Bendigo Family Day Care says it’s facing a drop in available early childcare educators and a spike in demand for their services.
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The Family Day Care program, run by Bendigo Community Health Services (BCHS), offers in-home quality childcare for individual children, or in small groups.
Debra Towerton has been a Family Day Care contractor for five years and has recently been named the local division’s 2022 Family Day Care Australia Educator of the Year.
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She told Gold that the service is wonderful work and great for children’s development.
“They have sort of become a part of my family and I become a part of theirs,” she said.
Her programs, she explained are aimed at “nurturing” children with more individual support from the comfort of her own home.
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“You share the good times and the bad. You laugh, cry, share wonderful moments, you even become a kid yourself at times.”
Bendigo Family Day Care coordinator Tamarra Tie said BCHS has increased hourly payments in a move to attract and retain more staff.
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“While we have less educators at present, we have parents who are preferring the intimate home-setting of family day care,”.
Image: Deb Towerton, Supplied.
