After eight years of working in long day care primarily as lead educator, Stacey Hocking set her sights on starting her own Family Day Care. After careful consideration and commitment to her goal, she commenced her Family Day Care business in Frankston North. Stacey quickly discovered that it was exactly what she wanted to do.
Run from the homes of qualified educators Family Day Care provides early education and care in a relaxed small group setting. As a childcare option, Family Day Care stands apart for its highly personalised approach to care as there’s a limit of up to seven children at a time with a maximum of four preschool children.
It was when Stacey’s own daughter started going to Family Day Care that she noticed positive changes taking place.
“My daughter started eating more, sleeping better and she became more resilient. She could even regulate her emotions better.”
Stacey saw Family Day Care as an opportunity to give children the attention and nurturing they need.
“The penny just dropped for me. I knew children would be able get quality care and that’s what I needed to do.
Once she opened her Family Day Care, Stacey found that her Family Day Care gradually gained momentum and filled up with children. Using social media extensively to post engaging content, being upfront and transparent during meet and greets with parents and word of mouth are some of the strategies that she believes fuels her success.
“I really put myself out there and I was really honest about myself and what I offer,” says Stacey.
While setting up her Family Day Care took time and commitment the rewards made up for all the efforts.
“This is exactly what I wanted, a home away from home for children to learn, grow and explore. When I see them so happy and thriving that’s when I think, yes, this is rewarding.”
Stacey cherishes the connections she has formed with the families and children and being able to provide early education and care in a vastly different environment to long day care.
"I have the privilege of providing them a second home that will forever be part of their lives to look back on and remember,” she says.
Her program for children in her care is driven by their interests, their age and their development level and accordingly includes a variety of learning experiences. STEM learning, sensory learning, hands-on play and both spontaneous and intentional learning cover a mix of experiences for the children and are only a few of the vast and holistic learning experiences offered in Stacey’s program.
To understand what parents would like their children to learn and explore, Stacey reaches out to families to inform her programming and gather valuable insight and parent input.
“I ensure that I am including in my program opportunities that align with what parents want and their goals. It’s a massive responsibility, but I love it and would never change what I am doing now,” she says.
As some parents have expressed that their children take part in cooking at home, Stacey finds ways to further scaffold the practice in her Family Day Care. Recently, the children cooked their own pizzas and had a picnic at the playground. These experiences offer many instances of learning through discussion and sensory exploration.
Painting and literacy activities like reading are also part of Stacey’s regular programming. Throughout her monthly plans, Stacey adapts as the weeks unfold based on her observations on how the children are responding and their interests. A lot of thought and planning go into activities to ensure a variety that caters to all age groups ranging from making spray paint to stepping stones. Stacey also continues to build on these activities depending on how children respond week after week.
When Stacey started her journey in Family Day Care, as a first step she looked for a provider that resonated with her values and expectations. She found starting her own business daunting and it was important for her to find the right support. In Windermere she found a trusted and experienced provider she could lean on for support and guidance.
“After doing my research and speaking to Windermere over the phone, they definitely felt like the right choice for me. I could always contact them whenever I needed. I never felt alone. They were prompt, confident in what they knew, answered every question I had and helped me through the highs and lows,” says Stacey.
As Stacey had not had any exposure to the administrative, finance and management aspects that came with running a business, she was able to turn to Windermere for guidance and support. Windermere ensured risk assessments, policies, procedures and other requirements were fulfilled.
"Everything from understanding policies, behavioural management plans to webinars – they were full of resources to keep me on the right track,” she adds.
Stacey could also rely on the network of Windermere educators who reached out with advice and recommendation whenever she needed. Knowing she had different avenues of support available to her helped alleviate much of the stress.
“Anytime I was worried about anything, I’d reach out to Windermere. I could be on the phone multiple times a week and they always gave me the time of day. It’s been a journey, but a really good journey,” she adds.
While Stacey opened her family day care in January this year, over just a few months she could observe the positive outcomes for children and families. Starting with the orientation with parents where needs, concerns and suitability are assessed, Family Day Care supports the ability to nurture strong relationships with families; something that Stacey values as it goes a long way in establishing open communication and understanding.
“Parents can always discuss what they want changed and I can always swap it around. I make sure I let them know that I am here to support,” says Stacey.
The support Stacey provides also extends to flexibility in the hours of care in an emergency or when parents are in a rush. While she has set hours of operation, parents can always reach out if they are running late.
In such instances, Stacey can offer to feed their child dinner if needed, read a story and get them ready for bed. This personalised nature of care sets Family Day Care apart as a childcare option.
“It’s a lot more one on one,” says Stacey noting that this personalised care approach requires a high level of commitment and nurturing.
Learn how you can become a Family Day Care educator here. To enrol your child in Family Day Care visit here.
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Boonwurrung Country
Narre Warren, VIC 3805
Phone: 1300 946 337
Email: info@windermere.org.au
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