Welcome to
Garden Play
Family Day Care Service

About Us

We appreciate the home setting as an environment that enables a softer and more gentle transition from a parent’s care. In these environments the care and approach to learning is adapted to meet each child’s needs.

Family day care facilitates a stronger relationship between Educator and child, which enables the child to feel secure and supported sooner, this is then the foundation for them to develop and learn.

At Garden Play Family Day Care Service, we provide quality guidance and direct assistance to registered Educators. Our service fees are kept as low as possible to ensure our Educators reap the rewards of what they create, build and work hard for.

We are available to assist parents throughout their enrolment with Garden Play, we whole-heartedly want children to transition into FDC smoothly and be their happy natural selves whilst in care. 

​

As the Director and Nominated Supervisor of Garden Play, and as a former primary and early years school teacher, FDC Educator and FDC Coordinator, I feel I can provide valuable guidance to Educators that only comes from experience in the role. I can also personally relate to the anxieties felt by a parent trying to find the right Educator for their child.

For both Educators and parents we help you to see through the muddle, guiding you to what information you need to move forward. 

Become an Educator with Garden Play

At Garden Play FDC Service we pride ourselves on the quality of our educators. The training and registration process of educators is very efficient and ensures educators are prepared and confident to commence operating their family day care. 

​

If you would like to setup a family day care or join Garden Play, please don't hesitate to contact us. We look forward to meeting you!

​

The following is the initial mandatory requirements we expect from a prospective Educator. 

​​

• Educators must meet qualification requirements.  A family day care educator must have:

  • First Aid qualification (including CPR, anaphylaxis and emergency asthma management training)

  • At least a certificate III qualification in Early Childhood Education and Care or be actively working towards, at least an approved certificate III level education and care qualification.  

• Must have a house in which they plan to run the service from, they do not need to own this house, it can be a rental property (Landlord permission is required).

• Must be willing to obtain public liability insurance (approximately $450 annually)

• Must maintain a current Working with Children Check card.

• Must be willing to obtain a police check (no older than six months) for themselves and for the occupants of the home that are over 18 years old

• Must be willing to register as a Food Business with their local council and meet council registration requirements if they plan to provide any food in their family day care.

What you get from Garden Play FDC Service on setup and throughout the duration of your registration:

• Initial meetings, training and limitless phone call support to help you to setup your FDC and throughout registration

• Training resource documents (administration folder, education resource folder, enrolment support folder, numerous paper based and electronic resources to run your business and to document learning, plus a one-year learning program book)

• Guidance on setting up your family day care environment

• Guidance to ensure you meet all the Education and Care Services National Regulations

• Insurance advice

• Access to our toy library

• Subscription to REmida

• On-going support and mentoring

• Assistance to develop and review your Quality Improvement Plan (QIP)

• We handle all CCS claiming and parent payments

• Support for families

• Networking and professional development opportunities

Please call our office on (08) 6201 6980 or 0432873791 to discuss further. We offer a personalised training process, providing you with all of the administration documents and practical knowledge you will need to confidently run your FDC to a high standard.

We can provide training outside office hours in order to meet your availability. 

​

Remember there is no annual fee! No percentage of your income!

Contact us to find out more!

Garden Play Philosophy 

2022

Garden Play believes that children naturally feel a sense of belonging in a home setting. It is an environment that enables a softer and gentler transition from a parent’s care. We believe smaller group based care allows better educator to child engagement, general involvement, supervision and care of children. We feel that the natural sense of belonging  in this setting facilitates children to develop a secure base sooner in which to grow from.

At Garden Play we believe the early years of a person’s life are critical to their adult being. That it is our responsibility as early childhood professionals to ensure children develop a strong sense of identity and feel supported to know and communicate their rights. We believe in the Early Childhood Australia, Code of Ethics, that the protection and wellbeing of children is paramount.

