THE City of Whittlesea will continue to support local families as a Family Day Care service provider following an independent review.
Council analysis of the review led to a resolution at its March 17 meeting to continue delivering Whittlesea Family Day Care Service and to expand its provision with plans to accept more educators into the Whittlesea Family Day Care service as the review captured local options available to families and a snap shot of council’s ongoing role.
The review found that further expanding the service would provide benefits to the local community such as local employment opportunities, ensuring choice for families, extending access to areas with lower availability of family day care or long day care and supporting the service’s long-term financial sustainability.
In good news, it found that council’s service has a strong history of compliance (46 years), and responded effectively to regulatory changes in the sector. On another positive front, the review found that the service has consistently been rated as exceeding the national quality standards as regulated in Victoria by Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority.
City of Whittlesea Mayor Cr Lawrie Cox said: “Council is proud to support delivering such a high-quality service for our local families. This comprehensive review of Council’s Family Day Care service has given us the confidence to know that we can move forward with an expansion and still ensure we are being financially responsible in these tough fiscal times.”
Council also resolved for officers to report back annually until 2028 outlining the progress of the service expansion, financial sustainability, service performance and regulatory compliance requirements.
Anyone interested in becoming a Family Day Care educator can contact the Family Day Care Coordination team at familydaycare@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or call 9217 2170 to learn more.