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Jodie Signorino

Reflective Practice for Day Care Educators

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It can be easy to get lost in the ever-changing demands of your job, so taking a step back to pause and reflect on your own practice can help you stay focused, energised, and inspired. Reflective practice for day care educators is an essential part of self-care for any educator; it not only allows you to reconnect with your passion but also provides an opportunity to explore how best to nurture development in the children under your care. In this post we’ll look at how day care educators can integrate it into celebrations such as mother’s and father’s day.

 

As a day care educator, you experience busy and demanding days as you are responsible for providing a safe, nurturing environment for children. But taking time out to engage in reflective practice is vital in helping to optimise your work with kids and ensure that they benefit from your skill and passion. 

 

Should an assessor ask you why you do what you do in relation to Mother’s Day celebrations, what response do you think would work best for you and your service’s rating?

“Because our families expect it”

“Our families appreciate what we do”

“I loved what my child bought home when they were in care”

“Because mothers deserve a day of celebration”

“We are teaching children gratitude and giving”

These are only some of the responses I received when asking educators to tell me ‘their purpose’ with some additional responses such as:

“Are you even a mother?”

“Trying to kill off early childhood”

“Disrespectful to mother’s and women”

Now, this post is not about defending the value of reflective practice for day care educators, nor is it about defending myself. What it is about, is how some celebrations are held so tight that they raise emotions in some people that may lead to defensive behaviour.

When guiding and or engaging in reflective practice it is common that you may be provoked into thinking deeper about your practice and this may feel challenging or confronting from time time, and if you feel confronted that is a really good time to take a breath and ask yourself “why”?

Being reflective and engaging in reflective conversations can raise thoughts, emotions and memories and it can also raise values and biases, and this can be a challenging space for anyone as sometimes critical reflection can bring us back to our ‘why we are the way we are’ and particularly in early childhood, it can bring us back to our own early childhood experiences. This question or ‘provocation’ I posed to educators not only surprised me in relation to the way some people felt it was an attack on mothers, it also indicated some educators have never been provoked to assess their practice on a critical level.

One of the strategies I provide Educational Leaders with for reflective practice for day care educators is to be able question and provoke others into considering a range of perspectives, yet mother’s day is often approached as ‘hands off’ celebration that can’t be changed or altered and it is perpetually visualised with flowers, slippers and morning tea.

I, for one, can never make a morning tea, I don’t wear slippers and I am allergic to flowers!

Check out my Mother’s Day Blog which unpacks reflective practice in depth with the perspectives to consider when developing your Mother’s Day celebrations.

You can book a consult with me so I can help you more with reflective practice strategies, or whatever you may need help with on your day care journey. Book here. I help day care service approval applicants, educators, leaders and providers.

Celebrating Mother’s and Father’s Day in Day Care: A guide for educators and service providers

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The other day I answered a question about celebrating mother’s and father’s day in day care, and although it may surprise you, I can’t tell you the amount of times I’ve been asked “What can we make for the babies to give their mum/dad this mother’s/father’s day”?

One of the most valuable questions I was taught to ask when reflecting is,”Who is advantaged and who is disadvantaged?” which can be applied to almost any of your practices. A reflective educator considers so much more than single parenting arrangements. (I have provided some further considerations below)

It’s hard to find an early childhood educator that doesn’t do something in their program to celebrate mother’s/father’s day, however choosing what to do can often take a lot of time effort, planning and preparation.

We all know by now that families come in all shapes and sizes, and also what children experience in early childhood stays with them forever.

The very first year I worked with children, I was straight out of high school, knew nothing about early years and fell in love with early childhood. It was also that same year that I wanted gifts for the children to give to their fathers. I painted small terracotta pots (with the children’s help) one for each child, made the cards and had each child contribute something (their name, a drawing or scribble etc.) wrapped and presented them to each family.

Over the years I have made a range of gifts, from poems, bookmarks to picture frames and much more in between and at times the contribution from the child was minimal to say the least. These were undoubtedly my projects.

Now days, our critical reflection leads us to follow children’s interests and abilities and take on a range of perspectives when planning what and how we celebrate special days. So, when I hear that question “what can babies make for mother’s/father’s day”? I know not all perspectives have been taken into consideration. 

Here’s some perspectives for you to consider when celebrating mother’s and father’s day in day care.

Perspectives to consider when celebrating mother’s and father’s day in day care

What are you teaching the children about gifts and gift giving, have you considered why you think about celebrations days they way you do?

Are you celebrating mother’s/father’s day in a way you feel you have to? Are you doing it the way you were conditioned by your own family or have been influenced by media and advertising?

Additionally, what are you teaching about the expectations of a mother or father? For example, are you teaching that all mothers and fathers are loving, caring, available, and appreciative, play board games, work hard etc. Is your program reinforcing stereotypes of what a mother or father ‘should’ be?

By understanding your own conditioning, motivations and perspective, you will be able to challenge yourself and provide an informed educational program that caters to children and families and their way of ‘being’.

Parents perspective when celebrating mother’s and father’s day in day care

Depending on the elaborateness of the gifts it can raise a range of responses in family members such as, “Wow, this is a great gift. I know my child didn’t do it, so the educator must have. Did the educator put all of this time and effort into this gift for me? Why”?

