Family daycare or small group daycare in Perth

Hello! I'm interested in looking into daycare for my DD once she reaches 18 months. I work a couple of days a week now until 3pm and she has a nanny. I'd like to do an extra day and DD loves anything involving a group of babies so I thought she'd benefit from family day care or alternatively a small daycare centre for one part day. I work in the city and live in the north Perth/Northbridge area so somewhere around or in between would be ideal.

Any ideas or websites etc to research re reputable family or similar daycare?

Thanks in advance :)

From memory, the people to contact are Bright Starts in Perth.

Failing that, get in contact with Kerrie from Kerrie's Place Family Day Care, you can find her on FB. She is NOR and has a lot of contacts and will be able to point you in the right direction. :) If you have trouble, shoot me a PM and I will put you in touch with her.

Oh wonderful, thank you so much!

Day care centers are much more regulated than family day care, and by regulation there are always 2 carers in a room at the one time
Also, family day care doesn't regulate who else can be at the house when the kids are there - I still remember the time a family day care mum came into work for a massage and told me
She'd left the kids at home with her husband! I was totally shocked!
If you go with family day care try word of mouth and make sure you are really comfortable with them.

Oh totally. The idea of leaving my tiny daughter in a house with random adults coming in and out gives me the heebyjeebies. I don't know anyone personally that uses family daycare. But I'm looking into LimeSlice's people- I'm very newly pregnant with baby #2 so I'm thinking that even after the new baby comes it might be nice for DD to have a few hours out- and for me! we've no family here. But I digress! Thanks heaps Dee.

No probs LadyLove. I'm a former child care worker myself and adored the years I worked at a centre. When my dd was 1 she started at a centre 1 day a week and then went to 2 days a week, from about 9am-2 or 3pm and she loved it. She's a very social little thing and she made some great little friends there :)

We go through bright stars and have a wonderful carer.

Fwiw, bright stars are highly regulated and people cannot just come into the house. Everybody apart from those who live in the house must sign a book with the reason for their visit etc. bright stars do random visits, usually once a week. Strict health and safety rules must be applied at all times.
Itwould give them a call and have a chat.

FDC workers now have to be certified amd most workers would be in the process of that now. Rest assured if a carer ever left your children with someone else, it would be the last time they ever work in childcare.

FDC now operates under the same regulations, quality assurance etc as long day care, occasional care, kindergarten and out of school hours care. They are all part of the Education Department now. The husband and anyone else in the household over a certain age needs to have a police check/ working with children check.
Good luck with your search, you'll know when you've found the right place.

A bit off topic, but in terms of FDC... what is the deal with the school run? In the area I used to live there was a woman I saw each morning and most afternoons with a van full of kids whom I guessed she cared for as a FDC provider. She would do a school run and it seemed (as I observed her over several years!) that she dropped kids off at a couple of different schools with the other kids strapped in her van. Several times we were filling up at the petrol station at the same time and I swear that her ancient Tarago was NOT road worthy and the seats those kids were in looked as old as the van!! Are there regulations regarding the transport of kids in FDC?

Yes there is regulations for everything. Exactly as in a long day care centre. Everything is checked prior to being authorized for use. So an unroadworthy car would not cut it.

FDC workers can Do school runs if they take before and after school hours children. There is a limit to the number of children allowed in care though.

LimeSlice and Loulabelle is it Bright Star or Bright Start? Thanks!

Sorry, Bright STARS, Lady love :)