Providing care for more than 40 years

The Department for Education is the longest-serving provider of family day care services in South Australia.  We’ve been providing family day care for more than 40 years.

Family day care educators

Our educators meet National Quality Standards and must be registered and approved by the Department for Education.

Educators must comply with the National Quality Framework (NQF) and the department's policies, procedures, standards and guidelines that govern family care.

The Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) oversees the implementation and delivery of the NQF at a national level and the regulatory authority at a state level. In South Australia the regulatory authority is the Education Standards Board (ESB). 

Code of conduct

Educators and staff must adhere to the following code of conduct values and act in a manner which reflects the following core values.

Respect – how we treat other people

Educators and staff must be respectful and have regard for the dignity of others.

Accountability – responsibility for our own actions

Be accountable for the decisions and actions you make.

Leadership – how we inspire others

The department recognises individual and collective strength and promotes the importance of quality care and learning.

Integrity – intent and meaning of our actions

We give our best and act honestly, openly and fairly in our work.

Excellence – our learning

Practices and actions of educators and staff should demonstrate the importance of continual learning and the development of children, ourselves and the family day care program.

Cooperation – working together

We work with others; sharing perspectives, skills and knowledge.

Our philosophy

Our Vision

All children have a right to learn and develop to their full potential in a safe and nurturing environment.

Family day care is unique because one educator consistently cares for and educates a small number of children of varying ages, in the familiar and flexible setting of a family home.

We believe that children are capable and competent. We facilitate learning and development through play so that children create, imagine, explore, initiate, discover, problem solve and have fun in natural and built environments.

Our education and care programs are enriched by the diversity of those who access our service, and are improved by the diversity of educators who bring their own passions and interests to our common service framework.

Our priorities

Our staff and educators work together to provide best-practice education and care that:

• enables children to succeed throughout their lives as learners, confident and creative individuals, and active and informed citizens
• nurtures and supports child wellbeing, self-esteem and a sense of belonging
• challenges children while recognising their individual needs, capabilities and competencies
• promotes inclusion, equity and participation which is visible in our actions, interactions and daily practices
• builds an understanding and respect for the diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, perspectives and lived experiences, particularly within their local communities.

Our approach

We achieve our vision by:

• building collaborative, respectful and supportive relationships with children, parents, families and communities
• growing our reputation as a professional education and care choice
• partnering with other agencies and communities to support individual learning needs and access learning experiences
• communicating openly with parents to seek their input on decisions about their child’s education and care
• regularly informing parents about their child’s experiences, learning and development
• planning for children’s learning and development with times for intentional teaching while enabling and encouraging children to lead their own learning 
• regularly documenting and assessing each child’s learning and development to inform program planning
• valuing our staff and educators
• continually building upon our service competence through ongoing critical reflection on our practice
• prioritising our own learning and development.

Our service philosophy is based on the principles set out in the:

• Early Years Learning Framework
• My Time Our Place: Framework for School Age Care
• National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care
• Early Childhood Australia’s Code of Ethics.

Family day care policy, standards and procedures

Our policy, standards and procedure govern our service. They maintain our focus on children's health, safety and wellbeing as well as compliance with the National Quality Framework.

Policy

• Family day care operations policy (PDF 771KB).

Standards

• Children’s health and safety standard (167KB)
• Children’s learning standard (578KB)
• Educators, families and community standard (883KB)
• Physical environment in FDC standard (PDF 808KB)
• Service management standard (PDF 872KB).

Procedures

• Management of complaints incidents and non-compliance in family day care and respite care program procedure (PDF 333KB)
• Family day care fee and levy charges for 2018 to 2020 (PDF 28KB).