Families may react differently, some may feel obligated to ‘pay back’, some may feel unappreciative, and some may feel embarrassed you have gone to great lengths for them.

There is also the risk of family members concluding that, “If the educator has this much time on their hands (even though you’ve spent hours of your own time they are not aware of) then the job of an educator must be an easy one.

By thinking about the reactions your gift giving may be provoking in others will inform your practices, recognise if you are placing additional pressure on families such as feeling as though they now owe you a gift, and make your celebrations more genuine.

Personal Perspective when celebrating mother’s and father’s day in day care

Many people do not fit the ‘ideal’ you may be portraying to children. For me personally, I have always had a strained relationship with my mother. She was different to the stereotype, she was tough and made me stand on my own two feet so to speak. I never related to the ‘stereotype’ of what was being portrayed by my schools and the media of what a mother ‘should’ be. This resulted in feelings of isolation, insecurity and embarrassment, which I now know was unfair to both me and my mother, and I came to dread mother’s day.

Contemporary Thinking

Labels such as girl/boy or role expectations of ‘mothers’ and fathers’ and even clothing styles for men and women are all being questioned and reinterpreted. As educators, it is our duty to challenge stereotypes and really think about we are teaching children. We’ve moved on from teaching children women are homemakers haven’t we?

Being aware of contemporary thinking does not mean you have to necessarily change you own way of ‘being’ but as an educationalist, it will inform your teaching and practices. Remember they are not your children, you are not their parent, you are their educator and reflection is not a choice, but a requirement of your role.

More work for you

All educators have a big job, with many tasks and responsibilities to attend to daily. In family day care even more so, because you are often alone to manage everything and it is your home business, so your responsibilities and your obligations are beyond those of an educator working in a centre.

The way you handle celebrations in your program can have an impact on feelings of overwhelm and being unappreciated, not to mention the impact on your budget.

The cost to business

Have you budgeted for gifts? I speak with many educators that after expenses they have little to no profit in their business. Celebrations are only one example of hidden costs in operating your business. If your budget caters for art and craft for the day to day operations and doesn’t include the additional costs of making gifts with children, this could see you spend more than allocated. And if you celebrate a number of days such as mothers day, Christmas, birthdays etc. it all adds up to hundreds of dollars from your budget.

So, when planning which celebrations you will be taking part in with the children (which could change every year) and what approach you are going to take, it’s vital you are aware of the additional workload, cost, and impact.

If you’d like to discuss how JPS can help you on your day care journey then book a consult here.

CCS PROVIDER REFUSAL AND HOW TO AVOID IT

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CCS Provider Refusal
CCS Provider Refusal

In family day care, although you may be passionate and confident in your ability to operate an education and care service, that won’t be enough for the Federal Regulatory Authority when you submit your application for CCS approval.

You must be able demonstrate the governance arrangements and operations of your family day care service to be granted approval.

The number one reason for CCS provider refusal is the lack of business planning. And, did you know that if your application for CCS is refused, which is common, you will have to wait an additional 18 months before applying again?

A CCS provider refusal could end your dreams of running your own family day care service. You see, if you are not successful in your application for CCS the first time the state regulatory authority may seek to have your service approval revoked, and may request you surrender your approved provider approval. This would be devastating when you have worked so hard to get that far.

The Family Assistance Legislation clearly states the ‘delegate’ (regulatory department) assessing your application must refuse to approve an application for CCS if the applicant does not meet the fit and proper requirements. Being determined as fit and proper to administer government funds is a stringent assessment which includes, in detail, how you will operate the service from a business perspective.

So to avoid CCS provider refusal, it’s crucial you develop a business plan that demonstrates how you will operate. You need to consider things such as:

– how will you recruit, screen and appoint staff and educators?

– which operating systems will you have in place to manage accounts and finances?

– what training and supports do you have in place for staff and educators?

– how will you advertise your service?

– how will you enrol families and what supports you will offer?

– how will you manage educators if they become ill and cannot provide care?

– what staff are you going to employ and their responsibilities (delegation of authority)?

– if something should go wrong, how will it be managed and in what time frame?

– what are you going to charge families and for what (fee schedule)?

– what is the reporting structure within your service?

A business plan will prepare you to operate your service, which, technically, you should commence operating within 6 months of being granted your service approval.

By not having adequate business arrangements in place the regulatory officer assessing your application has no choice other than CCS provider refusal if they cannot determine your business practices and may conclude;

– You do not have the ability to manage accounts

– You do not have the systems in place to monitor finances

– You do not have a sound understanding of the Family Assistance Legislation

– You do not have procedures in place to identify fraudulent activity

– You not have the ability to train and monitor staff

Time and again people come to JPS with their CCS provider refusal letter from the Department, and in almost all cases, the rejection letter states ‘the approved provider did not demonstrate appropriate arrangements to ensure the service will meet its obligations’ and are not ‘fit and proper’ to operate an education and care service.

So, how do you avoid CCS provider refusal?

