Kaylene Milligan, owner and educator of Kaylene's Family Day Care in East Kempsey, has recently been announced as the Mid North Coast regional winner in the 2019 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards.
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Kaylene has spent the better part of 15 years as a top-notch educator, but the award still came as a shock.
"It was a nice surprise, I was receiving all these messages of congratulations, and I had no idea what they were talking about, then I checked my email and found the message lost in the spam folder," she said.
"I'm very honoured that a parent has taken the time to nominate me, and that I won the award, we had a little celebration last Friday, the kids had a sausage sandwich and chips.
"Awards like this are great because our industry is rarely recognised for its contribution to early childhood learning; we are not just babysitters; we are fully certified, childhood educators."
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Over 5000 nominations were received Australia wide, and 75 regional winners were selected, including Kaylene. The next step is for the award winners to be reduced to four finalists on October 14, with one to go on and be crowned National Educator Of The Year at a Gala Dinner on November 23 in Hobart.
"I would like to get to the next stage, or even go into the running for educator of the year, but there a lot of excellent educators out there," Kaylene said.
"I'm happy regardless; I do this for the love of it. I always wanted to work with kids, it took a few years to get together, but all the hard work was worth it.
"The bonds I've formed with many of the children, they are for life, I still get phone calls from some of them long after they have left, I was invited to a 21st birthday party, they still remember me even after all these years.
"To be chosen as a regional winner is not only a reward for Kaylene's dedication to providing quality early childhood education and care, it also underscores the relationship that Kaylene has with the children in her care."
- Andrew Paterson
"Thank you to all the parents who have supported me over the years, and to Mid Coast Family Daycare, they are incredibly supportive and ensure that their educators are well looked after."
Now in its eighth year, Family Day Care Australia's Excellence in Family Day Care Awards highlight the incredible work completed by family day care educators every day.
"To be chosen as a regional winner is not only a reward for Kaylene's dedication to providing quality early childhood education and care, it also underscores the relationship that Kaylene has with the children in her care," Chief Executive Officer of Family Day Care Australia, Andrew Paterson said.
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