Family Day Care is a popular option for parents looking for quality childcare that is highly personalised and flexible.

Council currently supports 60 family day care services on the Northern Beaches, and with ever increasing demand for childcare services, is seeking enthusiastic candidates interested in starting their own family day cares. 

We recently interviewed Helen Macolino, owner of one of the Northern Beaches’ family day cares, to learn about her journey starting her own business and to find out what makes family day care such a great option for anyone looking to run their own business from home. 

Why did you start your own family day care? 

I’ve always been drawn to young children, offering them my attention. A good friend from my mothers’ group once suggested I run a family day care as I’d spend a good part of our group catch ups mingling with all the children instead of the mum’s!

The idea hadn’t occurred to me previously, so I placed my next child into family day care to see what it was all about. 

The knowledge of him being educated in an intimate and family style atmosphere appealed to me, especially as he was so young. The smaller setting enabled my relationship with the educator to feel more personal and genuine, and it allowed my son to create special bonds with the other children.  

As my own experience with family day care was a positive one, this drove my passion in creating my own family day care. I wanted to create a place where the children felt secure, content and cared for in a motivating learning environment. 

The early years are so important in a child’s development, I feel privileged to be able to play such a crucial role.

How does the Council support you?

I love growing my business with Northern Beaches Council Family Day Care. The team go above and beyond to support the children, families and myself. 
I feel heard and listened to. 

As an educator, I  benefit by having monthly visits from my coordinator and this allows me to have a second pair of eyes and someone to bounce ideas off. We work in collaboration to achieve quality learning outcomes for all the children. 

My coordinator passes on any new information of legislation/policy changes, supplies a monthly newsletter of resources and ideas to inspire planning for my educational program and provides support with assessments of learning. 

All educators are involved in group Zoom  meetings, are in regular email contact and receive offers for professional development opportunities.

What does your day involve? 

All the children are involved in daily routines for the group. They have opportunities to contribute their skills, learn new things, and develop their self-help and self-care  skills in a positive and supportive way.

My daily schedule reflects the needs and interests of the children and I provide a balance between child-initiated and educator-directed learning activities. 

Activities include arts, crafts, construction of loose parts, sensory play, music, books, building, climbing, imaginary play, gardening, use of natural resources, indigenous and multicultural inclusion, outdoor physical movement, early literacy and numeracy development, and colour and shape activities.

I have a huge array of resources and I love having families join my beautiful space that I have created.  

Daily communication with families allows me to support the children with their needs and encourage them to build on their individual strengths and interests. This empowers them to become confident and competent young learners that feel nurtured and that have a sense of belonging.

What do you love about your job? 

I have a deep love and admiration for the little human beings in my care and I am in total awe watching them develop new skills and gain an appreciation of knowledge and learning.

I’m passionate about providing an environment where all children establish a positive belief in themselves and their abilities, and where they have their physical and emotional needs met.

Effective teaching involves empathy, enthusiasm, patience, humour and good communication skills. This is what I aim to practice each day!