First things first – start your business plan immediately. The moment you submit your application to become an approved provider is the best time to commence a business plan because it is a living document that is not written in one night, but evolves over time. 

(The CCS Application Head Start Package might be helpful for you. Check it out here)

CCS Applciation Head Start Package

Business planning to avoid CCS provider refusal

Let’s be very clear, you are submitting an application to be approved to administer CCS to families and asking the Federal Government to give you access to millions of dollars of taxpayers’ money.

So, when your time comes to submit your application, the last thing you want is to hear is that you are not ‘fit and proper’ to administer the Child Care Subsidy. If you receive a CCS application refusal notification then have to wait 18 months before re-applying, and if you want to operate without CCS, you have to charge full fees to families, which is almost impossible.

The Department of Education, Skills and Employment have a job to do which is to protect taxpayers money, and just because YOU know you can do it, doesn’t mean THEY do – so that’s why your business planning is the key to avoiding CCS provider refusal.

As it is taxpayers’ money you will be administering, you are obligated to have measures, systems and processes in place to protect it.

The JPS CCS Application Head Start Package is designed especially for the the CCS application process but still requires work from you. Without knowing your particular service, including what exactly you are offering as part of your fees, what hours you will be operating, and how you will establish your reporting and responsibilities. I can only guide you to make your own business decisions to include in the plan to avoid CCS provider refusal. 

It’s perfectly reasonable to use templates for business planning, policies, etc. but if do not personalise the template, the regulatory authority will recognise that you have not customised to your service and will refuse the application.

A business plan is the most valuable resource in the entire process of becoming an approved service provider. The CCS Strategic Business Plan (which is included in the JPS CCS Application Head Start Package) will guide you through:

– establishing your fees

– undertaking the market research to prove there is a need for more child care places where you intend to operate

– develop your 12 month cash flow protections to prove you will be a viable business

– delegate responsibilities to any staff you plan on employing including service coordinator, accounts manager etc.

– how you will market and advertise your service to attract enrolments and educators

It lays out everything you need to prove you are capable, and that you have thought through how your service will operate. It includes guidance around managing risks and taking advantage of opportunities a new service may face.

A family day care service approved for 15 educators has the capacity to provide care for 105 children and, including part time care arrangements, could see you responsible for hundreds of parent accounts. We are all too aware of the risks of fraudulent practices in family day care – how will you mitigate the risk of fraud in your business? This is something you must be able to demonstrate in your business plan and policies to be approved.

In summary, the best advice I can give you is to start your business plan before you even submit your first application. If you have already submitted your first application, then commence your business planning immediately or risk not being granted approval.

The last few years has seen the application process become more stringent than in previous times with many applicants not being granted, so why would you even risk not doing all you can to get it right the first time?

Check out the CCS Head Start Application Package here.

CCS Applciation Head Start Package

Why business skills are crucial for family day care educators

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FAMILY DAY CARE
family day care educators

Operating a family day care business from your home brings a range of considerations, most of which relate to the National Quality Framework. But having a financially viable business is the difference between survival, satisfaction or failure. 

Whether you are an educator working in a centre, employed by an organisation, or running your own family day care business, if you plan on advancing in your career into management or leadership, then I will the advice is the same: Business skills are crucial.

WHY ARE BUSINESS SKILLS CRUCIAL FOR FAMILY DAY CARE EDUCATORS?

Put simply, because it is a business! if you’re accepting money for a service, I’m not sure what else to call it. Some family day care educators may find it offensive to refer to child care or education and care as a business. However, without taking this approach, you won’t reach your fullest potential in your career and finances. These 6 business skills for family day care educators are vital to the successful operation of your family day care business. 

  • Financial management 
  • Marketing and sales 
  • Customer service 
  • Communicating and negotiation 
  • Leadership 
  • Project management

Everything you do in your family day care program is underpinned by the ability to operate a business – how you arrived at the rate you charge, what you provide to children as far as resources and equipment, and consumables such as food, nappies, art and craft materials and so on, and how you manage your clients. In fact, you are being remiss if you do not apply these principles to working for yourself. 

I’ve worked with countless self-employed educators over 30 years and the successful ones always have one thing in common and that is the mindset of a business owner. Understanding and applying business skills leads to more satisfaction in your work, financial security, and positive and professional working relationships with families. The ability to run a business is vital for financial security – even nonprofits rely on surplus (profit) and wouldn’t survive without it. Business skills allow for investment, growth and improvement, and I can also emphatically tell you, my success in service delivery is due to my ability to run a viable business whether for profit or not. 

The top 6 vital business skills for family day care educators.

Family day care educators know how to provide education and care to children, right? Most are passionate about children, and their work comes naturally for them. However, what may not come naturally is managing a business. 

Let’s look at the top 6 business skills vital to family day care educators.

Financial management for family day care educators

Whether you’re just starting out or have been doing this for some time, undertaking a cost analysis may be unfamiliar to you. Without adequate financial management in place, you won’t be able to identify why you are not making a profit. And, if you are not making a profit, then you are not financially secure. Every business needs to cover its running costs, otherwise it would be considered an unviable business.

