Child Care News
Rise in regulatory breaches at nation’s childcare centres
The Australian - Olivia Caisley - February 2, 2021Regulatory breaches at the nation’s childcare centres increased during the last financial year rising from 132.4 per 100 childcare centres in 2018-19 to 156.1 in 2019-20, according to the latest Productivity Commission report into the sector. A confirmed breach is when a regulatory authority finds that a provider...
Tasmania spent less per child in early education last year than anywhere else in Australia
The Advocate - Isobel Cootes - February 2, 2021The state and federal governments spent less per child in early education services in Tasmania in 2019/20 than anywhere else in Australia, a new report has shown. The final section of the Productivity Commission's annual Report on Government Services 2021 has been released on how ...
Nannies and the post-COVID future of child care in Australia
Women's Agenda - Louise Dunham - February 2, 2021It seems we’ve reached a moment in which nothing can be taken for granted and everything is up for re-thinking. Pandemics, it turns out, have that effect. What better time to take a fresh look at the broken state of child care in Australia and look towards a better way? I come at this from the ...
The Parenthood claims CPI data shows reforms have failed to keep ECEC affordable
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 2, 2021Early childhood education and care (ECEC) costs in Sydney and Brisbane are “the highest they have ever been”, advocacy group The Parenthood has claimed, saying current rates, as analysed in the latest CPI figures, “are higher than even before the Federal Government’s major child care reforms...
New Eastern Shore childcare centre expected to open in March
Mercury - Cameron Whiteley - February 1, 2021One of Tasmania’s newest childcare centres is expected to open its doors in March after delays to construction caused by the coronavirus pandemic. More recently, the site of the Howrah Sunrise Early Learning Centre on Hobart’s Eastern Shore, was also hit by vandals, with two separate...
Three-year-old kindergarten availability expands
Bendigo Advertiser - February 1, 2021More central Victorian children are receiving funded three-year-old kindergarten, as early childhood education reforms roll out in more of the state. Campaspe, Central Goldfields, Hepburn and Loddon shires are among 15 local government areas involved second stage of the roll-out...
Camp Australia launches first brand refresh in 30+ years to reflect ‘double-down’ on quality
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 1, 2021Camp Australia, the nation’s largest provider of outside school hours care (OSHC) has continued the momentum that began 18 months ago with the appointment of new CEO, Warren Jacobson, announcing a brand refresh, anchored in a new promise – Guiding Children’s Growth. Since establishing...
Gambling fund again yields dividends for early childhood settings in Queensland
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 2, 2021Nearly 700 Queensland community groups, including those operating in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector will benefit from $16 million in funding from the round 106 of the Gambling Community Benefit Fund (GCBF) grants. Queensland Attorney-General and Minister for Justice ...
Brisbane child care costs back to pre-subsidy levels
The Courier Mail - Matthew Killoran - February 1, 2021Out-of-pocket child care costs in Brisbane have now higher than they were before the new subsidy system came into play – putting it in a worse position than every other capital city in the country. It means about $30 a week saved by families when the Federal Government’s reforms first came from...
‘Trust your gut’: Study reveals no advantage to holding children back from kindy
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - January 31, 2021There is no long-term academic advantage gained from holding a child back from starting school, a study has found. Children who began kindergarten later were slightly ahead in reading and numeracy after three years, but their advantage diminished in years 5 and 7 and had disappeared completely ...
Childhood vaccination rates below national average in Canberra's inner-city suburbs
The Canberra Times - Jasper Lindell - January 31, 2021Childhood vaccination rates sit below the national average in Canberra's advantaged inner suburbs, while in the less-advantaged southern extremities of the city 97.9 per cent of five-year-olds were fully immunised...
Childcare fees set to rise as fee freeze wound back
Herald Sun - Tom Minear and Miles Proust - January 31, 2021Some Victorian childcare centres will start raising their fees from Monday after providers were barred from charging parents more during the pandemic. From the end of September until Sunday, a fee freeze was in place as the federal government paid Victorian providers 25% of their pre-pandemic...
‘Australia’s First’ 100% Vegan Preschool To Open This Year
Plantbasednews.org - Emily Baker - January 31, 2021A preschool that will serve entirely plant-based meals and focus on sustainability and eco-friendly practices is set to open in Newcastle, Australia this year. According to the non-profit organization, Vegan Australia, Sustainable Play Preschool will be the country’s ‘first 100% vegan preschool’...
Child care price hikes set to cost families hundreds with increases forecast
Mercury - Claire Bickers - January 30, 2021Families could be forking out almost $273 a week on average for childcare in Tasmania within four years, based on official price rise projections. That’s about $40 more per week than families were paying for childcare in 2020. Fees are expected to rise by 4.9% for long day care this financial year...
Gastro outbreak may be linked to hand sanitiser overuse over proper soap and water hand washing.
The Advertiser - Andrew Hough - January 30, 2021South Australians have been warned an over reliance on hand sanitiser instead of proper handwashing may be behind the state’s surge in gastro cases. SA Health has recorded at least 60 gastro-related outbreaks this month, the majority in Adelaide, an almost nine times increase on the seven ...
