Thinking of Setting Up a Weekend Care Programme, Many Questions

[jaemiedelapena]

Hi there,

I have been working in childcare for 3 years now and have noticed a demand in weekend care for kids. I was thinking of setting up a small simple program where parents can drop their kids off at a location and me and another experienced carer take the kids away to an activity plus the park for the day where they are picked up at the same spot.

There are many things I want to know before starting this

-What are the legislative barriers that stop me from doing this?
-Do I need any certifications/qualifications, from my understanding this is basically 'group babysitting'
-What are the laws of child food preparation when serving lunch etc.?
-In NSW what is the limit to number of carers vs kids?
-What are the rates I could charge for this, since it is the weekend plus a one off service vs a daily service I was thinking of charging a $280 flat rate to pay for both carers and activity plus gas etc.
-Any other holes in my plan?

Sincerely

[Lorina]

Hi There,

That's a really good idea! If there is a childcare centre open on the weekend it will probably be very popular as you probably don't find many centres opened on the weekend. If you are doing it from your home you will be looking at Fdc which is family day care. With family day care you are the only educator looking after children - upto 7 at a time. You will still need to follow the national regulations and legislations. So, getting permission to take the children to the park, having a program in place, doing observations etc. Its probably best to ring Family Day Care Australia to get more information for your idea.

,
Lorina

[linsaa fdc]

Hi,
We in FDC have been caring for children on the weekends and overnight forever. Your plan sounds good and yes you need at least your cert 111 but you can study this whilst actually doing Family Day Care.
Food prep; you need to do a food prep little coarse, you can usually do them online for free but the scheme you work through will guide you with this.
The limit is as Lorina said 7 children to one educator, but is the fee you are thinking of charging $280 per child and for 1 day or for 2?
Families will want to take advantage of the Governments CCB and CCR so if you become a registered carer that will help them reduce their out of pocket fees.
You can take the children on outings and you can also have what they call 'an educator assistant' to help you but they also need to have their blue card, first aid and other things.
Linsaa fdc