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Providing parents with information on governessing and education children in the outback.
What information would you like on this page? Do you have a question that you can't find the answer to?
Could you provide an answer for any of these questions?
Email it in and I will research the answers.... This will be anonymous.
Last Edited 04-Jan-2010
This page is a work in progress. All suggestions welcome
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In Home Care*
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(a
funding scheme for childcare)
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In the Schoolroom ... Practical advice for Govies and mothers*
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Groups that help the teaching Mum or orientating the governess
What is a Governess?
A governess is a person employed by a station or traveling family to supervise children doing school through Distance Education Schools around Australia. Their most important responsibility is children's education but as they are living within the family they may have other duties, as you would in any home in which you live within. Although the responsibilities of each governess vary, depending on the employer, most of the responsibility lies within the classroom.
Some of these being;
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Supervising the children’s daily work and creating a schoolroom like atmosphere
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Keeping the classroom neat and tidy
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Packing up Set or Unit (1 to 2 weeks of schoolwork) to go out on the mail
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Making the children attend and participate in assembly and other
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Reading through set work
Each employer has different expectations and these can be negotiated at the commencement of employment.
A governess is often referred to as a Employed or Paid Supervisor or Home Tutor. Other nicknames are govo, govie and govy.
It’s
a great lifestyle and an excellent experience.
Try it out and have as much fun as we do.
Quote from SA govo, 2002: Our 'other' roles as I am sure I am not the only govo who acts as co - conspirator with the kids, big sister, second mum at times, or an adult who can be told about something and help, knowing that mum doesn't have to find out! I am stuck for examples right now, but for people who are thinking about taking up a job as a govo and there is so much more than just the teaching sides of things. Also girls shouldn’t get the idea that they are going to be socially isolated.
Advice and Tips
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In Home Carers are employed to care for the children. This means if they need to get the children a meal, clean up after them around they house or other task which is to do with the children's care. BUT be reasonable. They are not the child's mother, they are just a carer who is responsible for those children within that time. You are paying for that responsibility, you are not employing a housekeeper.
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Create a Job Description or Contact based on the Interview Questions and Job Contracts on this page.
Job Adverting Advice
More information on the
and
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Almost 70% of the governess in Australia come out of Victoria or NSW. It seems that people from these states are itching to roam Australia.
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The amount of In Home Care and Governess positions in Australia has doubled in the last 2 years. Before In Home Care people couldn't afford anyone to help with the children.
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More resumes than ever before have been advertise on GovAust website this year.
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Low unemployment does effect our industry just the same as the rest of the country. Less people to go around more jobs.
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IN HOME CARE places are available in most states. Please check if you are eligible for this funding. More information see the Parents Page
Options for advertise other than Governess Australia:
Any person who finds a good website or newspaper to advertise in please let me know.
I am happy for anyone who wants to put a link back to their job on Governess Australia. Particularly useful on the Jobsearch website
(For Example; For full job description please go to Job 21 Jane at http://jobboard.governessaustralia.com/jobqld.htm .)
If you have left over resumes after advertising please either pass them onto other parents on your school or advise them to look on the Governess Australia site.
- CareerHub is an internet based job board available to all UniSQ students. You may advertise casual, full-time or vacation work or graduate opportunities free of charge at any time throughout the year. To advertise a job on CareerHub simply register your company details on the CareerHub website located at http://careerhub.usq.edu.au/employer.
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I would enter the job on the Australia Government www.jobsearch.gov.au site as it is free.
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One of the local mothers from NSW recommend advertising in any of the newspapers along the NSW coast and she also recommended advertising in Melbourne.
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If you want to advertise in newspapers then Rural Press Limited papers are an option. I would think that The Land and QLD Country Life have the best employment sections and are the ones I search in when looking for employment in the early days of governessing.
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I have also been told that any of the Uni noticeboards are a great idea.
Interested in getting a governess... extract from GovAust JobBoard
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Go to the Parent's Page and read all the information
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Go to 'RESUMES' page and look over current people advertising there resumes.
