Dubbo family day care educator Jocelyn McKay has been named as a recipient of a 2021 Family Day Care Australia Excellence in Family Day Care Award.
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Ms McKay was presented the award for her commitment to excellence in early childhood education and care.
She said it was an honour she had not been expecting, but one she happily welcomed.
"It was a pretty big surprise, a really big honour, especially because I only started my daycare last year," Ms McKay said.
Ms McKay works as a early childhood education and care professional registered with Dubbo Family Day Care and is one of 69 Regional Educator Winners to have been selected for the award across Australia.
"It was lovely and a nice bit of recognition for all the hard work that goes into running a family daycare," she said.
"It's also nice to get the validation, I guess, that what you're doing is appreciated and that you are on the right track."
Ms McKay said recognition played a big part in motivating people to continue their hard work efforts and she was going to use the honour to fuel her drive.
"It gives you the drive to keep going and keep doing what you're doing," she said.
"I'm somebody who likes to put a lot of work into what I do, so it's just nice to get the recognition."
Ms McKay said she loved her role as a day care educator as it enabled her to connect with the children.
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"I had been working in preschool and felt that the smaller numbers of kids in a family day care means that you can foster a connection with each one," she said.
"You can be focused on each individual child and be aware of where each child is up to and cater for their individual needs.
"Sometimes I think in a big centre, you can feel like you don't get to spend a lot of one on one time with each child."
Family Day Care Australia chief executive officer Andrew Paterson also spoke to the incredible achievements of Ms McKay.
"Educators like Jocelyn provide vital support to children, families and communities all across Australia," Mr Paterson said.
"The flexible, high quality early education provided by educators like Jocelyn is what makes family day care so unique and is the reason why so many families chose family day care.
"Family day care offers a career like no other.
"Our qualified educators run their own small business from home, combining their passion for early childhood education with the opportunity to build a flexible, rewarding and secure financial future.
"We think that's pretty special."
Ms McKay is now in the running to be named as one of four National Educator Finalists, to be announced on October 26 of this year.
The National Finalists will then attend the 2021 Excellence in Family Day Care Awards presentation, where the National Educator of the Year will be announced.
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