JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2025
With a busy start to the year, we’ve combined our January and February newsletters into one jam-packed edition filled with important updates, upcoming events and helpful reminders. We are looking forward to an exciting 2025 and to continue supporting you in delivering high-quality care to children and families!
UPDATED FORMS AND NEW TEMPLATES
The Venue Assessment template has had a makeover. We have combined the ECRU Compliance Checklist with the Nature Alliance Venue Assessment document. This will ensure that you have all documentation available for ECRU in the event of a spot check. You will notice that there are highlighted areas on the form, these are what you must have available for inspection on the day of your Venue Assessment with your ESO. It is quite a long process and having your documents ready and available for inspection will be a significant factor impacting on time taken to do the visit.
SAVE THE DATE – BEHAVIOUR WORKSHOP WITH KELLY OLDFIELD
📅 Date: Tuesday, 4th March
⏰ Time: 6:30 PM
📍 Location: Bunbury (venue TBA) + Online Streaming
We’re excited to invite you to an insightful workshop on the functions of behaviour and behaviour modification, presented by Kelly Oldfield, a Specialised Behaviour Consultant. This session will deepen your understanding of challenging behaviours and provide practical strategies to help you manage them effectively in your service. Kelly is an engaging and knowledgeable presenter, and this is a workshop you won’t want to miss! It will be held face-to-face in Bunbury (venue to be confirmed) and streamed online for Educators outside the Bunbury region. Stay tuned—more details will be sent to your mailbox once the venue is confirmed. Please mark your calendars and don’t miss this valuable learning opportunity!
PARENT AUTHORISATIONS FOR OUTINGS
If your parent authorisations are coming up for renewal, please update your template with relevant risk assessments and then send it to your ESO before asking parents to sign it. This will save you the frustration of having to redo them because they don’t contain the required information for ECRU. The following things need to be taken into consideration:
- The new process for listing irregular outings
- Ensuring that only valid risk assessments are listed
- That all the relevant details are listed in the correct columns
POLICIES BEING UPDATED
The following Policies are in the process of being updated. This is your opportunity to have your say and suggest any changes or updates. Please forward any feedback to Info and it will be discussed during our staff meeting.
FAREWELL & WELCOME
Jen Napper, in Mount Helena, and Maryse Coburn, in Kalgoorlie, have filed away their playdough recipes and removed all the safety locks and displayed paperwork from their houses! We would like to thank you for all your years of service to Nature Alliance, and to the children and families you worked with over the years. We wish you all the best in your new adventures.
We would also like to extend a very warm welcome to Cloe Auffrait, our newest Educator in Forrestfield. Welcome to the Nature Alliance family, we can’t wait to see what exciting experiences you and the children engage in.
NATIONAL LAW & REGULATIONS
It is essential that you have access to the latest versions of the National Law and Regulations. The best way to ensure that your versions are current is to regularly access the ACECQA website to compare your version with the ones on there. The latest version of the National Law is dated December 2024 and the Regulations October 2024. Please ensure that you have these versions downloaded onto your devices and that they are always readily available. This means that if your internet connection is down, you are still able to access a downloaded version on your phone / iPad / computer or laptop.
ONLINE TRAINING
In Safe Hands offer a range of online training that you may like to access (this is the company that we use to provide the training for Child Protection and Safe Sleeping.
- Active Supervision: Strategies to ensure children’s safety in all environments.
- Nutrition Requirements: Meeting the nutritional needs of young children.
- Emergency Procedures (Fire Safety): Preparing for and managing emergencies effectively.
- Work, Health and Safety for Educators: Ensuring a safe and compliant workplace.
- Workplace Bullying: Promoting respectful, bully-free work environments.
If you would like to access, please access www.insafehands.net.au.
REGULAR EXCURSIONS
There has been a lot of discussion about what constitutes a “regular excursion”. When looking at the definition of the term in the National Regulations it says:
With this in mind, Nature Alliance has determined that a “regular outing” refers to a location visited at least once a month.
VISITORS TO YOUR SERVICE
A friendly reminder that all visitors to your Family Day Care service – including friends of your own family members – must sign in and out. This is a regulatory requirement (Regulation 165) and applies to anyone who enters the premises while children are in care. The record must include the visitor’s name, signature, and time they arrive and leave. Keeping an accurate visitor record helps ensure transparency and safety for everyone in your care.
NATIONAL SIMULTANEOUS STORYTIME – 21ST MAY 2025 AT 12PM AEST
Get ready to join in on National Simultaneous Storytime on Tuesday, 21st May at 12 PM AEST! This annual event is a fantastic opportunity to share the magic of storytelling with children across the country, all reading the same book at the same time.
This year’s featured book is The Truck Cat by Deborah Frenkel and illustrated by Danny Snell. Because we believe in the power of books to inspire and engage young minds, we’ve purchased a copy for each of you! We’ll be handing them out during our visits over the next few months, so keep an eye out. We can’t wait to hear how you bring this story to life in your service—feel free to share your experiences with us!
The National Quality Framework- The Musical! The Documentary … For Free!!