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Go to the 'REGISTER JOB POSITIONS' page and fill in the form submit it to me. To check that it has been sent open your default mail program (eg Outlook Express) and look in he sent item it should be there.
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The ' Agencies & Registers' page provides links to other advertising services which you can use to advertise your job.
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Create a Job Description / Contract in a word document to email out to prospective governesses after they apply for the job.
Example here .. Contracts / Job Description
In Home Care
To find out about In Home Care please read below then email Governess Australia if you need more advice.
I prefer to give advice on an individual basis, with knowledge of your situation.
The Family and Community Services Website has the following information: "In-home care is a form of child care where children can be cared for in their own homes, by an approved carer. It is a flexible form of child care that is particularly useful for families who don't have access to a child care service, or whose child care needs are not being met by an existing service."
Employers should contact theIr local Family Daycare Childcare facility to access this care. This is a media release with a list of In Home Care Centres that received extra places in 2007. There are other places that have place but I haven't found a list as yet
2007 Media Release 1200 New In- Home Care Places
Below are the names of some In Home Care Schemes which I have worked under or have emailed their details to me.
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Longreach Family Day Care and In Home Care Centre - Longreach and Outback QLD - child@longreach.qld.gov.au
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Far West Family Day Care and In Home Care Service - Cobar and Western NSW - cobfdc@bigpond.net.au Phone: 02 6836 1156
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Nanny SA - www.nannysa.com.au
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In Home Child Care Wide Bay - We connect carers with families in the Wide Bay-Burnett area of Queensland as well as on stations as far out as Roma, Charleville, St George and Cunnamulla. We are currently looking for carers in the St George area mbihc@cofcqld.com.au Ph: 07 4122 4153 www.care.cofcqld.com.au
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Walgett Shire Children’s Services - servicing Walgett and surrounding towns and the Moree Shire. walgettfdc@bigpond.com Phone 02 6828 2765
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Frontier Services In Home Care has places in the Western Australia, Northern Territory and northern Queensland.
Anyone wanting more information can contact me and I will put them in touch with the regional coordinator for their area.
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Charleville and Districts – 07 4654 7348/ 0458578524 chfdcc@frontierservices.org
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Far North Queensland – 0448422169 coord.inhomecare@bigpond.com
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North Queensland Remote – 07 4741 1999/ 0427687769 hughenden@bigpond.com
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WA and NT- 08 9355 9177/0448996195 inhomecareperth@bigpond.com
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More Info from Frontier Services IHC...
In Home Carers are self employed. I have recently undertaken my own research for the purposes of reviewing our Base Recommended Fee Schedule and found that carers were earning anywhere between $16-$25/hour depending on qualifications and experience. This was where accommodation and board was not part of the arrangement.
As care providers are self-employed they can negotiate their own fees and hours hence we only put out a recommended fee schedule based on a 50 hour week between Monday and Friday, with care between the hours of 7am and 6pm. For families with 2 children or less we recommend $600/week and for families with 3 or more children $650 a week. With these fees we recommend an overtime hourly rate for any time in excess of 10 hours per day or over 50 hours/week. We also set a base overnight care rate of $100 per night and a base weekend rate of $18/hour.
Some care providers and families come to an arrangement of a set hourly rate regardless of when the care takes place. Differences in hourly rate are largely determined by the type of accommodation available and board arrangements put in place.
Whatever the agreed fee schedule is we document it as part of the care provision agreement which holds for 1 year (it can be changed sooner if all parties are in agreement.)
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Let Me Know Your Service EMAIL: govaust@governessaustralia.com
Who Can Use It?
In Home care enables parents to access child care when other child care services are unable to meet their needs.
¯ Parents who work outside business hours such as shift workers and roster workers.
¯ Families with a parent or child with a disability or illness may be eligible to access this type of care.
¯ Families who live in rural and remote areas where distance / isolation prevent them accessing child care services.
