Home-based childcare available
Former primary school teacher Hayley Gale will care for preschoolers from her home in Takaka. Photo: Em Hofstede.
Hayley Gale has a new lease on life as a home-based educator. The former Golden Bay correspondent for The Nelson Mail and former reporter for The GB Weekly is now caring for preschoolers in her own home on Feary Crescent.
Hayley responded to an ad placed in The GB Weekly by Home Grown Kids, an organisation that was set up a few years ago in the North Island.
The home-based operation offers an alternative to the more formal setup of traditional daycare. Parents are able to drop off their little ones directly at Hayley’s house. The service is used by mothers who are going back to work or who are working from home, says Hayley. “There’s a demand for it. Golden Kids has a long waiting list.”
Hayley, who is a former primary school teacher and mother to two teenage sons, says “I love working with children. Each one is unique.”
The Nelson co-ordinator for Home Grown Kids visited Hayley with a long checklist of the requirements necessary to make her home safe and suitable for caring for young children. A fenced-in play area, separate quiet spaces, learning experience space, and a sleeping area were all needed. In addition, fire alarms, good heating and proper storage were also necessary. Under the guidance of the programme, home-based educators are able to care for up to four preschool children at one time.
“A neat feature of the programme is that each child gets a learning and development journal for the family to keep, which includes photos, fingerprints, and records what the child is learning. The programme covers all kinds of things children love in a stimulating way without a TV or computer.”
Em Hofstede
