By Jed Lanyon
Family Day Care educator Julie Parker has been named a regional winner in the 2020 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.
The Healesville resident took out the prize for the Yarra Valley and High-Country area, standing out amongst a record 5600 nominees.
“It’s always lovely and always nice to get a pat on the back and have my hard work recognised. Because we work in our own homes, people don’t often see the work that goes on with the children.
Ms Parker, who has been working in day care for 14 years, shared the secret behind her excellence.
“I think I work really hard to build up strong and close relationships with my clients. I communicate with them frequently and provide regular updates of the activities we’re doing with photos and texts with context so they can see their children are engaging.
“I endeavour to provide support with parenting… It takes a whole village to raise a child and we all work together hand in hand.
“I couldn’t do it without the partnership with the families, honestly. The trust they place in me, they give me their most precious thing in the whole wide world to influence their child’s learning, so we have to be able to work as a team.”
Ms Parker is now in the running to be named as a national finalist for the 2020 National Family Day Care Educator of the Year Award, which will be announced in December.
While she describes the idea of being recognised nationally as “overwhelming”, she believes it’s gratifying to know she had been nominated by those who matter most, the parents.
“It would be a bit scary, I’d probably have to give a speech or something. But just the fact that someone does nominate you, that’s the win. The parents are the ones I’m working with, and the ones I hope to do the right thing for.
“For the regional award, it’s lovely to be recognised by my peers. But the real win is having my parents value my program like that.”
Ms Parker, who is registered with Bestchance Family Day Care, is one of over 13,000 family day care educators who play an important role in the lives of more than 108,000 children around the country.
“I just think if more people were aware of the quality that family day care and education care programs can provide, they’d be out there investigating it for themselves.”
Celebrating its ninth year, the 2020 Family Day Care Australia’s Excellence in Family Day Care Awards highlights the incredible work of family day care educators and the invaluable contributions they make to the lives of children, families and communities.
Family Day Care Australia CEO, Andrew Paterson, spoke to the record breaking 5600 nominations placed in the awards and the achievements of the regional winners.
“It is a testament to the incredible work coming out of our sector from educators like Julie. They have gone above and beyond to nurture and support the children in their care, and we are thrilled to recognise their achievements,” said Mr Paterson.
The awards also celebrate the unique strengths of family day care and how strong relationships between educators and children, and a nurturing home learning environment, make family day care the natural choice for quality early childhood education and care.
“Family day care provides educators with an opportunity like no other, to form meaningful bonds with the children they care for and tailor their learning environment according to each child’s needs and interests,” Mr Paterson said.
National finalists will be announced on 7 December, with the 2020 National Family Day Care Educator of the Year Award to be announced at the Gala Dinner on 27 February.