¯ Families with multiple birth children (more than 2)
¯ Families referred by other approved services (eg. DOCS, Area Health, & GP)
¯ Families who require using more than two child care services to meet their child care needs or where established child care services in the locality are unable to provide hours of care required.
Carers
In Home Care providers are very professional and dedicated childcare workers.
Far West FDC & IHCS Carers are self employed. They have a contract with the client family to provide child care in the child’s own home.
Carers are recruited using specific criteria.
Carers:
þ Must be 18 years of age
þ Enjoy and value working with children.
þ Have current first aid qualifications. Senior First Aid
þ Provide stimulating activities for children.
þ Undergo referee checks.
þ Willing to obtain public liability insurance.
þ Willing to obtain an Australian Business Number (ABN)
þ Are responsible for their own taxation payments and any superannuation they want.
þ Complete a Prohibited Persons Check.
þ Working with Children Check.
þ Statutory Declaration.
þ Are expected to provide a high standard of childcare and to adhere to the policies and procedures of the service.
Part of the Carers’s role is to provide the children with a variety of age appropriate activities that encourage the development of life skills.
In Home Care Carers are NOT expected to perform household duties other than those associated with the care of the children.
Working with Children Check (Blue Card)
The WORKING WITH CHILDREN Check is a national check which is carried out by the Commission for Children and Young People and Child Guardian. People approved by this check can then be approved to work with children. In Queensland they actually issue you a card and the common name for this card is the BLUECARD.
The following website has a
full explanation on the difference between police checks and working
with children checks. Well worth checking out to help understand
the checks, also provides links to state sites.........
http://www.homebuddies.com.au/background_checks
Queensland
New south Wales :
http://www.kids.nsw.gov.au/director/check.cfm
Western Australia :
http://www.checkwwc.wa.gov.au/default.htm Victoria :
http://www.justice.vic.gov.au/workingwithchildren
What is VISE and REVISE
VISE volunteers provide educational assistance to families and students
in rural Australia.
We also provide domestic and personal support in the case of emergencies
or when respite is necessary.
REVISE in South Australia.
What is Frontier Services
Remote Family Care Service (RFCS)
WHAT IS REMOTE FAMILY CARE SERVICE (RFCS)?
RFCS was established in 1997 to offer families in rural and remote locations, without access to mainstream childcare, quality in-home childcare for up to three weeks per year. RFCS delivers this service within the boundaries of the five Remote Area Families Service (RAFS) teams. An area spanning over one million square kilometers of Queensland and the Barkley Tablelands of the Northern Territory. RFCS is available to approximately 1200 families and their 2500 children.
RFCS AIMS TO:
- Provide a quality in-home childcare service that meets the unique needs of rural and remote families.
- Meet the work related care needs of parents living in the service area who have no access to existing childcare programs.
- Assist families in crisis and provide respite.
HOW CAN RFCS HELP?
RFCS can provide families with a carer for up to three weeks in any calendar year for childcare. Care does not encompass household responsibilities such as being a domestic, station-hand and the like. To be eligible, your family will need to have at least one child aged six or under and be located within our set boundaries as well as being a designated distance from a traditional childcare service. Your family must be responsible for the safe pick-up and return of the carer as well as providing an acceptable standard of board and accommodation for the duration of the placement. All carers are supplied with appropriate early childhood resources contained in an extensive range of ‘kit boxes’ developed by the Coordination Unit, along with suitable craft materials. This allows carers to provide a range of age and stage appropriate activities at each placement. The rate of payment for care is based on the level of Family Assistance and or CCB% available to your family through Centrelink.
For more information please contact Danielle Prickett, Coordinator 1300 731 572
Salary
This is an old answer... I am currently researching more information on wages from my local In Home Care office....By Lee-Anne Bright
I current consider fair wage offers to be GROSS $450 and above.....I stress this is gross not NET and is looking at 1 to 2 children
When considering wages please think about what has to come out of the wage or In Home Care contract.
