Opening FDC costs

[tinytots]

Hi all,
I have asked questions about opening fdc before but need more advice as my husband is against it until i research and show him the costings and figures on paper. All the expenses, set up costs, insurance etc and earnings to prove it is viable. He says that i get sick pay, super and tax where i am now and it will be harder if i do it for myself. And also i will be lonely and not be able to catch up with friends when i want too, and i will feel like a prisoner in my own home. I earn $400 a week working 17 hours in my current childcare job but would love to open my own fdc business. Can someone please clarify for me if it is worth doing and the expenses. I live in QLD
Thank you

[linsaa fdc]

Hi Tinytots,
No you don't get paid super or sick leave, you are self employed when you do FDC.
The main set up cost is getting your house ready, some people only have to put some child locks others might need to address their fencing.... so that cost depends on what needs to be done. Insurance this year was around $450 and FDCA lets you pay that off in 10 monthly installments. You have ongoing costs and that depends on you, some spend too much off their pay on FDC.....they may as well go strawberry picking......others like myself watch my expenses because I am working not only for the love of the job but for an income. You do get to claim a lot of home stuff as a deduction on your tax. Your income will depend on the days you work, the hours you want to work and the amount of children you have booked in care, then the hourly fee you charge. In FDC you can be as busy or as quiet as you want, its up to you. When we talk about FDC as a business, its not like setting up a center where you make an income and the center makes a profit, we are self employed and have certain limits on what we can earn.....ie numbers of children.... but we can work as many hours or overnight or weekends if we want to increase our income.
Everyone is different and every educator is different and so are our families. I know one educator who goes somewhere different everyday.... to me that's insane, but that is what she does.... One day office playgroup, next the park, next storytime at the library. You can meet up with other educators at their home or yours and have little playgroups. So if you are worried about being caged in your home it is far from that in reality. Each of us offers something different and you want to fill up with families that want what you have to offer.
Linsaa fdc

[tinytots]

Thanks Linsaa, I have worked it all out and now getting set up with training etc to start fdc. Thank you for your insight, i really appreciated everything you helped me with:)

[linsaa fdc]

You are welcome, let me know how you go

[Lorina]

FDC offers a different type of service for families... It's a good option for families and for FDC educators to work together to find out which type of routine suits them more... For example: having weekend care or staying overnights... If you were to do weekend care for a child or a couple of children do you still need to plan and program for them as well as you would normally or is this an alternate service? If you were to go to story time (at the local library) or to the park do you need to gain permission for this each time you plan or do you gain overall permission to take the children out during the day? When planning excursions do you need to provide a risk assessment for each outing?

Sorry about the questions, just interested...

,
Lorina

[linsaa fdc]

Hi Lorina,
No problems, most people have no idea what goes on in FDC.
As long as we are getting paid we have to plan and document no exceptions. I have 3 school boys that arrive at 5:30am and i drop them off at 8am to school and we still have to plan etc. We have to have permission for everything of course. If it is a regular outing ie library every wednesday then that is put on our beginning of the year regular outings and the parents sign for all of them once. This form includes any regular school runs and playgroups, parks, droping paperowk and timesheets off to the scheme etc. We also have to do a risk assessment for each of those outings and school runs including the route we plan to take and an alternative route. If we have a one off outing then we need a separate form with all signatures including a risk assessment, if one signature is missed then the outing can not go ahead, no exceptions..... scheme rules.
Linsaa fdc

[Lorina]

I like the fact that with FDC you can do outings and all. It's a different way of getting children to learn about their surrounding world. For example - taking the children shopping. They can learn so much from such a simple outing... Or taking the children to story time at the library each week where they can learn to borrow books for the service. There are so many opportunities that children can grasp in FDC compared to LDC it does take the extra effort. Going on a shopping trip with a group in LDC takes a considerable amount of time and planning and something as simple as that often gets missed for those children. I can see that FDC has it's advantages and implementing the framework and achieving the outcomes, children will experience it differently coming from an FDC. It may be more hands on - there is so much a child can learn from an activity compared to a child who can experience it in the real world...

Just pondering...

,
Lorina

[linsaa fdc]

That's right, they learn in the real world where they have to learn that they can't touch everything they want, there is a time and a place for playing around and noise. They aren't stuck in the same walls everyday. We also have an intimate relationship with our children and our families because we only have a small group and we are the only one working with that family and group. That's why I always tell new educators you only want families with similar views and values as yourself so you are all on the same page otherwise your job can be a constant battle which doesn't not make a happy calm environment. That is done by being completely upfront about yourself and what you offer in the first interview, too many want to fill up fast and they have nothing but grief all the time.
I wouldn't work anywhere else.

[burgerbunz]

I'm keeping an eye on this- I really like the whole concept of family day care- having a small intimate group of families and children who almost become part of your family! I told hubby if all else fails, I'm going to buy an acre of land, set it up so it's self sufficient and run family day care from it- so all the kids can be involved, and at the end of it, we all get fresh veggies, clean rain water and some much needed vitamin d!

[Samantha91]

Hi quick question has anyone or know anyone who has opened a long day care in the last year ?
I am going to open a long day service but there's some things we need to do before hand

Can anyone help please ???

[Rohinay]

HI,
I am a newby here and have been through a couple of forums here and have found them very informative.

I have a few years experience in the industry and have completed my diploma. I myself am thinking of doing FDC in my own house but am a bit more inclined in running own small childcare rather than FDC. Also, we are buying a new two bedroom unit (investment property) on ground floor of an apartment with a small courtyard. The location is surrounded by three primary schools in close vicinity. Is it possible to start a childcare / after school care in aground floor unit of an apartment building? please advise.

[linsaa fdc]

Hi Rohinay,

You would have to call a scheme nearby and ask them. Of course if you are in the middle of a city there would be educators working from units, each scheme has different rules besides the usual REGS, the scheme would come to your home and check it out. They might say its ok but you wouldn't be able to have the whole 7 after school kids allowed usually because of the size of the place. If you could show that you wouldn't be sitting in the unit every afternoon they also might allow it. When I only had 7 school kids we did something different every afternoon. One day we went to the soccer fields, another to the library etc.... If one scheme says no try another. Two schemes in our area don't allow any activity near bodies of water and another scheme in the area does, so shop around.

All the best
Linsaa fdc