At Inspire and Innovate Family Day Care, we know that caring for children is about more than play and learning. It’s also about protecting and nurturing their wellbeing in every way. In today’s world, that includes ensuring technology is used safely and sensibly in our homes and learning environments.

As digital devices become a normal part of our daily lives, we need to remain thoughtful about how they are used around children. Whether it’s a smartphone in our pocket or a tablet used for educational purposes, every interaction with technology in a Family Day Care setting carries responsibility.

That’s why we’d like to share an important new resource from Family Day Care Australia (FDCA):

Child Safe Practice: For the Use of Personal Devices in Family Day Care

Created in partnership with Dellamarta Consulting, experts in child safety, this resource has been designed specifically for Family Day Care educators and services to support safe, respectful, and child-centred device use.

Why Safe Device Use Matters

The National Model Code for Early Childhood Education and Care, developed by ACECQA, sets clear expectations around photographing and filming children. While this code currently applies to centre-based care, the principles are just as relevant in Family Day Care settings.

Even though we may not have the same scale or policies as large centres, the risks surrounding inappropriate or unintentional device use still exist and they can have lasting impacts. That’s why being proactive, informed, and reflective is so important.

What’s in the New FDCA Resource

FDCA’s new resource includes two key tools to guide educators and service providers:

• Service Guidance Note – Designed for coordinators, educational leaders, and service providers, this helps shape consistent and clear policies around safe device use across your service

Download the Service Guidance Note here.

• Educator Resource – Filled with practical tips, reflective questions, and real-life examples, this resource helps educators think about how and when they use devices and how to ensure that use is always child-safe.

Download the Educator Resource here.

How This Helps Our Educators and Families

Using personal devices thoughtfully helps protect children’s privacy, maintain professional boundaries, and build trust with families. At Inspire and Innovate Family Day Care Scheme, we encourage all our educators to:

• Reflect on their current device use practices
• Understand and implement best-practice strategies
• Engage in meaningful conversations about digital safety
• Help shape a culture of awareness and care around technology use 

This resource doesn’t just support compliance. It supports a deeper culture of safeguarding, one that values transparency, integrity, and putting children first.

A Shared Commitment

As a community, we all share the responsibility of keeping children safe. With resources like this, and with ongoing collaboration between families and educators, we can ensure our Family Day Care environments remain safe, respectful, and enriching places to grow.

Also, for those who’d like to explore the broader topic of young children and digital life, we recommend reading ACECQA’s article: Young Children as Citizens in a Digital Society.

Let’s keep inspiring and innovating together,

Inspire and Innovate Family Day Care
Creating safe spaces where children thrive