Casey Seidel named Bendigo’s best in Family Day Care Awards

Casey Seidel, an early childhood educator from Eaglehawk, has been named as the Family Day Care Regional Educator of the Year for the Bendigo, Goldfields and Macedon Ranges region in the Family Day Care Australia (FDCA) Excellence in Family Day Care Awards. 

Ms Seidel has been working in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector for the past 20 years, and began working in family day care (FDC) in 2022. 

“It’s absolutely the best thing I have ever done within my career, which spans many different roles within the sector,” she shared with The Bendigo Times. 

Since switching to FDC, she says she feels “so fulfilled” and “couldn’t imagine doing anything else”. 

“It has 100 per cent given me back my passion for early childhood education,” she said, describing her nomination as an honour. 

The smaller environment of FDC has helped her to form strong relationships with the children in her care, something she says is very rewarding. 

“The learning and progression of learning of all the children is so fulfilling to see and I feel so honoured to be able to experience this with the children and families that attend my service,” she said.

Bendigo’s FDC sector is a strong one, with Bendigo FDC Coordinator Tamarra Tie saying several people in the district were put up for awards, as was the service itself. 

The winners of the awards were announced in a ceremony in Adelaide on the weekend. 

Access the original coverage of this story here.