Setting up a Forest-Childcare/Creche?
Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2015 9:36 am
Hi there everyone!
I'm new here, and would be very grateful for any advice you could give me on the birthing of my idea
First a little bit about myself - I have lived in Berlin for the past 20 years and am returning to Melbourne to spend time with my aged parents. I worked as a musician (singer, guitarist, pianist) for my whole life, and taught kids music and english occasionally. As I always had a gift with kids, I ended up having two little boys of my own, and am thoroughly enjoying the experience. One of the highlights of my day has become the times when I bring my kids to creche, and pick them up, as I just love chatting with all the kids together at the creche in that stimulating environment. You may or may not know that Berlin has an amazing childcare service, and I have learned a lot from the educators there.
Anyway - my idea is to setup a small daycare business in a rural suburb of Melbourne - one with some trees around - and offer a kind of "Wilderness Creche". The idea of Wilderness Creches has started to catch on in Germany, and I saw a really informative documentary about it. Basically you would have a simple building with amenities provided, right on a forested block. In the mornings between 9 and 11 you'd take the kids on a wander and allow them to develop their own play-games etc. and the rest of the day would be spent in the building having lunch and naptime, and then in the afternoon you'd play games with them in a fenced-off area in front of the creche building. I am basically just wondering a) do I need any qualifications other than a Paediatric Emergency Certificate, Police check etc. (I have a B.A. in music if that's any help) b) how many educators do you need per number of kids and c) what kind of insurance would I/the business need. And d) are there any laws against a creche in a forested area? In the doco that I saw a bunch of parents got together and hired 2 qualified pre-school educators.
Thanks so much for listening! Like-minded individuals are always welcome!
I'm new here, and would be very grateful for any advice you could give me on the birthing of my idea
First a little bit about myself - I have lived in Berlin for the past 20 years and am returning to Melbourne to spend time with my aged parents. I worked as a musician (singer, guitarist, pianist) for my whole life, and taught kids music and english occasionally. As I always had a gift with kids, I ended up having two little boys of my own, and am thoroughly enjoying the experience. One of the highlights of my day has become the times when I bring my kids to creche, and pick them up, as I just love chatting with all the kids together at the creche in that stimulating environment. You may or may not know that Berlin has an amazing childcare service, and I have learned a lot from the educators there.
Anyway - my idea is to setup a small daycare business in a rural suburb of Melbourne - one with some trees around - and offer a kind of "Wilderness Creche". The idea of Wilderness Creches has started to catch on in Germany, and I saw a really informative documentary about it. Basically you would have a simple building with amenities provided, right on a forested block. In the mornings between 9 and 11 you'd take the kids on a wander and allow them to develop their own play-games etc. and the rest of the day would be spent in the building having lunch and naptime, and then in the afternoon you'd play games with them in a fenced-off area in front of the creche building. I am basically just wondering a) do I need any qualifications other than a Paediatric Emergency Certificate, Police check etc. (I have a B.A. in music if that's any help) b) how many educators do you need per number of kids and c) what kind of insurance would I/the business need. And d) are there any laws against a creche in a forested area? In the doco that I saw a bunch of parents got together and hired 2 qualified pre-school educators.
Thanks so much for listening! Like-minded individuals are always welcome!
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