Not all heroes wear capes but they’ve probably got a dress up box!
This Early Childhood Educators Day we are shining a light on our wonderful Bendigo Family Day Care (BFDC) Coordinators Tamarra Tie and Rebecca Fitzpatrick.
BFDC Coordinator Tamarra Tie has been in the Family Day Care space for two decades, impacting many small lives in that time. Before joining the BFDC team as a Coordinator in 2011, Tamarra opened her home and heart to countless families.
“I was a single mum, working five days a week to support my family and pay the mortgage on my new house,” she said. “One day I realised I was working full time to support my daughter who I didn’t see and pay for a house I didn’t get to spend anytime in.”
She began looking into Family Day Care and found it was the answer to her problems. “It was the perfect solution for us. I could spend time with my daughter, set my own hours and work from home. My daughter loved it too, we were the house of choice for play dates because we had everything – arts, crafts, playdough, the works.”
Once her daughter started school, Tamarra set her sights on the Coordinator role at BFDC and it wasn’t long before it was hers. “I thought they (Bendigo Family Day Care) needed a bit of a change up, and with my experience as an educator I had a good idea of what would work.”
After the National Quality Standards were implemented in 2011, Family Day Care educators were required to complete formal qualifications before they could open. BFDC needed to expand their team and so the search for a Coordinator and Educational Leader began. Enter Rebecca Fitzpatrick.
Working as an early childhood teacher for a private training provider, Bec (as she is warmly known by families) had a wealth of knowledge and existing relationships with educators when she filled the role in 2013.
“When I joined my main role was to visit educators in their homes, provide training and help them with assessments,” she said.
“It was at a time when there were a lot of changes happening in the early childhood education and family day care space.”
Together, this dream duo have blazed a trail for BFDC, touching countless lives – both big and small. Kids love seeing them when they do their home visits and educators, like Alana McCallum, have nothing but praise for the support they get.
“Tam and Bec were amazing with my transition from mainstream daycare to the Family Day Care setting,” she said. “The support and guidance I constantly get is incredible.”
Bec and Tam gratefully take kind words like this in their stride.
“Of course it’s wonderful to hear things like that. But we are here to do what we can to meet individual needs,” Tam said.
“BFDC doesn’t just offer a ‘one size fits all’ method. We try to get to know each of the families and educators in our service to ensure they both have a valuable experience.”
They have one last message for early childhood educators, not just those in Family Day Care, but in centres too:
“We recognise and value the work all early childhood educators do. It’s not easy, and there can be a lot of negativity around the industry.
But we see you, and we appreciate you. Keep going.”
But we see you, and we appreciate you. Keep going.”
Interested in joining Bendigo Family Day Care?
For information on joining our supportive network, call Tam and Bec on 5406 1200, email or fill in our Prospective Educator Form at this link.