Unit 6: Educator Business Practices
Best Practice for your Business
Educators will be making decisions on how they will operate their business as a Registered Educator with Greater Hume Children Services. Families should be treated with equity and fairness at all times, provided with accurate and consistent information and treated with professionalism and respect.
Educators will be responsible for:
setting fees and charges with associated terms and conditions
considering methods and time frame for payment of fees
collecting and receipting all payment received from families
payment of personal tax/ superannuation and insurance
remaining compliant with Regulatory Authorities.
An area should be set aside for the purpose of the administration requirements as an Educator. This should include an accessible area for parents to complete Attendance Records, a display area for information such as the ‘Service Prescribed Information’ and a suitable storage area for records. Educators are encouraged to communicate effectively and professionally at all times with the Coordination Unit staff and families, this may be by phone, email, Facebook, displaying information on notice boards, issuing newsletters etc. This builds strong relationships and contributes to the provision of consistent, accurate and current information being communicated.
Families and the coordination unit should be notified immediately if there are any changes to business practices that may affect the care arrangements of the children. ie; availability of care.
When an Educator is required to close their business at short notice the following steps are required:
contact the families that will be immediately effected by the closure
identify the families that still require care for that day/s
• contact the coordination unit to advise that your service is closed and which families will require alternate care.
the emergency mobile number 0417 287 417 can be used for emergencies only outside normal business hours.
The coordination unit staff will arrange alternate care where possible.
Independent Fee Setting
As Educators are considered small business operators, you are responsible for setting your own fees and charges. The Payment of Fees Educator Policy and Procedure should be referred to during this process and administration staff can provide support and feedback where required.
Example: Providing information regarding the current range of rates and trends.
It is recommended that Educators:
seek financial advice
consider expenditure and business costs
review current market trends
understand what you service provides
rate your service quality
Commonly asked questions:
can Educators set minimum hours?
can a bond be requested?
can costs such as for transport, food, nappies etc. be charged?
how much can I charge?
In compliance with the Child Care Service Handbook:
A service should not charge a fee for care that exceeds the fee charged for any other child, where the child is receiving the same kind of care and whose circumstances are similar
If the service charges a fee for a session of care, care must be available for the whole session
The fee your service charges a family must be a real fee–that is, it must be the fee that the family is actually liable to pay. You must not report a fee unless the family is liable to pay that fee under the commercial arrangement between the family and the service.
Educators are to provide and discuss their current Fee Schedule and the terms / condition at the time of the initial interview with families and also when alternate care is being provided.
Staff do not discuss fee rates with families during the enrolment procedure, however may provide a range of the service current fee rates.
Fee Collection and Receipting Practices
Educators may choose how they wish to collect and record payment received from families, however it is highly recommended and deemed ‘best business practice’ to receipt all payments.
Payment methods and how bonds (where applicable) will be managed should be discussed with families at the time of the initial interview.
Recommended information on receipts:
name and address of Educator
full name of each child that the payment relates to
dates of care that the payment is for
the amount paid
date of actual payment.
Self-assessment and Quality Improvement
Quality Area 7 - Element 7.2.3:An effective self-assessment and quality improvement process is in place.
The home phone is the contact number for the child care service therefore you may consider having a mobile that is dedicated to your business. If not, and different family members are answering the phone, ensure that they answer professionally on your behalf and always take the details and pass on messages, consider having a message pad and pen solely for this purpose. Always smile when you answer the phone, speak clearly and distinctly and identify who you are, it is reassuring for the caller to know that they have the correct number. As a business you should consider investing in an answering machine or ensuring you have message facilities on you mobile. It is important to return calls as soon as possible.
These are simple strategies but all help build a professional impression.
Critically review your home from across the street, is the number easy to see, do you have a sign indicating your business, is the street clean and tidy? Is your front yard welcoming? This will be the first impression your environment will make, if it looks messy or chaotic from the street the family arriving for interview will already be making negative assumptions. Make sure fences, gates and paths are all in good repair, that there is no litter and that the front yard isn’t used as a dumping ground for any unused bikes, equipment etc. Consider the impression you are creating.
Don’t forget your own personal and professional appearance. Do you represent your service well? Consider a uniform, colour scheme, the use of logos on clothing, this can also have tax advantages, so discuss with your accountant. Although working in your own home it is important that not only is your environment prepared before the first families arrive, but also yourself, this is your workplace. Are you an exemplary model of what is expected from a professional child care worker? 
For example, do you always wear appropriate clothing that provides sun protection?
Consultation, Feedback and Self Reflection
What do you do to ensure the success of your child care service? 
What are your service user’s expectations? 
How do you gain feedback from your service users? 
One method is to ask for feedback from your service users, there  are many ways of doing this. You could consider a suggestion box, face-to-face conversations, or specific questionnaires and surveys. Surveys could be provided in a hardcopy paper format or you could consider the use of an on-line survey tool such Survey Monkey. This allows you to create and publish a free online survey in minutes, and view results graphically and in real time. 
Quality Area 3
Element 3.2.2 - Resources, materials and equipment are sufficient in number, organized in ways that ensure appropriate and effective implementation of the program and allow multiple uses.
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