Changing Careers from Long Day Care to Family Day Care

 

When long day care Educator Natasha went on maternity leave, she didn’t expect she would one day be running her own home based child care business.

Natasha is qualified in early childhood education and had been working at Windermere’s Frankston based Early Learning Centre. After having her second child she had decided to leave the ELC and find a role that had a shorter commute time.  

Soon after she decided to leave, Windermere’s ELC Manager approached Natasha with an exciting alternative. She suggested that Natasha could run her own home based Family Day Care business registered as an educator with Windermere.

By being registered with Windermere Natasha could enjoy the freedom of running her own business while concentrating on the nurture of the children in her care.

“I would never have considered Family Day Care as an option if it had not been offered to me, but I knew and trusted the Windermere management so I took a huge leap of faith. I am so glad that I did,” she says.

Once Natasha decided to make the move, Windermere assisted her to do the initial set up of her business. This included ensuring she was operating in a safe way and meeting compliance and training requirements under the National Regulations and Law. Windermere also handled financials and invoicing matters.

“Building the business was the biggest challenge. Attracting the children and families to your care, can take a bit of time to get going, but Windermere are good with the advertising and assisting you to do this,” says Natasha.

Natasha’s experience in long day care also gave her foundation skills and confidence.

“If I had not had that long day care experience, particularly with helping children to handle transitions such as sleep routines, it would have been much more difficult,” she says.

The home environment and small group sizes in Family Day Care were also a huge attraction for her.

 “The relationships you get with the children and the families are second to none, you connect with the children and you get to know them in so much depth, it’s pretty special. You just can’t get that in a long day care setting,” she says.

Natasha would never have operated her Family Day Care business without the support of Windermere.

 “The Windermere staff are so supportive, they are always there to answer your questions and to support you, I’ve always felt they have my best interests at heart,” she says.

“It can be nerve wracking as you are there by yourself, with no one there to back you up if things go askew. But I have the assurance that Windermere are there to support me, and that makes a huge difference.”

Now Natasha’s children are getting older she wants to pursue a different work-life balance, but still stay in the early childhood space, which she adores. She plans to become a qualified teacher of  either primary school or kindergarten.

Want to know more about becoming a Windermere Family Day Care Educator? Call 1300 946 337 or visit here.