the second half of 2022. Advice about the commencement of any changes to the ALFs will be provided in advance, to allow adequate lead time to support successful implementation.
The autumn edition of JiGSAW magazine is now available for members to access in the FDCA Member Zone.
This edition is full of some inspiring and informing articles as well as features from all of our usual contributors such as ACECQA, Be You and Everymind. Inside this edition of JiGSAW you will find:
To view the autumn edition of JiGSAW magazine, click here and log into your FDCA Member Zone.
The launch of a brand new resource finder means navigating the ACECQA website is easier than ever.
The resource finder will help you search for more than 240 resources designed to support the delivery of quality education and care. Type key words or phrases into the search bar and use the check boxes to refine your results by topic, category or resource type.
The ‘Export your search’ function will allow you to download a go-to spreadsheet containing titles and URLs for all the resources found on a searched topic.
We encourage you to try the new resource finder here.
At the end of each financial year, Services Australia reconciles Child Care Subsidy (CCS) payments to ensure families receive the correct amount of assistance for the year. Families are required to confirm their 2020-21 income by 30 June 2022 to allow Services Australia to complete balancing and to avoid losing CCS.
Any families yet to confirm 2019-20 income are required to do so by the 30 June 2022 deadline to avoid losing CCS eligibility and having to pay back subsidy received during this time. Families can confirm their income by lodging their tax return or by telling Services Australia that they don’t need to lodge a tax return.
You can help families by reminding them to confirm their income before the deadline.
For more information, please visit the Services Australia website.
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.
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