We agree with theorist John Holt that, children need to be given the freedom to follow their own interests in a stimulating and rich learning environment. We also believe, as theorist Howard Gardiner advocated, intelligence can be demonstrated in multiple forms and developed in multiple ways. Therefore, open ended learning environments are crucial to support the continuity of learning pathways. This constructivist theory is at the heart of each of our family day care services and feeds into educator practice, approach, choice of resources, the physical environment and the progressive educational program.

We feel it is our responsibility to support children to pursue their own interests, helping them to process new information, through exploration, reflection and linking to what is already known. Through the application of the Early Years Learning Framework outcomes, principles and practice, we seek to optimise learning for all enrolled children.

Like Reggio-Emilia and Montessori theory, we believe the successful application of holistic approaches is dependent on educator preparedness and organisation of the physical environment.  We value educators’ professional knowledge and experience that is drawn on each day to holistically support each child to learn through experiences. Always within a culture of respectful relationships which enables the children to have a sense of belonging and ownership in the environment.

Further to this we value the natural world and promote the emotional and physical benefits of children’s connection with nature. We believe the outdoors is a place where children can develop an understanding of the interdependence between land, people, plants and animals. We see the outdoors as a free space for children to learn, wonder, explore, exert their energy, build and inquire. In our teachings and appreciation of country, through the Kaleep playgroup we seek to develop children’s appreciation of the land and respect for the traditional custodians.

We believe in fair, honest and ethical conduct with all stakeholders. Although our philosophy is shared amongst all Garden Play educators, each of our educators are valued for their own identity, sense of self and cultural background. We value the professional partnership between educators and enrolled families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, as this demonstrates the universal understanding of wanting all children to grow healthy and happy and have ambitious dreams of their future.

Families

Family day care can offer families the personalised and flexible care that they need.  As you will be aware just like all families, all Family Day Cares are different. But each follow and abide by the Education and Care Service Services National Law and Regulations, and are guided by the National Quality Framework. Every Educator registered with Garden Play is visited regularly to ensure compliance and best practice. At Garden Play we work to ensure that all children are kept safe and feel happy in their FDC environment.

We can help you to find the Educator that best suits your child and your family. Finding and choosing someone to care for your most precious little one can be a difficult process. Contact our office and we can email you out a guide on what to look for in an Educator, the right questions to ask and tips on how to settle your child into care. Call us on (08) 6201 6980.

​

Family day care Educators each have their own operating hours, the majority are open between the standard hours of 7.30am to 5.30pm, Monday to Friday. Some Educators cater particularly for those needing care outside of regular hours, offering regular weekend or overnight care. In addition, Educators can be available for before and after school care, casual after hours care and vacation care. 

​

As each Educator runs their own business, each one sets their own fee for care. Generally, Garden Play Educators can charge between $90.00 to $130.00 for a standard day of care, this is before Child Care Subsidy (CCS) is applied. For the 2021-2022 financial year, CCS is capped at $11.40 per hour for family day care. Upon enrolment Educators and Garden Play staff are available to guide families through the process of claiming for CCS, ensuring the enrolment and claiming process runs smoothly for your family. 

​

Family Wellbeing Support 

Ngala

Parenting line (0-18yrs): 08 9368 9368

DadsWA:  dadswa@ngala.com.au,  08 9368 9368

Health Direct (general health information and advice)

1800 022 222

Meerilinga

08 9489 4022  or 1800 200 702

Mental Health Emergency Response Line

1300 555 788

Lifeline 24/7

13 11 14

Beyond Blue 24/7

1300 224 636

The Samaritans Crisis Line

08 9381 5555

Men’s Line Australia

1300 789 978

Child Protection and Family Support Crisis Care Helpline

08 9223 1111 or 1800 199 008

Child and adolescent health service urgent mental health support line

1800 048 636

Alcohol and drug support line

08 9442 5000 or 1800 198 024

Kids Helpline 24/7

1800 551 800