50 years of Family Day Care in North Sydney

For five decades, Family Day Care has supported working families through its model of providing quality childcare and education in educators’ homes.

The journey began in 1974 when North Sydney was selected as one of three pilot sites for Family Day Care in Australia, alongside Ashfield and Waverley, after a childcare survey highlighted a pressing need within our community.

With support from the Federal Government, North Sydney Council launched this pioneering program, led by Alderman Carole Baker. A passionate advocate for children and families, Baker expressed confidence in the scheme, correctly predicting it would resonate across Sydney and beyond.

The Family Day Care centre at 96 Bank Street in the 1970s.

Family Day Care quickly outgrew its initial home – a single room at the McMahons Point Baby Health Centre. In July 1974 Council purchased a historic cottage at 96 Bank Street, which has been the heart of Family Day Care operations since.

By October 1974, just six months after launching, the scheme had 25 ‘baby minders’ (as they were then called) responsible for two or three children each, earning $20 per week per child. Diana Dasey, the first carer, described it as a “labour of love”. Hear Diana speak of her experience at an event at Stanton Library in 2007.

Today these carers, now called educators, must have specific qualifications, receive ongoing professional support from Council, and are subject to spot checks and assessments from the Department of Education.

With 16 educators serving over 110 children, the service continues to offer affordable, high-quality care in a homely environment, with staff and educators who are equally as passionate and caring as back in the 1970s when it all began. Here’s to many more years of quality family care in North Sydney, nurturing, educating and fostering a sense of family for generations to come.

Find out more about Family Day Care.