AN alternative to traditional childcare will soon be offered in the region by a new business called Wild Play Co.
The company will start by providing care for children between the ages of zero and six, with goals to expand to homeschool for children up to 12, and will be taking bookings for term three shortly.
Founder, Courtney Sullivan, said the idea came to her about 12 months ago while looking for care providers for her five-year-old in the area which prioritised play and learning outdoors.
“I really wanted him to engage in that nature immersion-type play, and I couldn’t find anything like that in Bendigo, so I basically developed my own,” she said.
“It’s really inquiry-based, child-led and unstructured time in nature where they can develop a meaningful connection with the environment, but also have the chance to engage in some of those riskier play opportunities.
“Things like tree-climbing, rope play, fire and bush cooking, things you might not necessarily be able to engage with in a centre-based environment, but you certainly can in a bush kindy setting.”
Ms Sullivan said it is based on the concept of ‘forest schools’ which originated in Scandinavia, and while there are several in New South Wales and Queensland, she said there aren’t as many in Victoria.
After developing the idea, she undertook education in nature-play business, bush kindy leadership, risk assessment, legal requirements, and started setting up the site.
“Child safety is of course crucial to us running, as a result of that, we have really rigorous risk-benefit analysis and protocols that have been developed,” said Ms Sullivan.
“We have a higher educator-to-child ratio than you would normally see in a centre for the age group, because it’s important that we supervise them particularly with those riskier activities.”
Ms Sullivan said staff will guide children three and older in “risk-intelligence” and ask them questions such as “‘where are you going to put your foot next?’ and ‘have you looked below, are your friends all safe?’” rather than telling them to “be careful.”
“Mostly we will try and really encourage the kids to enjoy nature in all its forms,” she said.
“It’s a part of an authentic childhood. Jumping in puddles and getting a little bit wet and dirty. I think we don’t have enough of that these days.”