- Tax
- Insurance: Public Liability, Workers Comp or Income protection
- Board? Phone?
An In home Care Worker has to pay these out of the money she gets where as it is taken out of a wage previous to employer getting their money.
What money should I be looking for ... ?
This is an age old question which I have been asked many times. There is no right answer. It depends on the number of children your teaching, your experience, what extras will they pay for, and a whole lot of other variables. One important thing to remember is that often you have no board and keep costs so you are getting phone, water and other basic services for nothing. Talk to your boss, negotiate with them. Personally I don't take less than $250 for 1 child, over the last couple of years I have stated 1st term on $300 and had a wage increase after 3 months. I have not been charged board and keep so I take that into account considering if the money is reasonable
Contracts & Job Descriptions
Contracts & Job Description Examples
Distance Education Schools Around Australia
New South Wales
Broken Hill School Of The Air
http://www.schoolair-p.schools.nsw.edu.au/sotaupdatedsite/Frames/index.htm
Phone 08 80873565
HAY School of the Air
Phone (02) 69 931 882 Fax (02) 69 933 069
NSW Map of Hay School of the Air Location
Dubbo School Of Distance Education
www.dubbo.dec.education.nsw.gov.au
Phone 02 68130100
Bourke / Walgett Distance Education Centre
Tibooburra Outback School Of The Air
Queensland
Cairns School Of Distance Education www.cairnssde.qld.edu.au
Charleville School Of Distance Education www.charlevisde.qld.edu.au
Capricornia School Of Distance Education
Brisbane School Of Distance Education www.brisbanesde.qld.edu.au
South Australia
Port Augusta School Of The Air www.sota.sa.edu.au
Open Access College www.oac.schools.sa.edu.au
Northern Territory
Alice Springs School Of The Air
Katherine School Of The Air
Western Australia
Kalgoorlie School Of The Air
http://www.emerge.net.au/%7ekalsota/index.htm
Interviews... Questions, Tips and Advice
Hello to Parents
Below is advice and questions we encourage governesses to ask before jobs. It is also a guide for those parents who want to put together a written JOB DESCRIPTION before the interview process to email to interested parties.
Thanks to Stacey, Allira and Claire for their answer which I have mixed in with mine.
When I was accepted at the end of last year ready for this year my employer gave me an email address of another governess that was staying on for another year at another station. This was a great idea! I would recommend that first time governesses ask for an email address of another governess at an interview; because you get a different view on what you are getting yourself into.
Governessing to me is a passion which I take seriously so my priority questions are quite simply schoolroom and kids and what the parents expect from my schoolroom. Often I will take a job based on whether or not the parents have and instil in the children the same value for their education that I have.
Basically I recommend having your own personal list of questions set out as each case is very unique and personel to each individual. Get the employers to create a duty statement of what THEY expect before they find out what you are willing to do as sometimes you might get there and it is different to what you first thought. This does however go for the Governesses also - be HONEST with what you are willing and capable of doing, it can be along time out there if either one of you have any misconceptions of your roles...
Names of children, grades and their interests.
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This allows me when short listing to go with the family that I think I have the most common with the children which in turn allows me to build a great rapport with.
Location of property
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In relation to town, other school families and governesses, social events, places of interest e.g. waterhole for swimming or camping
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Whilst this is not important to me and I have my own vehicle to get away it is nice to know sometimes so that you know you can get away occassionally, also if there are other Govies in the area...
Schoolroom situation.
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Even now in my 8th year of Governessing I find that I get extremely nervous with people looking over constantly, and whilst I encourage the parents to come and see what we do I do find that other people that are a novelty ( and even the parents sometimes if they dont come often are a novelty ) distract the children also.
Job Details and Expectations
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I include questions about hours expected to work and what work they expect out of the schoolroom - I am generally very flexible in this area as it allows me to spend time with the children in their own territory doing something they can often teach me about!
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Do the children have any behaviour issues which I could prepare myself to deal with
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hours of work and role within the house.
