FDC advertising by educator

[Butterflyblue]

Hi everyone!
I was just wondering if anyone knows about national law in relation to fdc educators advertising their own business.
I've heard you must advertise what scheme you are registered with, but do you have to include their contact details as well?
The reason why this is so important to me is because I want to advertise my service and if a potential parent calls the scheme has been known to pass the family on to the educator they want, offer low prices (dollar or two an hour!) etc
I want to advertise my service not someone else's especially when I'm putting in so much money I think that's fair,

can anyone help out?
ps first time poster so apologies if this is in the wrong place

[Lorina]

In the National Law it states the following:

104 Offence to advertise education and care service without service approval

(1) A person must not knowingly publish or cause to be published an advertisement for an education and care service unless it is an approved education
and care service.

Penalty: $6000, in the case of an individual.
$30 000, in any other case.

As long as you have service approval then you are free to advertise your business.

Here is some more information that may help:

Marketing Guide For FDC
FDC Adveritising

Hope this helps!

,
Lorina

[Butterflyblue]

Yes, this was my understanding as well that you have to have the name and contact details of an approved service on any advertising.

[Lorina]

Just to confirm I would recommend that you contact Family Day Care Australia just to make sure...

Family Day Care Australia

,
Lorina

[Butterflyblue]

Thanks Lorina!
Yes, I will. Trying to find specific information in the regulations is really hard, its so long!

[Lorina]

Yeah, I had a look as well... but couldn't find anything specific...

,
Lorina

[Butterflyblue]

Hi Lorina,
I'm happy to make some posts about FDC if you like so people can get an idea of what its all about!
i think its especially important with all the kerfuffle happening at the moment that educators and parents have some information available to them

[Butterflyblue]

oops accidentally posted twice!

[Lorina]

That would be fantastic!

It would be really hopeful! I'm putting together an article on starting up an FDC Service since I get a lot of queries from Educators wanting to leave LDC to start their own FDC.

If I could pick your brains...

What is a scheme exactly? I know that before you become an FDC Educator you need to register with a Scheme... what the purpose of that? Do you have to pay your scheme fees? What's the difference between schemes?

Thanks!

,
Lorina

[Butterflyblue]

Yes! More than happy to provide some info, especially for potential fdc educators!


A scheme is basically an approved provider (person) who has been granted service approval by the Department of Education under National Quality Framework, National Law and National Regulations.
Only an approved provider who has been granted a service approval can operate a family day care service. There are various conditions they must meet in order to run an fdc scheme also called a family daycare service.
An educator does not need to be an approved provider or service but they must be registered with one in order to work and provide home based childcare.
The process typically involves contacting a fdc scheme, apply to register with them, and if successful have an interview, home safety check and complete the relevant paperwork. There are conditions all educators must meet regardless of which fdc service they work for including minimum qualifications, checks (police and child), safe environment and insurance.

The schemes main purpose is to ensure the educator is meeting National Quality Framework standards and complying with National Law and National Regulations. An approved service may apply to receive CCS, so educators can offer care with CCS for eliglible parents, most schemes have CCS available.

The scheme must also provide assistance, advice, ongoing training and ensure everything is running smoothly.
It should be a collaborative relationship in partnership with parents to ensure children can receive quality care in a home based environment.

You can find all of this and more here: https://www.education.vic.gov.au/childh ... spx#link90

let me know if you have any other questions!

[Butterflyblue]

Most schemes do not require educators to pay a fee, only the parent to pay an administration fee.
Most schemes even not for profit will have an administration levy/fee which the parent is required to pay however this is taken from the educators fee which reduces their remuneration.
Administration fee typically covers the cost of providing free paperwork and processing etc for the scheme
For fdc educators one of the first questions should be what is the administration fee?
The lowest possible administration fee for the sake of the parents is a major factor in deciding what scheme to register with.
Some schemes have outrageously high administration fees which are not worthwhile for either the parent or educator.

