How educator Jo creates a place of belonging in her Family Day Care

Regional Educator Winner of Family Day Care Australia Awards 2023, Jo Pierce shares the reasons she loves the personalised nature of home-based family day care.

Currently registered with Family Day Care provider Windermere, Jo Pierce has been running her own Family Day Care in Langwarrin since 2021 and believes the personalised nature of home-based care provides the best outcomes for children.

“Every child can feel seen and valued and they have a place where they can belong,” she says from her experience as a Family Day Care educator.

As someone who loves and enjoys working with children, Jo began her career in long day care after completing her diploma in early childhood education and care.

An ideal career as a family day care educator

While Jo enjoyed the interactions with children in centre-based care, developing relationships with them wasn’t practicable due to the large number in attendance.

“It was important for me to be able to build that relationship with them and I decided to start my own family day care,” says Jo.

As a parent, Jo also felt the need to spend more time with her young children which the long hours at the centre didn’t allow.

“My son was still in primary school and I didn’t like not being at home when he was home,” says Jo.

Family Day Care provided the perfect solution to meet her personal needs and facilitate the level of care she wished to provide. Personalised care and attention are very much at the heart of Family Day Care which maintains a limit of seven children up to age 12 with no more than four preschool children in care.

Space Week, dress-up play and more

Across four days of operation, Jo has five children attending, who have been with her from the start.

“We have become like a little family. I know them so well I can let parents know if I notice a difference in their behaviours and they are not themselves.” 

Jo’s Family Day Care commences at 8.30 am and once all the children have arrived, the day’s activities begin with morning tea set outside. She organises her program based on the children’s interests and includes a minimum of two new activities each month.

“Recently, we had Space Week as two of the children expressed interest in rockets and we read space books during story time,” explains Jo.

There’s never a dull moment with sensory games, pretend play, sandpit play and water play among a host of other activities that the children enjoy.

“As they are all around the ages of two plus, they love playing dress up, so I set up a little shop with a toy cash register for pretend play and it’s been a huge hit with them,” says Jo.

After the morning activities, the routine continues with outdoor play time, singing songs and learning actions followed by lunch and nap time. To break up the routine, Jo organises outings such as visits to the nearby park or story time at the local library.

Recognition for excellence in Family Day Care

It's no surprise that the children love going to Jo’s and parents often share how eager their children are to return to the family day care after the weekend.

In September this year, Jo’s passion and dedication were duly recognised by the Family Day Care Excellence Awards which named her the Regional Educator Winner for the Mornington Peninsula & Bass Coast region.

Jo credits her success to the strong bonds she has developed with families and children

“I had a little celebration with the kids. We had party food and they were all excited. We are a little family away from home,” she says.

Choosing Windermere as a registered Family Day Care provider

Jo also appreciates the support she receives from Windermere to run her Family Day Care seamlessly.

“I feel very supported. I know that I can reach out for help with any admin questions, there’s always someone to give me advice,”

This support from Windermere also helps maintain the relationships with families that she cherishes so much.

“Not only do I have the confidence to tell families to reach out to Windermere with any questions, I also appreciate that they handle all the financial aspects. That played a big role in my decision to choose Windermere,” she says.

Windermere also provides an environment of support to deal with the challenges of working in isolation.  This includes periodic visits to ensure Jo has all the support she needs.

“I can simply pick up the phone and call Windermere knowing that there’s someone who will answer. I have also gotten to know other educators with Windermere and we have a group chat to support each other and share ideas. Having that network is great when you are working by yourself,” she says.

A few tips and encouragement from Jo

When it comes to working alone, Jo meets the challenge of being the sole educator for four little children who demand her attention by encouraging independence.

“When they all need me at the same time, I help them learn to wait their turn. I sometimes ask them to try their hand at doing a task on their own, like trying their shoelaces,” she says.

To other educators who are looking to start out in Family Day Care, Jo has a few words of encouragement.

“Just go for it. It seems like a big step and there are things you must have in place before you can start. I am so glad I pushed through any setbacks,” she says adding “I love what I do every day. This is what I was meant to do.”

 

For more information or to enrol visit here or call the Windermere Family Day Care team on 1300 946 337.

To enquire about becoming a family day care educator with Windermere, visit here.