Child Care News

Victorian parents urged not to delay childhood vaccinations during the pandemic
SBS News - August 31, 2020

Victorian parents are being urged not to neglect child vaccinations, with the launch of a drive-through service to allay COVID-19 fears. In a survey of over 2,000 Australian parents, Royal Children's Hospital paediatrician Anthea Rhodes says one in five children under the age of five ...

New apology call for Wentworth Falls Preschool community over unlawful SafeWork notices
Blue Mountains Gazette - Damien Madigan - August 31, 2020

When Wentworth Falls Preschool was abruptly closed in November 2017 after SafeWork NSW issued asbestos notices, the school community was thrown into disarray. Working parents scrambled to find alternative arrangements for their children, while plans for the ...

School leavers and job seekers in SA to benefit from $88m program to boost skills
Herald Sun - Emily Cosenza, NCA NewsWire - August 31, 2020

South Australian school leavers and job seekers will have access to low-cost training under an $88million JobTrainer package. Premier Steven Marshall announced the initiative would create up to 15,000 training places in the state, focusing on industries in high demand, such as child care ...

Coronavirus closes Sydney childcare as CBD cluster grows
7news.com.au - AAP - August 31, 2020

A childcare centre in Sydney’s north has been closed for cleaning after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus. The staffer at Reddam Early Learning Centre at Lindfield worked for three days from August 25 to 27 while unknowingly infectious. The staff member is ...

Remote education inquiry to hold roundtables on early childhood and barriers to education
Mirage - August 31, 2020

The House Standing Committee on Employment, Education and Training will hold two roundtable public hearings via teleconference on Wednesday, 2 September 2020 as part of the committee’s inquiry into the education of students in remote and complex environments...

Opinion: Focus recovery on pink-collar jobs to avoid a pink recession
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jennifer Duke - August 31, 2020

Women need a special focus in the Morrison government's federal budget this October. This isn't an argument for political correctness but simply economic fact. Australian women have, on average, been financially hurt by the coronavirus in a multitude of measurable ways...

Childcare key to getting women back to work after pandemic: sex discrimination commissioner
The Sydney Morning Herald - Katina Curtis - August 30, 2020

Australia's sex discrimination commissioner has nominated a redesigned childcare system as her top priority, saying the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted its importance and the massive barrier to work posed by a lack of accessibility. Kate Jenkins wants to see a system that offers ...

Coronavirus case shuts childcare centre at Fig Tree Pocket in Brisbane's west, four new cases recorded
ABC News - Holly Richardson and Francene Norton - August 30, 2020

A childcare centre in Brisbane's west has been closed due to a positive coronavirus case. The Fig Tree Pocket Early Childhood Centre and Preschool will be shut for at least a week after a person infected with coronavirus attended on August 21. Everyone who attended the centre...

COVID-recovery budget needs to invest in public education, says union
The Age - Anna Prytz - August 30, 2020

The Australian Education Union has called on the federal government to invest heavily in public schools, preschools and TAFE in its coronavirus recovery budget. In a pre-budget submission to treasury, the union said a funding boost to public education would have ongoing economic ...

Coronavirus classroom closures disrupt teaching degrees
The Age - Anna Prytz - August 30, 2020

Phoebe Wong is trying to experience teaching in a kinder classroom via her laptop. The second-year early childhood education student is among the Victorian teaching students who can no longer do practical placement in schools because of the state's coronavirus lockdown...

One-in-five children putting Victoria's entire vaccine program at risk during fearful coronavirus pandemic
9news.com.au - Mark Saunokonoko - August 30, 2020

The coronavirus pandemic is threatening the wider vaccination program in Victoria, leaving children at risk of contracting chicken pox, measles and whooping cough. One-in-five children under the age of five years has had a routine vaccine delayed since the onset of the pandemic ...

Vaccinations Vital To Keep Our Children Safe
Mirage - August 30, 2020

The Victorian Government is encouraging all parents to ensure their children’s vaccinations are up to date, with health services finding new and safe ways to immunise kids as the coronavirus fight continues. Victoria’s landmark No Jab No Play laws continue to make a real difference...

Kids Academy Hope Island: Closure continues to hurt forgotten staff and families
Gold Coast Bulletin - Kyle Wisniewski - August 30, 2020

Teachers and parents caught out by an ugly daycare centre business dispute between two former “best friends” are fighting for entitlements and bond months after its shock closure. The Kids Academy Hope Island – attended by 25 kids daily with a staff roster of 40 – abruptly shut in mid-June...

Calls mount for coronavirus to be deemed workplace injury for front-line workers
The Age - David Estcourt - August 30, 2020

Pressure is growing from unions and lawyers for the state government to declare coronavirus a workplace injury for employees across all frontline industries who contract the deadly disease at work. Leading plaintiff lawyers have asked Victoria's Workplace Safety Minister, Jill Hennessy...

Kiewa Valley Kindergarten left out of Victoria's free kinder fund
The Border Mail - Shana Morgan - August 30, 2020

A petition has been launched in Tangambalanga for the region's only locally-run kindergarten to be included in the Victorian government's promise for free kinder during the coronavirus pandemic...