Child Care News
Childcare closed to most families, no JobKeeper: what Melbourne’s stage 4 lockdown means for parents and the sector
The Conversation - Kate Noble, Victoria University - August 4, 2020Childcare services and most preschools have remained open throughout the COVID-19 restrictions in Australia. From Wednesday, however, Melbourne’s stage 4 restrictions mean most children (except for vulnerable children and those of essential workers) in metropolitan Melbourne...
The vital worker JobKeeper left behind in the pandemic
news.com.au - Jade Gailberger - August 4, 2020Pressure is mounting on the Federal Government to put Victorian childcare workers back on JobKeeper. Educators last month became the first and only sector to be axed from the $1500 wage subsidy before its six-month deadline. In its place, Education Minister Dan Tehan unveiled ...
Families 'on the edge' over childcare as countdown to lockdown begins
The Age - Adam Carey - August 4, 2020Daniela Kavoukas spent much of her day fielding calls, texts and emails from parents on Tuesday, anxiously trying to find out if their children would be able to go to childcare from Thursday, when Melbourne’s six-week lockdown begins. The former director, now mentor, at Flemington Child Care ...
Now would be a good time to admit Australia's childcare system is not fit for purpose
The Guardian - Lisa Bryant - August 4, 2020Opinion: First we had the Jobs for Families Child Care Package, because the childcare funding system was so complicated it needed to be simplified. Then when the pandemic hit, because families were still paying such a huge whack of their incomes for childcare despite the govt ...
Coronavirus, Busby: Kids Learning Academy Busby closed for cleaning
The Daily Telegraph - Cindy Ngo, Liverpool Leader - August 4, 2020A positive case of COVID-19 has been reported at a daycare centre in Sydney’s southwest as health authorities continue to urge vigilance within the community. A NSW Health spokeswoman confirmed Kids Learning Academy Busby was closed for cleaning after a child who tested...
Community Child Care Association sounds alarm at Stage 4 lockdown news
The Sector - Freya Lucas - August 4, 2020Early and middle childhood services are at risk of permanent closure, advocacy body Community Child Care Association has said, calling for government support to be extended. Executive Director Julie Price warned that “Government transition payments may not be enough to keep...
The childcare situation in Victoria right now is a disaster
Women's Agenda - Georgie Dent - August 4, 2020The task Premier Andrews is facing is colossal. But the fact on Sunday it was announced that childcare centres would be closed to everyone except for children of “permitted” workers and vulnerable children without any clarification for how those employed in the sector would be paid...
The vital worker JobKeeper left behind in the pandemic
The Australian - Jade Gailberger - July 4, 2020Pressure is mounting on the Federal Government to put Victorian childcare workers back on JobKeeper. Educators last month became the first and only sector to be axed from the $1500 wage subsidy before its six-month deadline. In its place, Education Minister Dan Tehan unveiled...
Virus school fears unwarranted: NSW study
The Standard - Angelo Risso - August 4, 2020The decision to resume face-to-face school learning amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been vindicated by fresh research showing children transmitted the disease at minimal rates during the "first wave". The report was released as two Sydney schools were forced to close for deep cleaning...
Sydney University research shows coronavirus case numbers in NSW schools and childcare centres
7news.com.au - AAP - August 4, 2020At the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic, health authorities thought school environments were at low risk of harbouring COVID-19. A University of Sydney study has now revealed the numbers around the transmission of the deadly virus in NSW schools and childcare centres...
Melbourne lockdown casts doubt over childcare sector
ABC News Radio - Gavin Coote on AM - August 4, 2020The looming Stage 4 restrictions in Melbourne have thrown the early education sector into new depths of uncertainty. Childcare centres will be closed to everyone except children of "permitted" workers and vulnerable children, and there are calls for JobKeeper to be reinstated ...
‘Exhausted beyond measure’: what teachers are saying about COVID-19 and the disruption to education
The Conversation - Louise Phillips, Melissa Cain - August 4, 2020All Victorian school students will be learning remotely from Wednesday. Prior to the state’s premier Daniel Andrews announcing a tightening of restrictions over the weekend, only students in prep to Year 10 in Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire were learning from home.
Coronavirus lockdown questions for Daniel Andrews about Melbourne childcare, babysitters and families
ABC News - Jason Dasey and Alicia Nally - August 3, 2020Childcare centres in Melbourne could soon be closed to most families under stage four coronavirus restrictions, apart from vulnerable children and the children of "permitted workers". This is a major change from the state's first lockdown period earlier this year and would provide...
Childcare centres in dark on who will attend during stricter lockdown
The Age - Adam Carey - August 3, 2020Childcare providers are braced for plummeting attendance rates in the next six weeks that could send some centres to the wall as most families keep their children home. Parents and childcare providers remain in the dark about which specific categories of Melbourne workers will be permitted...
COVID-19 closures may cause childcare centres to fold, industry warns
The Age - Adam Carey - August 3, 2020When Julie Lynch was told on Tuesday that a child at Hawthorn Early Years had tested positive to COVID-19, she moved quickly to close down her childcare centre. By 3.15pm, parents had collected their children and the centre shut its doors. All staff working in the junior program...
