Tena Koutou, it is with much excitement that I stand to be a Board member for the New Zealand Homebased Childcare Association. I have been teaching since early 1994 and hold a Diploma in Early Childhood Education & Care, and Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (ECE) and my teaching experiences over these past 28 years (13 of those in homebased) have provided me with a wealth of knowledge and growth. These experiences include: working as a teacher in childcare centres in both Australia and New Zealand, working as a Nanny, a homebased educator when my own children were pre-schoolers, working as an administrator & teacher in a Montessori Preschool, and working in a start-up role as a Visiting Teacher for a homebased company in the area I where I was living.
It was the experience of working as a homebased educator with my own children that really ignited my passion for homebased care. I am now the owner and operating manager of Nurture@Home, in the top of the South Island, where we have been operating for eight years, and am absolutely passionate about homebased childcare and love what I do every day. I believe from having the first-hand experience of being an educator, I understand how much time, effort and love they put into their every day. I remain part of the Visiting Teacher team and am so glad I have found my niche in the industry – supporting educators’ knowledge and growth every day as they nurture and support the tamariki in their care.
Prior to COVID-19 I used to look forward to the NZHBCA conferences where we could all come together as one voice, learning from one another and working together collaboratively promoting Homebased Childcare across New Zealand. The NZHBCA has been a great voice for our sector, and we need to work together so that this continues to stay strong, advocating as one.