Dissatisfaction in your business affects all aspects of your program and you may decide it’s not for you to continue. You are working so hard, yet not living the life you envisaged. If there is no money left over for you, then what is the point? Additionally, running a non-viable business will do you no favours if you intend on applying for a bank loan, and it could also affect your credit rating.

Sound financial management and planning will not only ensure you meet your financial obligations and make you a profit, but will also enable you to identify when (and by how much) to increase your rates, plan for growth and improvements, and minimise the risk of losing money due to enrolments decreasing. I hear all too often that educators are left reeling when a family leaves and they don’t have another family to take their place, which can result in months of lost earnings. Financial management will not only help you to set your rates appropriately and protect your income but can help you get that cubby house or outdoor climbing equipment you want without using  your own personal savings.

The first step in financial management for family day care educators is to conduct a cost analysis which, once completed, needs to be followed up with a budget. Only then you can see the financial standing and projections of your business. By undertaking these exercises you will know if your business is not going to be viable, and only then can you set your rates based on actual expenditure to determine your required  income.

Spending money not allocated in your budget can cause long term detrimental effects for family day care educators. A prime example is practices like Father’s or Mother’s day celebrations. If your art and craft costings and budget is based on day-to-day operations and does not include the cost of the increased spend for celebrations, then your budget could easily be out a few hundred dollars for each celebration. Another example is when  you go to the expense of purchasing new outdoor equipment only to get it installed and have a family cease their enrolment. Then the worst of all – you have to put up with your own spouse complaining about the money you spend!

Family day care educators who have sound financial management in place to run a ‘good little business’ have better financial rewards, experience better relationships, and have longevity for their business. And what if I told you, sound financial management can get you the help that you want to run your business, whether that be an assistant, gardener or cleaner.

Do you know why you can’t afford that now? Because you are doing everything for your business including the administration that goes along with it, and in almost all cases the work you do outside actually delivering the program is unpaid and unaccounted for. Not costing and factoring in all of your expenses, will lead to you working for nothing with no room to grow or improve.

Marketing skills for family day care educators

Marketing and selling is the role of a business owner, and by marketing yourself you are able to attract new enrolments with a view of having a waiting list to minimise the financial risk if a family ceases care. In many cases in family day care, the service provider does not help you manage your enrolments, and family day care educators are regularly left without income for periods of time.

Marketing is a skill. You need to know how to ‘talk’ to potential clients and get them interested in you before they even meet you or see your facilities. How will they know how to find you if you don’t tell them what you do and where you are? Strong marketing skills will enable you to build a waiting list (some educators even charge a nominal fee for signing up onto their waiting list resulting in another income stream) and a waiting list will minimise the sleepless nights of worrying about families ceasing care.

The upgrades or improvements you make to your program through your financial management is also another opportunity to market and sell your business to your community. All families want their child to have the best and you want to be the first one they think of when seeking care for their child. Where are you going to advertise, when and how much will you invest in marketing and advertising  your business?

By selling yourself to potential clients, you are establishing a working relationship and determining ‘the fit’ of the family in your home. The skill of selling yourself and your program sets the standard of the relationship and is a negotiation. It’s not only about meeting the needs of the family, it’s also about meeting your business needs and attracting the ‘right’ families for you. 

Customer service skills for family day care educators

for family day care educators, customer service skills are not about ‘making or keeping families happy’. It’s about ensuring you can work together, and making sure they are receiving the service they are paying for. By understanding customer service skills you are better able to let go of the feelings of ‘doing a favour’ or ‘doing your best’. A customer service attitude maintains the boundaries needed in a professional relationship and avoids feelings of being taken advantage of or disappointment.

Communication and negotiation skills for family day care

 Communication strategies are a must for any business, especially when providing care for other people’s children. The National Quality Framework addresses relationships at length and provides us with the standard of the relationships that support positive outcomes for children.

When providing care for other people’s children you must keep families informed as much as they must keep you informed. But information sharing is only one aspect of communication. If you want families to respect the work you do, it is your communication that leads them to understand the role of an early childhood educator. And by families better understanding the work you do, they are more likely to become your advocate which will lead to future enrolments.

A communication strategy that educates families, will lead to satisfied customers and improved confidence in you. This will enable you to negotiate care arrangements based on your business operations with the sound  knowledge of the benefits you are providing. But not only that, by developing your negotiation skills along with your customer and communication skills, you are better positioned to negotiate the terms and conditions in your contract with the service provider and, if you’ve done your cost analysis, you can confidently re-negotiate your rates and increase your income.

Leadership skills for family day care

Working with families goes beyond ‘getting along’ or ‘liking’ each other, and sometimes we may have to work with people we don’t feel a ‘connection’ with or who have different styles.

Working with others can bring challenges and families can sometimes make family day care educators feel uncomfortable, embarrassed or confronted. By positioning yourself as a leader, you are more likely to be able to use these types of situations as an opportunity to educate families and negotiate better outcomes. A leader implements strategies that are engaging and empathetic, and can negotiate remedies to ensure others align with your business, including an educator assistant or residents in your home. 

Project management skills for family day care

Having project management skills enables you to drive change and improvement in your business. If you want to implement something new in your program then taking a project-based approach to engage others, delegate responsibility, and set a budget and deadlines, will have everyone working on the same goal. 

