Little Blue House Family Day Care has won the Excellence in Family Day Care Award for the Bunbury and Southwest region for a second time in just three years of operation.
Based in Karridale, Little Blue House is locally-owned and run by Jacquelin Sims and operates under the Y WA Family Day Care (FDC) Service.
On World Kindness Day, November 13, 2025, we shed light on the regional family day care’s award-winning services and the core value of kindness that drives its operations.
“Kindness, respect and compassion underpin so much of what I teach the children,” Ms Sims said.
“Kindness is also extended to the parents and families through things like my home transportation service that gives parents time and space to prepare themselves for work or to recharge after work before their children arrive back home in the evening.
“A toddler-free shower or a quiet cup of coffee is very appreciated by a lot of the parents.”
Ms Sims has more than 12 years of experience in the childcare sector, working as an early childhood teacher in both long day care and outside school hours care.
Her passion for creating fun, meaningful and community-centred experiences for children led to the creation of Little Blue House, which Ms Sims opened in late 2022.
Ms Sims said childcare was a vital service for families living in regional Western Australia.
One memorable example of how Ms Sims integrates kindness teachings into the children’s activities comes from a three-year-old child at Little Blue House who loved helping with the bins.
Ms Sims turned this interest into a community activity, involving neighbours and showing children the value of helping others, which sparked conversations about supporting people in the community who may need assistance with everyday tasks.
The family day care operates under the Y WA FDC Service, which supports educators like Ms Sims by providing guidance on setting up and managing their service.
This includes guidance with home visits, play sessions, resources, training and ongoing support.
Regular visits from support staff help mentor and observe educators in a way that respects the individuality of each home while ensuring safe, flexible and stimulating learning environments for the children to flourish.
Ms Sims said establishing family day cares in regional areas in Western Australia was vital to better support children and families.
“Childcare is in such short supply in regional areas that providing this service not only allows the parents to gain employment but also provides the children with opportunities to connect with each other and to build their sense of community, confidence and self-belief that helps so much with their transition to school.”
Little Blue House has won two awards for its outstanding services in just three years of operation.
The winners of the national Family Day Care Australia’s Excellence in Family Day Care Awards 2025 were announced in September and Ms Sims received her award in Melbourne on October 25.
This marked Ms Sims’ second time being named as a Regional Educator Award Winner after her win at the 2023 awards.
Ms Sims said she was “blown away” to receive the award again and be recognised for the dedication she put into her work.
“I see it as recognition of the commitment I make to the children and families who use my service,” Ms Sims said.
“To be recognised not only by the families who nominated me for the award but also by the sector experts on the judging panel is an incredible feeling.
“To win this award twice in less than three years of operation is a huge achievement and I see it as an acknowledgement of the high-quality education I provide to the children in my service.”
World Kindness Day brings attention to kindness within local communities, such as the work of Ms Sims and Little Blue House, and acts as a global reminder of the great power simple acts of kindness can hold.
By Hearts and Minds