A very long name for a very fabulous story. Dr Red Ruby Scarlett and Louise Dorrat have delightfully gifted this documentary to you all. Enjoy the wonder joy and hilarity of the backstory of creating and performing the National Quality Framework- The Musical. https://learning.theinclusionroom.com.au/courses/nqf-musical
RELATIVES IN CARE
Just a friendly reminder to inform the Admin team when you have your own relatives in care. The easiest way to do this is by adding a note to the email you send at the end of each week, along with the number of timesheets you are submitting. This is especially important due to the Department’s “50% Rule”, which states that an Educator cannot have more relatives in care than non-relatives. Ensuring compliance with this rule is essential to maintaining your eligibility for Child Care Subsidy payments.
RISK ASSESSMENTS
This seems to be a recurring heading! We’ve had a few Educators ask why Nature Alliance can’t do the risk assessments for our Educators. We can assure you that we are constantly looking for ways to minimize the administrative burden with these documents, however Regulation 100 clearly states that a Family Day Care EDUCATOR must carry out the risk assessment. Logistically, it would not be possible for your ESO to visit every destination for every Educator before conducting a risk assessment. We would also not have as much knowledge about all the different behaviours and needs that your children might have. While these documents are a pain, they are what will protect you in the event of any incident. Take the time, think them through and make sure that they are relevant to your service and your children. Remember that these are legal documents and will definitely be asked for if something happens while you are out and about.
SUPPORTING FAMILIES DURING MEALTIMES
Juleanne recently shared a valuable resource recommended by one of her parents: Mealtimes
This resource may be helpful for families with newly enrolled children and those transitioning to kindergarten. It offers practical advice and tips on supporting children to eat well and develop healthy mealtime habits.
We encourage you to explore the Mealtimes website for yourself and consider sharing it with your families. It’s a fantastic way to support both children and parents in making mealtimes enjoyable and nutritious.
SHARE YOUR VACANCIES WITH OUR COMMUNITY
We would love to help share your vacancies on our Nature Alliance Facebook page! Keeping our page active and informative benefits everyone in our community. If you have vacancies at your service or come across valuable information for our followers, please email Jo C at joanne@naturealliancefdc.com.au and we will share it.
HI FROM LANCELIN
Our first Educator spotlight for 2025 shines on the lovely Brenda in Lancelin.
Brenda has been an Educator with Nature Alliance since 2017, and her Family Day Care, Lancelin Nippers, plays a vital role in the community as the only childcare service in the area. Her dedication provides local families with a much-needed, nurturing environment where children can learn, grow, and thrive. We always love seeing the bright smiles of the children in her care, many of whom we’ve watched grow from tiny toddlers into confident school-aged kids! Brenda is very nurturing and has formed wonderful relationships with both her children and their families.
WORD OF THE DAY
Place-based Pedagogy – Place-based pedagogy is all about recognizing how an Educator’s understanding of their setting and community influences the way they plan and practice. By embracing the unique environment in which children learn, Educators can create more meaningful and relevant experiences. This approach is especially important for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, whose deep connection to land and place holds cultural significance. We encourage Educators to explore these connections by engaging with local Elders and community members in culturally responsive and respectful ways. By embedding place-based learning into your program, you’re helping children develop a stronger sense of belonging and appreciation for the world around them.
GREAT INDOOR ACTIVITY
Thank You to Colleen Chinnery in Busselton for sharing this wonderful recipe for “Lava Playdough” (A nice twist on the traditional goop):
Ingredients:
2 Cups corn flour
1 cup salt
Mix all items together with enough coloured water (add this slowly) to make it run through your hands (extra water can be added each day to make it ooze again once it dries up!).
PROFESSIONALISM AND MARKETING YOUR FAMILY DAY CARE
As an Educator, you are the best ambassador for your business—both during work hours and in your everyday life. When you’re out with the children, the way you interact with them and engage with the community naturally showcases the quality of care you provide. A friendly chat with a passerby, a well-prepared outing, or a positive interaction at the park can leave a lasting impression on potential families and help build your reputation. Marketing isn’t just about advertising—it’s about how you present yourself and your service. A professional, friendly, and positive presence helps attract new families, fill vacancies, and strengthen trust in your service. By being mindful of this, you’re not only growing your business but also reinforcing the high standards of Family Day Care.
OFFICE HOURS
Our office hours are 8.30am to 4.30pm. If you have a query outside of these hours, please phone and leave a message. If you need to speak with someone in an emergency, please ring Jo Georgiou and if your call is not answered immediately, leave a message and your call will be returned.
PHONE NUMBERS
Sandra / Mandy: 0431 449 567 (Mon – Fri); Joy: 0429 030 362 (Mon, Tues, Wed & Fri); Jo C: 0477 029 531 (Mon – Fri); Jo G: 0477 029 132 (Mon – Thurs); Lea: 0477 029 228 (Mon, Tue, Thurs & Fri). To ensure that we respond to your emails promptly please send your queries to: info@naturealliancefdc.com.au
“I can’t change the direction of the wind, but I can adjust my sails to always reach my destination!”
Jimmy Dean