Are you unsure traditional pre-school is right for your family? Dream Childcare offers a trio of alternatives: the au pair, the home-based educator and the professional nanny.
In 2006 Tanya Burrage was a new mum to twin boys Jack and Fred (now 14), and three-year-old Isabel (now 17) when she had a light bulb moment while visiting a friend who had a live-in au pair. “I’m not a stay at home type, I couldn’t afford a nanny and I didn’t want my children in daycare all day so I could see the advantages for families,” says Tanya, a chartered accountant by profession.
“At the time, there wasn’t an au pair agency in New Zealand,” she says. “My research showed that most au pairs come from Germany so I phoned one of their agencies and asked them if they’d be interested in sending au pairs to New Zealand. That’s how it all began.” she says.
Tanya now has 20 au pairs arriving most weeks. “Eighty percent still come from Germany; other countries include Holland, the United States, France, Sweden and Denmark,” says Tanya. “They stay 6-12 months and though they’re not professional childcarers they will do what you would do: school pick ups and drop offs, reading stories, laundry, bathe and feed the children, bounce with the kids on the trampoline as well as teaching skills such as sharing, resilience and kindness.
The business has grown to include two additional arms including KiwiOz Nannies and Dream Educator. They work nationwide and are licensed by the Ministry of Education to provide early childhood education in Auckland, Waikato, the Bay of Plenty and Wellington.
Let’s take a closer look at the differences.
Au Pairs
Au pairs live in as part of the family. “They might put a load of washing on while they’re playing with the kids,” says Tanya. “Or you’ll come home from work and the children will be bathed and fed, the house tidied and your dinner cooked.” An au pair pays their own airfares and when they arrive they undergo a two-day orientation. “We set them up with a bank account, first aid training, and a driving course,” says Tanya.
Costs: Families pay $330 per week for 30 hours care and a date night.
If you don’t want someone living in a nanny may be the answer.
Nannies
“Our nannies are professional, experienced career nannies and many are degree qualified,” says Tanya. “We only select top-quality professionals. Nannies typically stay with a family for two to five years.”
Costs: $22-30 per hour
If you want your children cared for in a private home with a maximum of three other children then an educator is perfect.
Educators
A home-based educator is often a mum who looks after other children in her own home,” explains Tanya. “It’s the perfect solution for kids to be able to play with others, follow their own routines and be cared for by one educator who treats them like her own.”
Costs: $4-10 per hour, per child.
Mix ‘n’ Match
The beauty is you can mix it up. “You might have a six-month-old so a nanny is your choice for the first year then once your child is 18-months you might look at a couple of days a week in daycare combined with an educator. When your child starts school you might consider an au pair,” says Tanya.
“Clinical psychologist Nigel Latta talks about how children’s brains develop in their first 1,000 days and believes having a primary carer during this time helps develop their EQ better. I want children to enjoy a Kiwi childhood like I did. Spending time at home, meeting other local children at the park, baking cakes mixed with some daycare and kindy. It’s more affordable than you think as we help with nanny share solutions and can access various funding.”
Dream Education Programme
“Our qualified visiting teachers support au pairs, nannies and educators with monthly visits at home. Children’s interests are identified with tailored learning plans developed for every child,” says Tanya.
“The Dream Education Programme follows the New Zealand curriculum, which is based on learning through play. For example, two-year-old Johnny might be mad about trains so he’s taught numeracy, literacy, shapes, sizes and colours through trains. Au pairs, nannies, educators and children can also attend daily activities including gym, playgroups, nature play and music.”
Funding
“A lot of people don’t realise what’s available to them,” says Tanya.
“Our au pairs, nannies and educators deliver our Dream Education Programme so we can help families access 20 ECE hours of up to $80 per week, allowances for before and after school care (OSCAR) and grants of up to 240 hours childcare when twins are born.
“If your, say, mother-in-law’s helping out three days a week you can join our programme and receive the educational support of our teaching team, attend all the play groups and access any funding you’re entitled to.”
To Be The Best
Tanya says Dream’s tagline ‘making family life easier’ is what drives them. “We strive to be the best, to provide outstanding people and we go above and beyond to offer superior quality,” she says. “We work with many of the country’s high profile families and we have corporate partnerships with the likes of Air New Zealand and Simpson Grierson. We’re also the preferred supplier for superyachts coming here for the Americas Cup in 2021.”
If you’d like to know more about home-based childcare for your children or about caring for children, in your own home, do get in touch. We can help in every way.