Project management skills give family day care educators control over the direction of your business without  having to do all the work yourself. Engaging others in projects is an opportunity to improve and develop other people’s skills and knowledge – a skill I have relied on heavily over the years.  Additionally, let’s say for example, you want to improve your sustainability practices, or embed Aboriginal Pedagogy into your program – project management skills are what you need.

So let’s reflect again on why business skills are crucial for family day care educators. Put simply, it places you in the driver’s seat and enables you to achieve what you set out to achieve (to be your own boss doing work you love that is profitable and brings you satisfaction).

Never forget! A family day care educator’s business is their livelihood. 

I have developed a course that teaches family day care educators the skills they need to be successful business owners. Check out The Business of a Family Day Care Educator course here.

Family day care educators can also check out my free videos on YouTube and make them part of your professional development strategy too.

Running a business, any business, takes consideration, planning and time to make sure you are getting all the benefits you deserve, including financial, longevity, and reputation. 

Your business is YOUR business, and there are plenty of opportunities to reach your fullest potential and have great success if you develop the right business skills. And remember! Business skills are transferable. This means they are skills that will enhance whatever job or career you choose.

Jodie

P.S. If you are considering becoming a family day care educator, a business plan will lay out what you must know. Get a FREE business planning template here – made specifically for family day care  educators.

5 REASONS WHY YOUR FAMILY DAY CARE BUSINESS NEEDS A NEWSLETTER

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A newsletter is a great way to advertise your business, and to create a communication channel with families who are already enrolled in your service. In this blog post, I am going to share 5 reasons why your family day care business needs a newsletter.

Why your family day care business needs a newsletter.

Why your family day care business needs a newsletter

As a family day care business owner, I know you’re always on the go. Staying connected to parents and families to keep them informed about their child’s progress can be a challenge. However, newsletters are a great way to connect with your family day care service’s community. They’re a valuable communication tool that can keep everyone informed on what’s going on with your program, as well as provide helpful information and resources.

The idea is to create an avenue to share important information with the families enrolled in your service in order to make them feel more connected. I love sharing a weekly newsletter with my community (you can sign up here). This will help your service meet Quality Area 6 of the National Quality Framework.

Here are five reasons why your family day care business needs a newsletter: 

1) Newsletters help you stay top of mind with your target market.

A well-designed newsletter is an effective way to keep in touch and build relationships with potential and current customers. The more frequently you communicate with your audience, the better chance you have of staying front-of-mind when they’re ready to make a decision to enrol with a family day care service.  

A weekly or monthly newsletter will keep readers coming back for more because they know they’ll have new information waiting on them when they arrive at your website or open up their email inbox every month.

Email newsletters have become a popular promotional tool for marketing, and studies show that people are more likely to read and appreciate content sent to them by email when it is from businesses they already have a relationship with. This means that even if a family is not currently enrolled in your service, you will be the first business they think of if they need family day care in the future.

A newsletter can be shared on social media or forwarded on by people who are on your mailing list, making it a great way to grow the reach of your brand and to establish credibility as a professional early childhood education service

2) They’re a great way to share important news and updates. 

Newsletters are great for staying in touch, sending out reminders, giving updates, announcing changes, and providing details about upcoming events.

Parents of children enrolled in a family day care service may not always know what educators are doing to help their child grow and learn. Newsletters can be used as an effective tool to keep parents informed about events, activities, and accomplishments of your service. They will appreciate all the little things you’re doing for their child!

3) They offer an opportunity to promote your program. 

It’s important that you keep your parent’s top of mind so they feel connected to family day care life. Family day care services can use newsletters to share information with parents about health updates and upcoming events like excursions.

Updates on your program are a great way to let families know what their child is learning, and gives them prompts for conversations with their child about their day. Additionally, you will get to showcase your knowledge, skills, and the quality of your program.

You can also use the newsletter to provide educational information about topics related to early childhood education. This is a great way to show families that you are passionate about your work and care about their child’s development, and demonstrates that you take your responsibility as an education and care service seriously.

4) Newsletters can give you an opportunity to remind families of the policies and procedures you follow in your family day care business.

Newsletters are also a great way to reinforce policies and procedures in a friendly and professional manner. For example, if you have an outing or excursion coming up, you can use your newsletter to remind families of your procedures around morning drop-offs to ensure everything runs smoothly and on time.

5) And best of all, newsletters are an inexpensive marketing tool!

People love reading newsletters. If your newsletter is informative, educational, and entertaining, your readers will look forward to receiving it. You can use templates in your email client or create them yourself – it’s up to you. If putting together a newsletter seems overwhelming to you, there are plenty of companies out there who will be happy to do all the work for you at an affordable price!

Newsletters are an important tool for all family daycare providers because they can be used to share updates and news with families, build relationships, and stay in touch. They’re also great tools if you want to give parents a little more information about what your services entail before they visit the centre or enrol their children.

In conclusion, a newsletter provides your family day care business with a marketing advantage by providing families and prospects with valuable information about your business. It also gives families an opportunity to know more about the care that you provide for their children, giving them peace of mind knowing their child is in the hands of a professional.

