Rebekah Paraskevas's Page

Profile Information

Tell us a little about yourself. Are you a: Mum, Child care worker, Child care centre Manager/Director, Child Care Centre Owner, Before/After school care Co-ordinator, Child Care Association Representative, Early Childhood expert, Family Friendly employer

If you like add more information about yourself here: i own and operate 1 x 71place LDC and 1 x 39place OSHC&VAC centres in the Rockingham area. 4 years ago I purchased our little centre of 31 places from an elderly retiring couple. The centre has been the longest operating licensed centre in the area (almost 25years now). I built a purpose built centre next to the exisiting small fibro premises and within 6months our newly created 40 places were fully booked with a strong waiting list. When the CCLSU in WA ammended the regulations to almost completely resrtict LDC from accomodating school aged children we sought out a local community centre 4km away in the next suburb and licenced the premises for 39 schoolers for B&A and VAC care sessions - this was also filled to capacity within a few weeks and has a strong waiting list for children. In December 2008, we re-licensed our OSHC centre to accomodate 52 children as our waiting lists were so high.I feel that the success of our centres is not completely due to well positioned premises, it has a lot to do with our very family supportive staff and centre policies that always ensure that the chidlren and safety come first. I have a sincere interest in the development and growth of infants and young children - and stongly encourage and support my staff to offer the chidlren the closest possible opportunities to that they would recieve at home with their parents. The proof is obviousely in the pudding as we have 16 large corporate centres within our local area, most of whom have either had their licensed numbers reduced due to sraffing issues, or simply can't fill the allocated positions as parents in our area want a centre that can offer long term committed staff and not staff that spend every day filling in excessive amounts of paperwork and that are consistantly understaffed with minimal support from management. I feel that I have a lot to offer to this focus group and will welcome any request for feedback. These will be responded to asap, however occassionally I may not be able to respond due to time restraints.
Thank-you for the opportunity to join.