SDN Children's Services Inc. Annual Report 2010

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Our history To preserve family life, to educate mothers in child health and to save babies from death and becoming state wards. ‘The charter written by the founders of SDN ‘ Our proud history One hundred years ago there were very few options for child care. Many working mothers were forced to leave young children either with relatives or older siblings or unattended. To reduce the risk of harm, some mothers locked children in the house, whilst others locked them out. The 1904 Royal Commission on the Decline of the Birth-Rate and on the Mortality of Infants in NSW found that approximately one in ten children did not survive infancy and that more than 50 percent of these deaths occurred in the first three months of life. In response to the Royal Commission and spurred on by the exclusion of children under three years of age from Kindergarten Union centres, a group of young women established the Sydney Crèche Association and opened SDN’s first centre in Woolloomooloo. It was the first formal child care service to open in NSW specifically for working mothers of children aged under three years of age, and was well patronised. For a modest fee of threepence a day, working women now had a safe place to entrust their children from 7:00am to 6:30pm. There was little recognition of the word crèche and within a few months of opening our name was changed to The Sydney Day Nursery Association. The health of children was a major concern: before the 1930s, nurseries were run by matrons and supported by nurses. The fees received were not enough to run the nursery, and in the absence of any government support the Association relied heavily on fundraising. This was the largest source of income until World War I. Between 1905 and 1930 SDN expanded to 11 centres. The history of SDN during the Great Depression is testimony to the determination and ingenuity of the Association’s leaders. These women were incredibly resourceful and managed not only to keep the nurseries afloat, but to pioneer early education in the midst of the Great Depression. When SDN was in serious financial trouble and even as the Executive Committee was considering closing at least one centre, they were taking steps towards training and appointing teachers in the nurseries. At the time, such a decision must have been viewed as reckless; in retrospect it was courageous and visionary. At the forefront of early childhood education SDN has long been at the forefront of early childhood education. In the 1930s SDN was the first to combine a preschool program with long day care by training and employing qualified early childhood teachers in the nurseries. In 1931 the Sydney Day Nursery and Nursery Schools Association established the first training centre for nursery school teachers in NSW, at Woolloomooloo Nursery. The establishment of the Nursery School Training Centre (later Training College then Teachers’ College) responded to an urgent need for ‘properly trained teachers’ to work in the newly founded nursery schools. According to an early prospectus (circa 1939), the purpose of the Nursery School Training College was: to offer to the students a professional training in educational principles and modern methods of teaching children ranging in age from 18 months to 6 years. Although the training is a broad and cultural one, special emphasis is laid on the scientific study of the needs and development of young children. Initially a two-year course, the training was expanded in 1942 to a three-year diploma course. From its earliest days, the training was holistic. Subjects taught were scientific, artistic, and aimed at supporting parenting. They included Psychology, Hygiene, Child Welfare, Eurhythmics, Infant Welfare and Mental Health, and Child Development. Many of the principles on which the Nursery School Training Centre was founded resonate soundly with SDN’s contemporary practices. Just as our forebears did, we recognise the importance of understanding the multiple individual, familial, social, cultural and political factors that affect young children’s lives, and we continue to advocate strenuously for ‘properly trained teachers’ in early childhood settings. Many of the core values on which SDN was built remain relevant to this day. SDN remains true to the Association’s initial mission: we continue to operate as a not-for-profit 18 SDN Annual Report 2010
organisation, putting children first and returning any surplus into the quality of our services; we uphold our commitment to provide high quality education and childcare, and services for children and families; we continue to advocate for children’s right to access early childhood education and care; and we maintain our commitment to protect children and support families. SDN is one of only a few community-based family organisations that have been operating in Australia for more than 100 years. SDN has survived many challenges, including two world wars and the Great Depression, and grown into one of Australia’s most respected children’s services organisations. Overleaf is a snapshot of our expansion and key organisational changes over the years. Since the Woolloomoloo centre opened its doors in 1905, many hundreds of thousands of young children have been cared for and educated at SDN centres. The formation of the Sydney Day Nursery Association is one of the most significant stages in the history of early childhood education and care in NSW. It marks the beginning of formalised early childhood services that educate and care for children from birth to school age. The aim of the foremothers of SDN was to present their new organisation not as a ‘cold, remote charity‘ but as an organisation ‘started by fellow women, who fully realise the difficulties that beset the paths of working mothers’. Ethel Ranken, Honorary Secretary, Sydney Day Nursery Association, Woolloomooloo Nursery Annual Report 1917–18 SDN Annual Report 2010 19
Page 1 and 2: SDN Children’s Services Inc. Annu
Page 3 and 4: SDN SDN Annual Annual Report Report
Page 5 and 6: What we do SDN was established in 1
Page 7 and 8: Our purpose We aim to provide the h
Page 9 and 10: Ginie Udy, Susan Salter, the Hon Ve
Page 11 and 12: Our performance: The year in review
Page 13 and 14: Goal 4 Being financially strong Our
Page 15 and 16: Encouraging a sense of community: H
Page 17: Early Learning Program is for child
Page 21 and 22: 1951 Bathurst; Double Bay (closed 1
Page 23 and 24: We are constantly trying to improve
Page 25 and 26: People and Culture Unit Marketing a
Page 27 and 28: 2009-10 annual staff survey results
Page 29 and 30: Congratulations to all of our schol
Page 31 and 32: The voices of children and families
Page 33 and 34: Media coverage In 2009-10 we issued
Page 35 and 36: In 2009 -10 SDN awarded Aboriginal
Page 37 and 38: ‘ We’ve been helping families t
Page 39 and 40: The voices of families in our progr
Page 41 and 42: Effie Bland Chair of the History Co
Page 43 and 44: SDN Child and Family Services’ Bo
Page 45 and 46: Our financial performance The conso
Page 47 and 48: We thank everyone who gave permissi

SDN Children's Services Inc. Annual Report 2010

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