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.