Nicky Ward-Martinelli is South West Regional Family Daycare's newest member, opening her home to little ones for care, learning and socialising.

"The benefit of Family Daycare is firstly the flexibility with hours, but also the small groups, meaning a much more personal touch to care," Miss Ward-Martinelli said.

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The educator said she will take groups of four children under school age, catering to all family dynamics.

"I'm very flexible with hours, so with the suburb growing and more shift workers in need of a hand, I can definitely adjust the care I offer to suit a lot of people," she said.

As a mother of two herself, Miss Ward-Martinelli said she knows the struggles all too well when it comes to finding suitable daycare services.

"I was a single mum for about 10 years, and quite often I'd have to start work at 8.30 in the morning so couldn't drop the kids off at school yet, or I wouldn't finish until after six o'clock when normal daycare services have closed, so even just having the option to move it half an hour earlier or later makes a massive difference," she said.

"I was also working in another profession with children and families before this, and that's when I identified there was a need to provide a variety of care options for the wider community beyond my own situation."

Interest is growing already for Miss Ward-Martinelli's home-based daycare. Her nominated supervisor Amanda Russell said the interest was indicative of their ongoing need for more educators.

"We are always looking for educators, our waiting list is long and continues to grow," she said.

"At this stage, we have two services in Forest Hill now, two in Wagga and about 16 in total for the South West area, but there's always room for more."

Ms Russell said Family Daycare was more than just a babysitting service.

"Our services are run by qualified, professional educators like Nicky, they offer the same education programs and curriculum as other services, but with the added benefit of a beautiful home environment and more personal, targeted care," she said.

To find out more as both a parent looking for daycare or a potential educator, call South West Regional Family Daycare on 6924 1017.

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