Aussie Childcare Network Forum

He everyone, I am after any advice I am stepping up as acting director this year in a couple weeks and after advice, firstly I want to look into grants we can receive for being a remote childcare centre within south australia.

Any help with that will be great and also any other advice would be appreciated in advance.

Renae

Congratulations! Great promotion to start the new year!

I had a look at a few government websites and there are a few grants available however you will need to contact them to find out which one you are eligible for. From what I read, the "Disadvantaged area child care subsidies" is probably your best bet. The government basically gives this to childcare centres to maintain and provide parents access to remote areas.

Disadvantaged area subsidy
The Disadvantaged Area Subsidy is available to some community-based centres and outside school hours care services. The aim of the subsidy is to ensure that families in disadvantaged areas, particularly rural and remote locations, maintain access to work-related childcare.

I'm adding a couple of links on where you can find some more information about Commonwealth grants available as well as more information on the Disadvantage Area Subsidy:

1) http://www.aph.gov.au/About_Parliament/ ... aresupport

2) http://www.health.gov.au/internet/main/ ... jm9097.htm

On stepping up as acting director, it's a big responsibility and I'm sure you will be great at it. It can be a hard task at first but you will find your feet within a couple of weeks. The most important advice I can probably give you is how you handle and treat your staff. Now that you're going to be director, you will have the most "fun" task on dealing with staffing issues which may arise. Such as staff calling up sick, staff problems etc. As long as you nip them in the butt as they arise then you should be fine!

Good Luck!

,
L.A

My advice would be just make sure you know what you’re doing and if you’re not sure ask for help. I’ve seen so many times acting directors getting in over their heads because from working in a room they have been promoted and it doesn’t always work out well. You’ll probably be handling administrative duties such as processing new enrolments, doing fees, responding to emails etc. which can become routine and tireless but I guess its part of the job. I don’t know how much time you need to spend doing office duties and whether you’ll be on the floor as well but you can always spend a few hours a day in different rooms helping out the staff. A director at a center I use to work did that and it was great to see her get involved in what the children and staff were doing in the rooms.