Family day care businesses can create a stronger connection with their families by using a newsletter to create a feeling of community around the service. For the families, this can help to make them feel they belong and respected.

To take full advantage of the benefits of a newsletter, start by asking yourself what is your objective? What do you want people to do? This helps when it comes time to develop content for the newsletter.

We will be sharing some more tips about creating newsletters soon, so keep your eyes out!

3 Critical Reasons Why You Need Articulation Skills In Family Day Care

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Have you ever experienced going to a job interview or sitting an exam at school and you are so proud because you feel prepared only to be faced with a question that stumps you? When that happens, your confidence is rocked and you are left reeling. This happens a lot during ratings and assessments, and it is why articulation skills in family day care are so important.

Think about it, how many people in our sector are still petrified and intimidated by regulatory officers and assessors? How would your team react to a question they are not prepared for?

Let’s take a look at why developing skills in articulation will help you when it comes time to face a regulatory officer or assessor. 

 

articulation skills in family day care

What is meant by 'articulation skills in family day care'?

To articulate means to express yourself readily, clearly, and effectively. it is the ability to make your thoughts and knowledge easily understood by the person you are speaking to.

In the context of family day care, ACECQA states that, “articulating professional values, knowledge and practice is also and ethical responsibility, and an important component of the communication that exists within services”.

In essence, developing articulation skills in family day care will help you synthesise your thoughts and help you to concisely structure your response when it’s necessary to participate in discussions around the work you do.

There are 3 critical reasons why you need articulation skills in family day care:

1) ‘Discussion’ and ‘collaborative decision making’ is mentioned in each of the quality standard’s exceeding themes.

Did you know that discussion and collaborative decision making is specified in each of the exceeding themes? When you come face to face with a regulatory officer or assessor, you will be expected to respond to questions they ask, and engage in a discussion about your role.

Are you ready to have that conversation? Is everyone at the service ready? Don’t forget, for most people, speaking to a regulatory officer or assessor can be intimidating. This only adds to the pressure of the situation and getting your response right.

It is important that leaders are able to articulate the NQF, and that each member of your team understands what is expected of them by law. 

When being assessed, the questions you will be asked are designed to determine your understanding and knowledge of the National Quality Framework. So, the fundamental question will ‘always’ come down to the one question EVERYONE ‘should’ be able to answer and if not, the regulatory officer or assessor has no choice but to determine and record you ‘cannot adequately respond to the question’ affecting the entire service or application.

Often, when asked “What is the National Quality Framework?”,  many professionals will explain it is ‘everything’ we need to do to make sure children are safe and the house is clean and so on”. 

But that is the ‘purpose’ of the framework, not WHAT IT IS and NOT the answer to the question.

The National Quality Framework is:

-The Education and Care Services National Law

– The Education and Care Services National Regulations

– The National Quality Standards

– The Approved Learning Frameworks; of which there are three:

* Victorian Early Learning Framework

* Early Years Learning Framework (Belonging Being Becoming) and

* My Time Our Place

I cannot stress enough how terminology and articulation can improve an individual and/or service. How can we expect educators to learn, grow and develop as professionals, answer questions and engage in conversations with regulatory officers or assessors if they are not getting clear guidance and role-modelling from their leaders? (a massive gap in the sector in my opinion). 

So, your goal should be to instil and develop professionalism, including the ability to articulate the National Quality Framework to lead others in the right direction.

2) To enable the  communication of the values, policies, and procedures of the service to stakeholders, such as families, regulatory authorities, other team members, and potential clients.

No matter what role you play in family day care, there is an expectation on you to be able to articulate your understanding of the values, policies, and procedures of the service. This is not just so you can answer questions from the regulatory authority, but also, because questions are a part of every role we play in our lives. 

Asking questions is the most commonly used, and most effective, method to measure another person’s understanding and views. In family day care, the skill of asking questions can confirm if a person is knowledgeable in their role and responsibilities.

That is why developing articulation skills in family day care is an underpinning aspect of an improvement strategy. Developing a shared language with all stakeholders should inform each team members’ self-reflection and the Quality Improvement Plan of your service.

 

3) The smooth transfer of knowledge between stakeholders will ultimately lead to better outcomes for the children in your care.

When there is a shared understanding of expectations and goals between everyone involved in the care of a child, your program will be on track to achieve the 5 learning outcomes.

Conversations through your service should focus on everyone’s understanding of the National Quality Framework. It is through these discussions with their team and with the families of children that educators can plan how they will deliver a program that incorporates a child’s strengths, culture, interests, and abilities that will help their social and emotional development. 

Now that you’ve read these three crucial reasons why articulation skills in family day care are essential, can you imagine if everyone in your service spoke and communicated the language of the framework? 

Let’s take a look at how I can help you achieve that.

How to improve your articulation skills in family day care

I’ve spent the past 12 years working with participants on their governance improvement journey and I love nothing more than when I speak to people and hear them clearly articulating the national framework in their responses, conversations and decision making, the way the Department’s Authorised Officers and Quality Assessors need to hear, which is another issue facing family day care.

