FINANCIAL planner turned family daycare operator, Nadine Statham is in the running to be named Australia's educator of the year.
The Morpeth mother-of-two was working in finance in Newcastle before giving birth to her first child and when the time came for her to return to work, there were next to no childcare options available.
"I was having trouble finding care for my eldest daughter who is now almost 13. I just couldn't find care locally," she said.
After trying to get into centre-based care, Ms Statham came across family daycare which often operates out of an educator's home.
"I started meeting family daycare educators and everyone was so wonderful but they were all full," she said.
That's when the light bulb moment struck and she thought about starting her own daycare business under Five Star Family Day Care which has a number of Hunter-based operators.
"I thought maybe I can just give this as a go as a temporary fill in while I stay home with my daughter, thinking I'll probably only do it for a year, but then I absolutely fell in love with it," she said.
"It was a huge change to go from being a financial planner. It was not a career I would've considered if I was not put in that position. I didn't even know family daycare existed prior to having my own children.
"I retrained and I'm still here."
Ms Statham now owns Sweet Little Wildlings where she's been able to form connections with the community leading her to be named the Newcastle, Maitland and Hunter Educator winner in the 13th annual Excellence in Family Day Care awards.
"I just feel incredibly honoured to even be considered to be nominated. It's wonderful that families see how hard you work and are really happy with the service," she said.
"I'm very grateful to be acknowledged for the work that I'm doing especially given it's a job that I absolutely love and adore and it doesn't always feel like work."
She said it was rewarding watching children grow and being part of their lives over the years as well as getting the opportunity to stay at home and raise her own children.
"You build these relationships. You might spend five to seven years with families and one family in particular has been here for nine years across four children - so you developed very close relationships with these families, and it's just really rewarding," she said.
Ms Statham is in the running to be named as a national finalist for the 2024 educator of the year award, to be announced on October 15 and winners to be announced on November 23 at a gala dinner in Parramatta.
"I'm just really grateful to Family Day Care Australia to even be considered in such a prestigious award. I was so shocked when I got the email and just reading through the feedback - I ended up quite emotional," she said.
Family Day Care Australia CEO Andrew Paterson congratulated Ms Statham on her efforts.
"The incredible work and dedication to creating a unique and nurturing early learning environment for children by educators like Nadine is why family day care is the natural choice in early childhood education and care for so many Australian families," he said.
The Excellence in Family Day Care Awards showcase the contribution that family day care educators make to more than 74,000 children across the country each day.
