opening new childcare centre next year ?

[agathe]

Hi I am new to this forum.
I am currently living in France and we are moving to Australia in September. My husband is Australian and we have 3 children 6 and 3 yrs old, and a 5 months old baby.
I have been an IT consultant for 15 years and I think with our big move across the planet may be the time for me to also change career. I love children and I was considering maybe opening a child care centre. I would like to give it some French flavour if possible anyway I am currently collecting info about that, just started, so any tip you may have will be greatly appreciated.
Looking forward to talking to you.
Agathe

[Lorina]

Hi Agathe,

Bonjour! Welcome to Aussie Childcare Network!

Starting a childcare centre in Australia is no easy task.There are a lot of regulations, government policies and requirements that need to be followed. However, if you are willing to put in the hard work then it can be very rewarding.

Do you know where in Australia you are moving to? Which state? Suburb? etc. If you have an idea, it would be a good to research the local area to see what types of childcare services are already available. Then you can try and figure out the best way to go about starting your business. If you can find some centres in the area you will be moving to, have at look at what they are offering etc to give you an idea on where to start.

Have you thought about what type of childcare service you would like to open? Such as a long day care centre, family day care centre, occasional care, franchise? There are a lot of options available and you have to try and figure out the best one that suits your needs.

Have you got any early childhood qualification or previous experience? Have you worked in childcare before?

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get a better understanding of best possible option for you.

I'm going to add a topic link from another user who was also asking information about starting a childcare centre. I have added a few government links to the topic which you can also check out. This should provide you with some basic information to get you started.

Starting a Childcare Center

Here is another topic you can check out:

How to own your own childcare centre

If you have any further questions please don't hesitate to ask and I'll try and help you out,

Cheers ,
L.A

[agathe]

Thanks LA ! we are moving to Melbourne, not sure which suburb yet... we will probably stay with my parents in law for a month or 2 in South Yarra, but I was thinking of looking for a place in Elwood or Brighton...

I will check those links and get back to you if I have more questions. I have some free time until we move so I will make good use of it to have a more precise project.

Cheers !
Agathe

[Lorina]

No Worries!

Good Luck with it all and let me know if you need further information!!

,
L.A

[agathe]

Hi
can you explain to me what is family daycare ? I read about it a lot but I find it hard to comprehend exactly what it is, and to find the equivalent in France.

thanks in advance if you can help
Cheers
Agathe

[agathe]

Hi
do you know where I can find a sample business plan for a daycare centre in Australia ? I would like to have a look and get an idea of the upfront costs to set it up. And see also some simulations to know when you can start to break even...

Thanks in advance
Agathe

[Lorina]

Ok, so Family Day Care is basically your own home business. You set up an area of your home you can use to look after children between the ages of 6 weeks through to 12 years old. The difference between family day care and a typical child care centre is the very low child to carer ratios and you are primarily the only carer looking after the children. Also the hours for families are very flexible and you can even look after children overnight, on weekends etc. I'm not 100% sure of the exact ratio but I think for family day care on any given day you can look after 7 children at a time.

Like in a typical childcare centre, you will still need to follow national regulations, implement a learning curriculum, maintain health and safety regulations etc. It's just on a smaller scale and it's your own business in your own home.

I just thought I'd mention that now as part of new national regulations for early childhood settings in Australia, you will need to complete or be working towards a minimum qualification of a certificate 3 in children's services in order to have your own family day care or even to work in a long day care centre by Jan 2014. These are the new requirements by law.

If you are interested in starting a family day care, it's best to contact Family Day Care Australia. They will provide you with all the necessary information, start up requirements, registration, policies etc. Here is the link:

http://www.familydaycare.com.au/index.p ... ducator#M1

,
L.A

[agathe]

thank you ! I read the new regulations yesterday, so I know about the qualification requirements. I think it is something I would want to do anyway just to make sure I have the basic skills to work in that area. I believe I already know a lot since I have 3 young children who have all been in the daycare system here in France. Still there are some behind the scenes things I may need to learn before venturing in the business.

Cheers
Agathe

[Lorina]

I'm glad to hear that you're already reading about the new regulations! It seems to me that you're really serious about this and it's something you want to pursue one you come to Australia. Yes, having children is definitely an advantage especially if they are in daycare already, so at least you know the basic requirements and you obviously know how to look after your children so looking after others isn't going to be a big deal. Yeah most of the behind the scenes stuff is mostly about child protection, health and safety, programming, observations etc. It is important to learn of course but honestly half the stuff you learn in your qualification,in reality you don't end up using anyway...