Some schemes have an educator levy which again is part of the educators fees and reduces their remuneration. This is not in place of or related to the parents paid admin fee.
The purpose of an educator levy can be for training, CPD, complimentary resources/ paperwork etc

If a scheme has a high fee either administration or educator you can ask (parents and educators) what is covers exactly. There often a lot of confusion here when there are higher than average fees and levies - you can always ask the scheme for clarification

Typically if the fee is high there should be benefits such as:
free timesheets and other paperwork
packages for new children (goodie bags, gifts etc)
free paperwork print outs
complimentary mailing of paperwork etc
professional training
access to resources
Some schemes will also provide free or discounted access to playgroups, toy library as well as end of year gatherings with entertainment for the children etc.

However a lot of schemes offer benefits similar to above, while often having an average parent administration fee and no educator levy, so it really is a crucial part of deciding what scheme to choose as an educator. Unfortunately the are schemes short changing educators and parents here

[Butterflyblue]

What is the difference between schemes?
Some schemes are really old, others new the best way to find out which one is right for you is to research.
The quality of a scheme and its staff can vary greatly, so it is a good idea to enquire.
The NQS rating is one good indicator of a schemes quality in particular quality area 7: Governance and leadership.
In theory the current overall NQS rating should be an improvement on the previous one and that better than the last assessment and so on. In family daycare coordination staff work closely with educators and their rating should improve or remain the same, not drop dramatically. All schemes are required to have a quality improvement plan but generally this is only available to educators or parents who are part of their scheme, but you can ask. You can also ask about how they support educators and help them with educational programs. Any qualified staff should know about different educational philosophies (Montessori, Waldorf etc), current play trends such as natural play etc and national regs and laws as well as their own policies and procedures in depth.
You can search any approved services NQS rating here:
https://www.acecqa.gov.au/resources/nat ... ervices?s=
There you can find particular information such as the name of the approved provider (person) and the service (scheme name) they are allowed to run, as well when the approval was granted it.
Plus any conditions that must be adhered to such as location their educators must reside in, number of educators the service may recruit (set or unlimited), management staffing ratios etc and other useful things.

The experience, philosophies and care of the staff and the service they work for vary from place to place as does their professionalism.
Most schemes will have one individual in charge (coordinator or supervisor), educator support staff, other staff (reception, admin, accounts etc) and then the educators.
The experience, passion and commitment of the person in the leadership position and the support staff varies. Go to their office to get a sense of how the scheme operates on a day to day basis and interact with one another etc by meeting the team.
this is crucial because both educators and parents work closely with all the staff in the office
Look for schemes which have information available and readily provide it, polite staff, online presence (website etc) and so on.

In terms of which scheme to choose as an educator there are a range of factors to consider including fees and levies.
The biggest one should be remuneration as the CCS exists choosing a scheme where you can set your fee as you see fit or has a higher fee range is almost always going to be the most important part.
This flexibility allows you to decide the fee, and lower or increase it as you wish.
Whilst family daycare is seen as the cheapest care, parents (clients) are willing to pay more for quality as with most goods and services, plus their choice is made easier with CCS.
The schemes location (office) is irrelevant unless it is a council scheme or has conditions in which case they may only recruit educators within certain boundaries. Contact the service directly and ask as they often accept outside of this but do not advertise so.
One thing to keep in mind is the schemes location as you may need to go there for an interview, paperwork or ongoing compulsory training, staff meetings etc.
If it is further than you are willing to travel then it may not be the scheme for you, aside from this the location does not matter to either the educator, parent or scheme.

You'll have a feeling when you meet with people from a particular scheme and you can apply to more than one and if you do change your mind about a scheme and want to move to a different one its as simple as giving notice- which is usually 2 weeks.

[Butterflyblue]

You can find more on selecting a service here: https://www.familydaycare.com.au/educat ... -a-service