City of Ballarat Family Day Care educator Melissa Dreger has been named the National Educator of the Year at the Family Day Care Australia Excellence in Family Day Care Awards (FDCA).
On her way to winning the national award, Ms Dreger took out the Regional Educator Award (Ballarat & Central Highlands) and was named as the TAS/VIC national finalist.
This was the second time Ms Dreger has been named as a national finalist (the first time was in 2019) and the first time Ms Dreger has been named National Educator of the Year.
Family Day Care Australia CEO Andrew Paterson said Ms Dreger's nominators had highlighted her professionalism and her passion for inclusion.
"As a family day care educator, Ms Dreger is not only enjoying a richly rewarding career but is a leader among one of Australia's largest networks of women in small business," Mr Paterson said.
Ms Dreger said winning the award was an incredible honour.
"But ultimately it's not just for me. This award doesn't have a lot to do with me, instead it has everything to do with those who stand beside me every day and that's because community is everything," Ms Dreger said.
"I love educating and caring for children. I love being an educator. Educators quickly realise that one person can make a difference. I can't teach every child in the world but I can make a difference for the ones that I do support and educate."
City of Ballarat Mayor, Cr Daniel Moloney said the win was recognition of Ms Dreger's exceptional skills in the family day care sector.
"Ms Dreger is consistently recognised as being excellent in her field and it is heartening to see our family day care educators being so passionate, inclusive and innovative in this field," Cr Moloney said.
Under the City of Ballarat program, family day care educators provide childcare in their own homes, with support and monitoring from the City of Ballarat's Coordination Unit.
Around 150 babies and children aged from eight weeks to 13 years are cared for each week in the City of Ballarat's Family Day Care program. Each qualified educator is registered to care for up to four children under school age, as well as up to three school age children.
Family day care is renowned for offering low educator to child ratios in a home-based environment where siblings can be cared for together. It can be tailored to each family's needs and is an ideal solution for parents who work shift work or who require before and after school care, or care during the school holidays.
