Tamworth Family Day Care educator calls for government intervention and more educators to alleviate childcare crisis

With a waitlist of 50 kids that doesn't seem to budge, and a staff list down 50 per cent compared to three years ago, the early childhood educator is calling for urgent action to alleviate the issue.

Ms Spinner said she receives phone calls from parents everyday looking for care for their children.

"I've had a parent in tears," Ms Spinner said.

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"They ring here and tell me they've rung three or four centres and they can't get in."

Ms Spinner said for day care - where educators provide care from their own homes - the new requirement for educators to hold a Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care had driven many people away from the job.

"There are costs involved at TAFE," she said.

To complete a Cert III in Early Childhood Education and Care full-time in Tamworth will set you back $7420.

Ms Spinner said action was needed from the government to reduce the tuition fees.

In Tamworth and Gunnedah there is currently a ratio of three children fighting for one place in childcare, according to research conducted by the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University.

But Ms Spinner said the crisis had worsened since COVID-19 restrictions had eased and parents had gone back to work.

With long day care centres capped at a specific number of children, Ms Spinner said family day care would help alleviate the crisis, as there's no limit on the amount of children they can enroll - provided they have enough educators who can take on up to four children.

"We could cater for more children if we had more educators, it's just that a lot of people don't know that this is a career option for them," she said.

Tamworth Family Day Care are currently seeking more educators in Tamworth, Manilla, Barraba, Attunga, Nundle and Kootingal.

Having worked in day care for 25 years, Ms Spinner said it was a rewarding career option that she hoped more people would consider.

"This is a job, a career option, for them to stay home and look after their own children, and someone else's and get paid," she said.

Day care educators require a First Aid Certificate and a course in Emergency Asthma and Anaphylaxis Management, a current Working with Child Check, a Police Check and a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care, or a willingness to obtain this certificate within 18 months.

"Never has childcare been in such demand and the recruitment of quality educators is essential to ensure that all parents have access to quality childcare options to meet their childcare needs," Ms Spinner said.

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