With everyone in the leadership team having a sound understanding of governance for the role they are in, the issues I mentioned earlier can be gone, I promise, and it also won’t take long for the positive effects to be felt throughout the service.

When preparing for ratings, providers often tell me they are ready for assessment and are expecting to be rated as ‘Meeting’. However, after conducting a very quick assessment, I can identify where there are potential gaps that could affect the assessment outcome. I am a governance expert, it is what I do.

If you think articulation is a gap in your service, book a consult with me to find out how I can help (and check out my free videos on YouTube).

Coaching is not limited to approved providers and nominated supervisors, anyone in family day care leadership is encouraged to participate in coaching for their role. Coordinators and educational leaders have different obligations and responsibilities under the legislation, that link directly to quality area 7 – Governance and Leadership. Book coaching for your team members now.

You will be glad you did it. Promise.

5 expert Facebook tips for family day care business growth

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facebook tips for family day care

Let’s dive in to some Facebook tips for family day care businesses!

These days, nearly every business needs a Facebook page. It is a great way to connect with potential clients, and also build relationships with your current families. Unlike a website, a Facebook page allows you to build a more personal and social connection with your audience. Overall, this all helps your audience to get to know, like, and trust, you – which is exactly what you want to do when trying to market your business.

Having an Facebook presence also gives you the chance to showcase your expertise, because you can create informative and educational content that helps your current and potential clients. This way, you will be the first person they think of when they need the services you provide.

Here are our top 5 tips!

Facebook Tips For Family Day Care: Build Your Business.

Make sure you have your logo and philosophy present on your page. People looking at facebook need to be able to see clearly what it is your are offering. Have your operation times and where are located so at first glance they know they can contact and access you. Choose the area you want to your facebook page to be ‘shown’ to, there is nothing worse than finding someone you want to get to know on facebook only to find they are on the other side of the world. 

Make it easy for people wanting to contact you by including a contact number or email. You may even consider an ‘introductory’ offer to entice people to reach out, like a waiting list application or maybe you could offer a free downloadable for people to get to know you better. Your facebook page should be designed to build interest and drive enquiries. 

Facebook Tips For Family Day Care: Talk To Your Audience

When posting, remember who you are talking to. For family day care businesses your target market will be families. So, make sure your posts align with your values and philosophies, and  encourage discussion to try to build a sense of community (eg. “it takes a village” ). You have a common purpose, and that is to keep their child safe and happy.

Facebook Tips for Family Day Care: Your Branding

Remember to reflect your brand in your social media posts. Make sure you are consistent with your branding across everything you do, and everything you say. 

One way you can do this is by creating a tagline and putting it in your Facebook “About” section. A tagline is a phrase or two that helps to convey your business values, purpose, or culture. A tagline should be short and easy to remember.

Your logo, brand colours, key messages, and brand voice should be clear and identifiable so your target market comes to know, like, and trust you. For example, you could create quotes in your brand colours so you stand out against other businesses or competitors. Here is a quote from the JPS Instagram page that uses our brand colours.

Facebook Tips for Family Day Care: Create a Human Voice for your Business

People use Facebook as a place to be sociable and to connect with each other. That’s why it is important to write your posts to sound the way you speak. What phrases to you use? Which words do you say a lot? What is your personality like – are you loud, shy, happy, ambitious, reserved?

Facebook Tips for Family Day Care: Promote Your Page

Don’t forget to promote your page on your business cards, in your newsletter, on your website, in your email signature, and on all of your advertising. Encourage comments, likes, and shares on your posts, and comment in related Facebook groups (like the JPS Advisers group!)

Looking for more facebook tips for family day care? Check out our marketing and branding packs.

How to prepare your family day care business for success.

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How to prepare your family day care business for success

Right. It’s time to get organised. You know what they say, if you fail to plan, you plan to fail. Here is how to prepare your family day care business for success.

As a family day care business, whether you are the service provider, part of the leadership team, or an educator, you need to be always striving to improve. Not just so the children in your care reach their fullest potential, but so you do, too.

Are you ready to roll your sleeves up and get to work? I am going to tell you how to prepare your family day care business for success.

How to prepare your family day care business for success.

1. Update your business plan: Having a business plan helps you develop a long-term vision and strategy. It is where you can set your goals for your marketing and finance, and help give clarity to the structure and operations of your business. Get a free copy of our business plan template here.

2. Create some professional goals: Setting and achieving professional goals leads to higher job satisfaction and a feeling of fulfilment. But how do you know what goals to set? Well, having a mentor can help you map out a career path and identify the milestones you need to. Or maybe you are mentoring someone in your team? Either way, this Mentoring Pack will help.

3. Remember that knowledge is power: Working in the education industry, as we do, I know you understand the importance of learning. We need to ensure we are providing the best education program we can to children, and to do that we need to commit to our own self-education. Have a read of my 5 self-education tips for family day care professionals blog post and check out my YouTube Channel to get yourself inspired and excited about building your knowledge.

4. Review your program: As a family day care business, your program is your product. My YouTube video Assessing The Educational Program walks you through what you need to do to make sure your program is the best it can be.

