Local resident Julie-Ann Byrne of Country Kids Family Day Care in Dimboola was recently recognised as the regional winner for the Horsham and Grampians region of the Day Care Educator of the Year in the 2016 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards and now goes in the running to be named Victorian state winner.
Julie-Ann is registered with the Holistic Approach Family Day Care Scheme and is one of over 25,000 family day care educators providing quality early childhood education and care to more than 227,990 children across Australia. Family day care is an approved early childhood education and care service provided by qualified educators in a nurturing, home-based setting with small educator to child ratios.
Pictured above is Julie-Ann with some of her students (from left) Xavier Clugston, Gus Pilmore, Roary Hadzig and Isla Pilmore. (photo courtesy of Julie-Ann Byrne)
The state awards will be announced early next week and the national winners will be announced at the Excellence in Family Day Care Awards Gala Dinner at the end of November. As well as the honour of being named best in the business, state and national winners will share in more than $20,000 worth of prizes including educational resources and training packages.
This is the fifth year of these awards which are the only ones dedicated to the family day care sector and they provide an opportunity for families and educators to acknowledge what makes their educator or day care service such an important contributor to the lives of the children in their care.
The process towards receiving this award begins with a nomination which can come from either parents or others within the day care service. In this instance Julie-Ann was nominated by a number of parents. The nominee then has the opportunity to place a supporting submission to strengthen their entry which along with the original nomination is considered by a review committee.
The entry is then assessed and evaluated against how the educator demonstrates best practice in the following criteria;
Incorporating the National Quality Standard and the approved learning frameworks into their family day care as a means to ensure quality outcomes for children.
Providing individual learning and developmental programming.
Inclusive practice - celebrating uniqueness, diversity and belonging.
Engaging with families regarding their child's learning and development.
Incorporating innovative practice in contributing to quality outcomes for children.
Developing programs and practices that demonstrate a commitment to sustainable practice.
The community now awaits the announcement of the state winners next week.
Julie-Ann was also a regional finalist in the Australian Family 2016 Australian Early Childhood Educator of the Year awards earlier this year.
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