,
L.A

[Lorina]

Hi
do you know where I can find a sample business plan for a daycare centre in Australia ? I would like to have a look and get an idea of the upfront costs to set it up. And see also some simulations to know when you can start to break even...

Thanks in advance
Agathe

I'm giving you a link to the Australian Government business website. Here they provide all the information about how to start up a business in Australia as well as business plan templates, grants and assistance, taxation, registering your business in Australia etc. It is very useful and the information is current and up to date since its an Australian government website exclusively for business.

Here is the link: http://www.business.gov.au/Information/ ... lates.aspx

I'm also providing you with an attachment which gives you tips and ideas on how to start up a family day acre business from your home. It provides you with details on what fees to charge parents in relation to your overall expenses that you may have with running a family day care. I thought it may be helpful in preparing your business plan.

[attachment=0]My-Home-My-Business-WEB.pdf[/attachment]
Hope this info helps and let us know if you find any other information on the web which is useful for starting up a childcare,

,
L.A

[fchaudari76]

Also there is also the option of taking over a childcare centre that is already up and running....there are plenty that are bought & sold and there are companies that deal with the selling of childcare centres. There are also companies that help you set up and manage a childcare so maybe do a search on that as it may be worth contacting them. There is a HUGE amount of paperwork and things to consider when setting up a childcare. Also depends if you are going to build a place or buy a building etc.
Personally (and I have looked into this) if I were going down this route I would use a company to help as they are aware of all the regulations and laws for set up and they can deal with getting the paperwork etc.

Another thing I would probably get a qualification in childcare yourself even if you do not plan to work in the centre yourself you will need one. I would also spend a while working in the industry.... I know you have children but there is a difference in being a mother and being a childcare worker with a classroom of 12+ children + the best way to learn of what is involved in being a childcare worker and what we do and what paperwork we do etc is to experience it yourself.
I have worked with people in Education who have had business degrees rather than education based quals or background and at some point when being given advice I had to just say to them they did not have a clue because they had never taught or been a teacher.

Be aware having a childcare is not easy, many open and close, get bought and sold each year. Its a hard job.

Yeah most of the behind the scenes stuff is mostly about child protection, health and safety, programming, observations etc. It is important to learn of course but honestly half the stuff you learn in your qualification,in reality you don't end up using anyway...

I beg to differ .... at some point everything you learn will need to be called upon. Honestly yes while studying you roll your eyes and think you may never need that info but after 10+ years in the industry at some point everything you learn will be needed to be remembered and used somehow. Anyway thats my personal opinion

[agathe]

thanks a lot LA I will check them out !! do you have anything that would help make my husband more supportive of my project ? just kidding; I hope if I can show him a concrete business plan he will start believing that this can really be a good change of career for me.

Cheers
Agathe

[agathe]

thanks fefe for the input. I am starting my "homework" and getting all the info I can find to see if this is a feasible option for us. I don't think I will be taking care of the children myself, only if we have a shortage of staff. But I would like to be in charge of a couple of activities though such as French initiation for the older kids and cooking activities (I love pastry making and it was also one of my projects to open a French pastry shop). My kids love preparing bread and cakes with me.

Buying a centre could be an option as well... I will let you know as I continue my research what I finally decide.

Thanks for your help
Agathe

[catchmeifucan]

do you have anything that would help make my husband more supportive of my project ?

A kiss!

If you are not planning to take care of children, then you dont necessarily need to be experienced working with children. Dont get me wrong, of course having a working experience helps tremendously and its way different from raising your own child but if you are just planning to employ staffs for work and you wanna run the bussiness, then I guess you need to have a really good management skills. Also learning the childcare regulations, policies, etc.. is also a must since you dont want to take any chances with your business. So its certainly not an easy task at all but nothing is impossible if you put your mind to it. All the best!

[fchaudari76]

You would have to do your homework very well in order to give your husband a business plan esp one that shows this can financially work well for you which means you will need to know where you are opening the childcare, if it is viable and you know you will get the numbers you need. Like i said before it may be worth getting in touch with a company or finding a small running centre to take over as at least then you can see their books and profits etc