25 February 2019

Barbara Wallisch, regional winner of the 2017 Excellence in Family Day Care for Gosford and Central Coast Award, has opened her own Family Day Care (FDC) in Toukley after completing a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care with TAFE Digital.

Mrs Wallisch is highly respected in the Central Coast community and has won the Central Coast Steel Magnolia Award presented by Lifeline Central Coast; Citizen of the Year Award presented by Wyong Shire Council; and Excellence in Family Day Care Award - Educator of the Year Certificate for the Gosford and Central Coast Region presented by Family Day Care Australia.

Mrs Wallisch said, “When our son was diagnosed with cancer, we stopped fostering for a while but I still wanted to work with children.

“I visited a friend, who had her own FDC, and she advised there was a need for a well-run FDC in Toukley. It was then that I decided to study a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care online and started the process of opening Barbara’s FDC under the auspices of Coastwide Family Day Care.”

“All my life I have loved to work and look after children, especially those with special needs.” Mrs Wallisch and her husband have fostered children in crises, many of whom were diagnosed with Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and she currently has two Autistic foster children in her long-term care.”

Studying online at her own pace while working full time worked extremely well for Mrs Wallisch. “English is my second language as I emigrated from Germany to Australia, so I set aside additional time for research relating to more intense units like legal and ethical requirements, which I could do from the comfort of my own home. The online workshops were also of enormous value and it was gratifying to know that a teacher with a wealth of experience was just a phone call or email away.”

“My favourite modules were the Diversity and Sustainability clusters, which were fun and interesting and helped me understand the different developmental stages for each pre-school age,” said Mrs Wallisch. “Throw in fun, interactive lessons and interesting lunch boxes which are tasty and nutritional and you make for a happy, fulfilled child being collected by their parents of an evening.”

Mrs Wallisch is such a strong advocate of TAFE Digital that her future son-in-law is also studying a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care and her daughter is in the process of completing a Certificate III in Health Services Assistance.

The Coastwide Family Day Care network provides high quality, home-based education and care services for children and their families across the Central Coast, Hunter New England, North Coast and Western NSW regions.

Media contact: Bonny Gunn, TAFE Digital Media Business Partner. Mobile 0417 134 048