5. Strengthen your strong foundation: Your policies underpin everything you do in your business. Every member of your team needs to know what their role is, including families enrolled in your service. Having sound policies and procedures means you can incorporate the relevant legislation into all that you do to help you remain compliant. I have a few options available to help you develop your own policies and procedures. You can use a template for providers here and educator policies and procedures template here. Or you can get a full set of done-for-you policies here.

6. Strive to improve your service’s ratings: Whether you are the owner of the service, an employee, or a contracted educator, it is in your best interest to always be striving to improve the ratings of the service. Why? Well, the bottomline is the better the rating, the more families will want to enrol in your program, which results in you making more money.

I have some resources to help. For providers and the leadership team, check this out. For educators, take a look at this.

While we are all here to make an impact on the life of each child in our care, we are still business owners and we need to be making money to remain viable. If you want to improve your ratings or business practices, you can book an online session with me.

7. Simplify the legislation: It is absolutely imperative that you know and understand what is expected of you. However, there is no denying that legislation can be difficult to interpret. I put together The JPS Survival Guide for Australian Family Day Care Educators, a user-friendly book for educators to keep on hand for quick reference, and to take notes and brainstorm in. Take the time to make sure you are prepared for any challenge you are faced with, particularly a compliance or ratings visit from the regulatory authority.

8. Get inspired: We all go through periods of feeling like we’ve lost our mojo. The start of the pandemic was a particular low point for me. But, there are steps we can take to get ourselves fired up. I like to go back to the Top 3 influences as an educational practitioner blog post to help me think about the how the work I do adds value to the world. I seek out people who inspire me, and I am forever brainstorming ideas and goals in my journal. If you like the sound of using a journal as your very own tool for inspiration, then check out the incited media journal process here.

9. Build your brand: Your brand is what people say about you when you are not in the room. It is your reputation.Whether you are a provider who is building the brand of the service, or you are an educator building your personal brand, it is imperative to have clarity around what you want to become known for (e.g. who are you? what are your values?)

I have put together packs you can download and print to help you build a brand that represents the soul of your business so you attract the right kind of customers to help your business grow. Click here for Service Providers and leadership team. For educators, building a strong personal brand means you can choose the service you register with (they will WANT you) Click here for Educators.

Read more about branding here.

10. Connect with others in our industry: I am always learning from my peers. They inspire me every day. I’d like to invite you to join my Facebook Group – a safe space of like-minded people where you can share your wins, and your struggles, too.

So, hopefully you are feeling pumped for 2021. I hope these tips have given you drive to keep moving forward and shown you how to prepare your family day care business for success. Keep this blog post to refer back to or send it to your team, so you set yourself up for an epic year ahead. I’ll be here cheering you on!

Don’t forget to email me at jodie@jpsadvisers.com.au or book an online consultation to find out how I can guide and support you on your journey as a family day care business.

Why business skills are crucial for family day care educators

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Family Day Care Leadership
Family Day Care Leadership

We all know that family day care educators know how to look after children, right? Most are passionate about children, and their work comes naturally for them. However, what may not come naturally is managing a business. 

What business skills do family day care educators need?

Just like all other businesses, family day care educators need their own philosophies, a sound business plan, and must develop a marketing strategy to keep families coming in the door.
To build the skills and knowledge to do each of these things effectively, you need to take control of your own education. Your self-education plan should build on your strengths to reach your potential, and manage your weaknesses so they don’t hold you back.
Let’s take a look at the skills family day care educators need to remain viable.

  • Planning – Proper planning helps you determine what your priorities are, establish what’s working and what isn’t, and maps out how you will manage obstacles you may come across on your journey. Your business plan should remain a live document that you tweak and update so it can evolve as your business does. (Everyone who receives my weekly newsletter can access my free business plan template. Get your template here.)

  • Financial Management – Financial management skills are essential even in the planning stages of your business. You need to think about cash flow, costings, tax, and even paying wages. Once your business is up and running, you’ll need to manage all of your financials to remain profitable.

  • Communication – Good communication skills are important when you are running any business, however, they are essential when you are caring for people’s children. You need to be able to build relationships with families so you can have calm, honest and professional discussions, and you need to know how to communicate your policies and procedures so everyone is on the same page at all times.

  • Marketing – Marketing is necessary to get people interested in your business. To make sure you are attracting the right people to your business, you need to do market research to understand what your ideal customer’s needs are, and how you can help them. You also need to build a personal brand that will help you stand out from your competitors. For more tips on branding, read this blog post.

Don’t forget, business skills are transferable. This means they are skills that will enhance whatever job or career you choose. I have developed a course that teaches educators the skills they need to be successful business owners. Check out The Business of a Family Day Care Educator course here.You can also check out my free videos on YouTube and make them part of your professional development strategy too.

Running a business, any business, takes consideration, planning and time to make sure you are getting all the benefits you deserve, including financial, longevity, and reputation. 

Your business is YOUR business, and there are plenty of opportunities to reach your fullest potential and have great success if you develop the right business skills.


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Founded by Jodie Signorino, a recognised Governance and Leadership expert. JPS is committed to ensuring all education and care services are operating at their optimal capacity.

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