Elite Childcare Beginnings - a message from the Directors
Our family has been active in the family day care industry since 1989, when our mum Pat Aylmore became a licensed carer with the Lower Great Southern Family Day Care Scheme. Always an active advocate for quality affordable childcare, her involvement included being secretary of the WA Home Based Workers Association. She lived and breathed family day care until she unexpectedly died in 1999.
In 2000 the Lower Great Southern Family Day Care Scheme became the first private family day care scheme in Australia, this meant that Child Care Benefit was available to families who used the service offered by the carers but the government was unable to provide operational funding.
The aim was to operate a scheme that was carer focused, exceeded regulatory requirements and supported small business relationships. The carers self-funded the office staff through an administration and parent levy. 2001 saw the introduction of quality assurance to family day care and saw the scheme becoming accredited in 2001.
In 2007 boundaries were lifted throughout Australia, this meant that carers could choose what scheme they wanted to belong to. It also meant that private schemes could apply to receive operational funding. The enthusiasm of the Lower Great Southern Scheme was waning and the organization began to look for an alternative sponsor. In September 2007 the scheme unanimously voted to support the company Pat-A-Tap Pty Ltd, consisting of directors Debra, Sonya and John Aylmore to take over the operations. At this time there were five carers.
Elite Childcare was born out of a commitment to the carers who supported our sponsorship and entrusted us with their business success.
In 2007 boundaries were lifted throughout Australia, this meant that carers could choose what scheme they wanted to belong to. It also meant that private schemes could apply to receive operational funding. The enthusiasm of the Lower Great Southern Scheme was waning and the organization began to look for an alternative sponsor. In September 2007 the scheme unanimously voted to support the company Pat-A-Tap Pty Ltd, consisting of directors Debra, Sonya and John Aylmore to take over the operations. At this time there were five carers.
Elite Childcare was born out of a commitment to the carers who supported our sponsorship and entrusted us with their business success.
We are aware that our business is intrinsically linked with our services, their success is our success. Since taking over the sponsorship in 2007, Elite Childcare has grown from a network of five carers to a current group of 22 with more commencing in the near future. Our carers are spread throughout Western Australia.
Elite Childcare is passionate about keeping up with current trends and therefore has undertaken a transformation with natural learning play spaces and materials. The directors and staff at Elite Childcare are passionate advocates for carer, parent and children’s learning quests.
Debra Aylmore and Sonya Nash
