6 November 2024

Awards Gala Dinner Tickets - Last week to get your tickets

The 2024 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards Gala Dinner is just over two weeks away and a limited number of tickets are still available. However, you will need to act fast to secure your spot at the biggest night on the family day care calendar, with ticket sales closing on Wednesday 13 November 2024.

Tickets can be purchased here.

Taking place at the Parkroyal Hotel on Saturday 23 November, the Gala Dinner will be a celebration of all those nominated this year, along with presentations to Regional and Star Award Winners in attendance, National Finalists and of course the announcement of our National Award Winners.

The Gala Dinner will provide guests with a wonderful opportunity to join friends and colleagues for what promises to be a memorable night of celebration.

FDCA members can secure tickets at an exclusive members-only discounted rate of $140 ($175 for non-members).

‍Event Details

Date: Saturday 23 November 2024
Time: 6:30pm - 11.00pm
Where: Parkroyal Hotel, 30 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW
Dress Code: Cocktail

‍Dinner tickets include: ‍

• Pre-dinner welcome drinks and canapés
• A delicious 2-course meal
• Access to a 3.5-hour drinks package (6.30pm - 10.00pm)
• Entertainment from our live DJ
• Access to photos post-event 

To find out more about the Gala Dinner and view the program of events, click here.

Is Your Prescribed Information Up to Date?

In family day care, one of the most common breaches relates to Regulation 173A – Prescribed information to be displayed – family day care service.

Under Section 172 of the National Law and Regulation 173A of the National Regulations, family day care services must ensure that prescribed information is clearly visible to anyone entering the service, as well as at each family day care residence and venue.

This prescribed information includes: details about provider and service approvals, service ratings, waivers (including the duration of the waiver), the names of nominated supervisors and the educational leader, the contact details to whom complaints may be addressed, weekly menus and more, as specified in the National Law and Regulations.

Approved providers are responsible for ensuring this information is displayed not only at the service’s main office but also at every family day care residence and venue.

Key Points to Remember:

• Ensure provider and service approval details, including approval numbers and any conditions, are visible at each location. This could be near the children’s sign in records, next to the front door or near where children’s belongings are stored.
• The contact details of the Regulatory Authority must be displayed and kept up to date.
• The service’s rating certificate must always be displayed at each family day care residence or venue, outlining the overall rating of the service and the current rating level for each quality area.
• Ensure information about the hours and days of operation of both the service office and the family day care residence or venue is clearly visible.
• A diagram (e.g. a floor plan) must be displayed, showing the areas of the family day care residence or approved venue suitable for the provision of education and care to children. The diagram should include any water hazards, water features or swimming pools at or near the residence or venue.
• If a child at risk of anaphylaxis is enrolled or there has been an occurrence of an infectious disease, a notice must be displayed at each family day care residence or venue indicating this.

If educators are unsure as to whether all the information displayed is correct or up to date, it's important to reach out to your coordination unit for support. They can guide you to ensure compliance and provide updates where necessary.

Useful Resource:

• Guide to the NQF – Operational Requirements: QA7

FDCA Online Engagement Series: Critical Reflection for Family Day Care - Recording Available

Did you miss out on last week’s episode of the FDCA Online Engagement Series on Critical Reflection? If the answer is yes, you can watch a recording of the episode on the FDCA website.

The recording is available here.

In what was one our most popular episodes so far, our special guests, Rhonda Livingstone and Kerry Smith cover the following topics:

• Understanding Critical Reflection
• Tools and Strategies for Critical Reflection
• Applying and Demonstrating Critical Reflection

Kerry was kind enough to supply her slides from the evening, which can be accessed here. Kerry is also happy for FDCA members, who have any questions about her slides or the topic, to contact her via email at kbcccommunity@gmail.com.

Early Childhood Education and Care Staff Survey 2024

The Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Staff Survey 2024 is being conducted by ORIMA Research on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Education (the department).  This important survey helps the Australian Government Department of Education:

•  Develop policies to better attract and keep people working in the ECEC sector, and
•  Monitor progress of the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy – a ten-year strategy that aims to ensure a sustainable, high-quality children’s education and care workforce.

The ECEC Staff Survey 2024 is being conducted over 4 November – 16 December 2024. It is open to directors, managers, coordinators, educational leaders, teachers and educators working in family day care and outside school hours care. 

For more information and to take the survey click here.

Planned System Upgrades: 6 November 2024

We would like to advise all FDCA members that we will be undertaking planned upgrades across some online systems that are continuing today. This will result in a number of online systems and platforms being offline across the FDCA website this evening.

We apologise for any inconvenience and thank you for your understanding.

Notice of 2024 Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of members of Family Day Care Australia Limited (FDCA) will be held at 3.00pm (AEDT) on Saturday 23 November 2024 at the Parkroyal Hotel, 30 Phillip Street, Parramatta NSW 2150.

If you would like to attend in person, please RSVP to FDCA’s Marketing and Events Manager, Matt Asmanas, at matt.asmanas@fdca.com.au by COB Thursday 7 November 2024.

The 2023-2024 Annual Report, Notice of Annual General Meeting and FDCA Proxy Form are now available on the FDCA website and can be accessed here.