Northern Rivers Family Day Care

14/10/2026

Looking for trusted childcare in beautiful Burringbar? 🌟

We're thrilled to share that a passionate educator is opening their Family Day Care service in November at Burringbar! This is a fantastic opportunity for your little ones to learn and grow in a nurturing, individualised and educational home-based environment.

Curious to know more? Reach out to Kerrie or Mandy at 07 5587 5300. Let's give our children the best start!

Know someone who might be interested? Tag them or share this post! 😊

08/10/2026

Check out this lovely reflection on connecting with community through an excursion from one of our Guyra educators!:

"🐊🦎 A Reptile Adventure at the Library! 🐍🐢

On Wednesday, I joined Val, one of our wonderful Educators in Guyra, and the children for an exciting reptile show at the Guyra library!

The children watched with excitement as the reptile keeper introduced them to some amazing creatures, including a bearded dragon, shingleback lizard, turtle, olive python and even a baby crocodile!

There were lots of curious questions, conversations, laughter and learning along the way. The children discovered that a shingleback lizard can run backwards! Its tail looks like its head, which can help trick other animals. How clever!

The children also had the opportunity to gently touch some of the reptiles. There were lots of comments about how they felt such as “bumpy” , “rough” and “smooth” .

Learning beyond our homes and services

This experience was more than just an exciting reptile show. It gave the children an opportunity to explore their local community, meet new people, learn about the world around them and build confidence in a new environment.

Through regular excursions, Family Day Care provides wonderful opportunities for children to be active members of their community. Our Educators regularly visit story time at the library, community parks, playgroups and local events.

These experiences help children:
• 🌏 Discover the world beyond their usual environment
• 💬 Build language, vocabulary and confidence
• 🤝 Develop relationships with people in their community
• 🏡 Develop a strong sense of belonging
• 🔎 Learn through real-life experiences and exploration

This connects beautifully with Early Years Learning Framework Outcome 2 – Children are connected with and contribute to their world, as the children were given opportunities to connect with their local community, engage with new people and develop an understanding of the world around them, including the natural world.

Most importantly, it reminds us that learning doesn't only happen inside our homes and services, our community is also a classroom!"

02/10/2026

📣 Join Our NRCS Team!
Looking for a flexible role that fits around school hours or a return to the workforce?
We're seeking an enthusiastic and organised Administration Officer to support both Gingerbread House Occasional Care and Nimbin Early Learning Service.
This is a fantastic opportunity for someone who thrives in a busy environment, loves keeping things organised, and is passionate about supporting children, families, and their local community.
✅ Flexible hours
✅ Family-friendly role
✅ Supportive team culture
✅ Meaningful work in the early childhood sector
Apply today and become part of an organisation making a real difference in our communities! 🌟
https://au.seek.com/job/94967370?tracking=SHR-WEB-SharedJob-anz-1

01/10/2026

🎉🏆 WE HAVE SOME VERY EXCITING NEWS! 🏆🎉

Northern Rivers Family Day Care is incredibly proud to announce that Jaimie Betts has been named a REGIONAL WINNER in the 2026 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards! 🌟👏

💚 Congratulations, Jaimie! 💚

Jaimie Betts – Tamworth & North West Region: Northern Rivers Family Day Care

This is an incredible achievement, and a wonderful recognition of the dedication, care, passion and commitment Jaimie brings to Family Day Care every single day. ❤️

Jaimie has now been recognised as one of the 2026 Regional Educator Winners, putting her one step closer to the National Excellence in Family Day Care Awards!

🌟 And it doesn't stop here! 🌟

Jaimie will now progress to the next stage of the Awards, where four National Educator Finalists will be selected and announced on 20 October 2026.

Then, on 28 November 2026, the Awards will culminate in Brisbane at the 2026 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards Gala Dinner, where the National Award Winners will be revealed. 🏆✨

We couldn't be prouder of Jaimie and everything she represents as a Family Day Care Educator.

Jaimie, this is your moment — congratulations on this incredible recognition! 🎉💚

From everyone at Northern Rivers Family Day Care — we are cheering you on every step of the way! 👏🥳

23/09/2026

🌿 Inspired Practice from our RAP resources:

One of the important parts of our Reconciliation Action Plan is supporting educators to explore ways Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives can be meaningfully woven into everyday learning and programming.

Check out these lovely examples from our educators, who have been exploring a range of opportunities within their program, including:

🌱embedding Bundjalung language when exploring nature and Caring for Country within the outdoor environment

📚 including story suggestions across the program that provide opportunities for children to engage with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives through literature.

🌿Providing natural opportunities for children to explore new concepts, through sensory and play-based experiences

What we value about this approach is that these ideas are not being treated as a once-a-year activity or something separate from the children's everyday learning. Instead, the educators are considering where respectful perspectives, language, stories and connections to Country can naturally and meaningfully be embedded across the program.

20/09/2026

🌿 From Planning to Practice:

Following our introduction to the Northern Rivers Children's Services Reconciliation Action Plan, we’re sharing a little more about the work behind it.

Check out a sneak peak of our August newsletter that explored the rationale behind our RAP and introduced our RAP Resource Folder. This has been developed to support educators with practical ideas, resources, tips and guidance as we continue this work.

A RAP is more than a resource folder or a document.

It is about how reconciliation can be reflected in our everyday practice - through the experiences we provide, the conversations we have with children, the environments we create and the ways we continue to learn and build respectful relationships.

🌱 Over the coming weeks, we’ll share some of the ways our educators are already engaging with this work across their Family Day Care environments.

16/09/2026

We are proud to share that Northern Rivers Children's Services has developed an updated Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP).

For us, this is not simply about creating a document or marking a milestone. It is about taking meaningful, ongoing steps towards reconciliation and considering how this commitment is reflected in our everyday work, our relationships, our learning environments and our connections with children, families and community.

As an early childhood service, we have an important role to play in supporting children to develop respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, cultures, histories, knowledges and perspectives. Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali program recognises the important role that early learning services can play in creating intergenerational change and provides a framework for services to take practical action towards reconciliation.

Our RAP gives us a framework to listen, learn, build relationships and take action - while continuing to reflect on where we are, where we can improve, and how we can contribute to a more respectful and reconciled future.

We look forward to sharing more about our RAP, the commitments we have made and what reconciliation looks like in practice across Northern Rivers Children's Services!

We have included this information from Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education program as an introduction to what a RAP means within an early learning context.

07/09/2026

🛡️ Are you ready to make a difference for our children?

Join us this National Child Protection Week as we create safe spaces for children to thrive. This year's theme, "Every Conversation Matters: Shifting Conversation to Action," reminds us of our shared responsibility.

Let's chat about the actions we can take, big or small, to help our children flourish. Your voice matters! 🗣️

Comment below with your thoughts or share this to spread the word. 🌈

03/09/2026