Accommodation.
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How big? How many rooms? Where is it in relation to the schoolroom and the house? What is supplied?
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Where is laundry, bathroom, kitchen
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Do I have my own TV / Lounge room?
Wage
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Weekly wage
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about extras such as fuel, phone, net (if the wage is not very flash sometimes the family offer extras to compensate).
OTHER QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER ASKING
Another question I
sometimes ask is about other people on the station. Whilst some take
this question to mean " any men there?" I always ask as I find some
people have different preferences.
Is there a chance to do any work on the actual property i.e water runs etc or is the work only in the schoolroom
What was the previous govo's relationship like with the children?
Want to Study or Increase Skills
I have studied this course and found it beneficial to my governessing. Some Distance Ed schools (SA and QLD) offer the course through the schools for parents and governesses. I studied mine through Post Augusta School Of The Air and the Spencer Institute of TAFE and found the course perfectly suited to my situation.
Governess Australia advertises these courses on behalf of the various companies we don't guarantee them. You will need to evaluate each course or booklet for yourself.
Education Support Certificate III Now Available Online with Capra Ryan!
An online education course is an excellent option for a Governess, as they can undertake their study in a flexible manner around work hours and undertake assessment relevant to their work environment.
- Certificate III provides a Governess with a formal Education Support qualification which is recognised throughout Australia
- No need for expensive paper-based distance learning materials - just log on!
- Personal attention from a qualified & experienced online tutor – flexible hours around work time
- If employed in Queensland, it may be possible to receive Commonwealth Government funding through Queensland Apprenticeship Services. Ph: 1300 360 955.
In Qld, you will be eligible if you:
1. Have no qualifications above Certificate III received within the last 7 years
2. Employed & work a minimum of 15 hours per week
3. Are an Australian citizen
(If not in Qld, please contact the relevant organisation in your state for funding information)
- You can accelerate your training by having your existing skills recognised (Recognition of Prior Learning)
- Certificate III (30210QLD) is a 2 year (full time) Nationally Accredited course – delivered online. Consists of 7 core units (below) plus electives totalling 200 hours.
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Code |
Core Units |
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PSPLEGN301A |
Comply with legislation in the public sector |
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CUECOR2A |
Work with others |
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CUSGEN02A |
Work in a culturally diverse environment |
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PSPOHS201A |
Follow defined occupational health and safety policy and procedures |
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CUSGENO1A |
Use and adapt to changes in technology |
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CUECLE1A |
Undertake general administration procedures |
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CHCICAA |
Communicate with children |
Elective Areas (please visit www.capraryan.com for a complete list of units & hours)
§ General Education
§ Disability
§ Information Technology
§ Language & Literacy
§ Administration
§ Library
§ Indigenous Education
Please contact Capra Ryan for further information:
Ph: 07 3208 9455 Fax: 07 3208 9855 Email: enquiries@capraryan.com.au
Telstra Links
Telstra Countrywide This is the place to go to find out about internet issues of your local area.
Bigpond homepage http://www.bigpond.com/
Isolated Childrens Parents Association (ICPA)
ICPA (Aust) is a voluntary national parent body dedicated to ensuring that all geographically isolated students have equality with their non-isolated peers, of access to an appropriate education.
ICPA seeks to have all elements of a total education (cultural experiences, social contacts, participation in sport and other enriching activities) available for all isolated children regardless of the location of their home.
To achieve its goal ICPA pursues objectives in the following areas:
- Education Allowances
- Boarding Schools/School Term Hostels
- Travel
- Distance Education
- Special Education
- Curriculum
- Communications
- Small Rural and Remote Schools
- Early Childhood Education
- Tertiary Education
- Country Areas Program.
South Australia ICPA Queensland ICPA
"You're not just a govo, you're THE GOVO" "Uniting Govo's Outback"
Email The JobBoard jobboard@governessaustralia.com
Copyright ©
Governess Australia All rights reserved.
Revised: Monday January 04, 2010.