Behind the Scenes at Your Childcare – What Every Parent Needs to Know
This is a contribution from childcare specialists, JourneyTree. JourneyTree allows your Childcare Centres to communicate easily and securely with you, to meet EYLF and compliance obligations faster as well as track your child’s progress. This all adds up to more time spent nurturing young minds. Encourage your centre to check out the JourneyTree app and blog today.
Everything always looks to be smooth sailing and organised at your childcare centre right? You often marvel at how calm the carers are and how they remember any extra requests or individual information about your child. There’s so much going on behind the scenes at your childcare centre. You won’t see any of this but you can be assured that it’s happening! Here’s what you need to know:
1. The paperwork is extensive
There are often numerous learning activities with different outcomes planned for your child while they are in care. These activities aren’t just made up on the spot. Daycare workers spend endless amounts of time researching and planning these activities. Then there’s the recording of work, reporting and tracking child progress. The amount of paperwork is the number one complaint among child carers because it limits their time giving kids one-on-one interaction.
2. All childcare centres use Early Years Learning Framework
Childcare workers use the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) to support their teaching and learning practices. They use this framework as a guide to their planning and catering for each child’s needs in order to develop them socially, emotionally and academically for future schooling.
3. They are always dealing with compliance
Not only are they dealing with ensuring the safety and wellbeing of each child in their care, childcare centres are also dealing with keeping up with the ever growing list of compliance ticks. From buildings, privacy, safety, staff wellbeing, record keeping and more, all are needed to be enforced and adhered to exactly as required. This is tough for centre managers as they’re trusting their room leaders and assistants with legal paperwork. The time taken to train, check and submit compliance materials means your most experienced educator has less time to work on development activities for the kids. So, when you see her at the end of the day looking frazzled, don’t assume it was because the kids were crazy all day, it may have been the paperwork!
4. Educators take work home
That gorgeous picture of organisation that you see when you walk into an early learning centre, isn’t just being organised at the centre itself. Educators are collecting ideas, planning and making items from home. They’re not paid overtime, in fact they’re paid less than most in the education sector, but they do it because they love doing it and seeing happy, engaged children as the result. This means that your child’s sensitive information and images may be “leaving the premises” with your room leader or assistant. Ask your childcare centre about their level of data security and what their teachers take home.
5. Recruitment challenges
Early learning centres can often be faced with recruitment challenges. With long hours and lower end pay, it can be hard to find quality child care staff. Look for centres where the staff are happy, qualified and have been there a while – it means there’s likely less turnover and interruption to your child’s early education.
Learn more about choosing the right childcare options for your kids – from asking the right question at interview to choosing healthier, eco-friendly childcare. Next time you walk into your early learning centre or day care, remember that the workers are doing so much behind the scenes and that their work does not end when children go home. Nothing feels better than a little appreciation too so let them know they are doing a great job. They will thank you for it!
