Child Care News
Childcare centres struggle as no fee deal increases demand
The Advertiser - Jade Gailberger - April 29, 2020Childcare centres are being forced to cut staff hours and turn away desperate essential-worker parents to cope with the government’s fee-free system. Ms Reilly faces the same “heartbreaking” situation at her work, a before and after-school care centre. Her centre is not alone, with childcare centres across...
11 new COVID-19 cases in NSW as death toll spikes
The Daily Telegraph - Georgia Clark - April 29, 2020A four-year-old child who attended a Sydney childcare centre for two days while infectious is among 11 new cases of COVID-19 reported in NSW in the last 24 hours. NSW chief health officer Dr Kerry Chant said the child attended the Bright Minds Academy in Cranebrook for two days while infectious...
Childcare centre shuts as two children await results of virus tests
Sydney Morning Herald - Anthony Colangelo - April 29, 2020A childcare centre in Melbourne's west has closed as it awaits coronavirus tests on two children. The Learning Sanctuary in Yarraville in Melbourne's inner-west was closed on Wednesday and will not re-open until at least Friday after the children, from the same family, were tested for the virus...
In principle agreement reached with the AEU for the next VECTEA, ELAA says
The Sector - Freya Lucas - April 29, 2020The Early Learning Association Australia (ELAA) announced yesterday that it has reached an in-principle agreement with the Australian Education Union (AEU) for the next Victorian Early Childhood Teachers And Educators Agreement (VECTEA). The VECTEA agreement is a major enterprise agreement...
Sydney childcare centre closes after four-year-old tests positive to coronavirus
Sydney Morning Herald - Mary Ward - April 29, 2020NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says a slight easing of social distancing rules across the state is not a holiday after a western Sydney childcare centre closed following a four-year-old child testing positive for coronavirus. The Bright Minds childcare centre at Cranebrook in, Sydney...
Childcare review to look at centres with high proportion of skilled visa holders
News.com.au - April 28, 2020Childcare centres could receive a lifeline as Education Minister Dan Tehan says the government will review whether skilled visa holders should be eligible for the JobKeeper program. Earlier this month the government announced childcare would be made free for parents amid the ...
Parents struggling to access childcare despite promise of Federal subsidy for providers
Geelong Advertiser - Olivia Shying - April 28, 2020Desperate mums returning to work say they are being locked out of childcare, despite the Federal Government’s $1.6 billion package aimed at keeping providers afloat. Tamara Sorensen, from Clifton Springs, fears she will have to freeze mortgage repayments unless she can find ...
New childcare centres face funding uncertainty during COVID-19
Perth Now - Lucy Jarvis, Joondalup Times - April 28, 2020New childcare centres are facing uncertainty and fears they could collapse due to funding changes during the coronavirus pandemic. Insight Early Learning raised concerns its three new centres in Perth could fall through the cracks of the Federal Government’s COVID-19 free childcare...
Important questions remain unresolved despite positive momentum in ECEC support package implementation
The Sector - Jason Roberts - April 28, 2020With the majority of services across Australia now having received their third ECEC Relief Package payment, and with JobKeeper enrolment having been open for more than a week, there is no doubt that real progress has been made since the depth of the COVID-19 crisis ...
Paul Mondo, ACA President, shares his COVID experience and highlights full range of support available
The Sector - Paul Mondo, ACA President - April 27, 2020In a short period of time, the ECEC sector has been forced to evolve in a way that could never have been predicted. During the best part of ten years, the implementation of change and new legislation has been a constant for our sector, but the world we live in now makes those changes...
Permanently raising the Child Care Subsidy is an economic opportunity too good to miss
The Conversation AU - Danielle Wood, Kate Griffiths, Owain Emslie - April 27, 2020The Australian government’s COVID-19 rescue package for the child-care sector provides a lifeline for centres and parents alike. Child-care centres now have a guaranteed stream of income and support for wage costs, helping them to stay in business through the crisis...
Children turned away from childcare under new free scheme
The Sydney Morning Herald - Natassia Chrysanthos - April 26, 2020Major childcare providers warn they may need to turn children away under the government's free childcare package as they struggle to operate with half their usual revenue. Childcare providers are paid 50% of their revenue by the government and cannot charge parents extra under ...
5 reasons it's safe for kids to go back to school
The Conversation AU - Asha Bowen, Christopher Blyth, Kirsty Short - April 26, 2020In mid March, cases of COVID-19 - the disease caused by SARS-CoV-2 - dramatically increased in Australia and the government responded with an effective public health strategy. People who could, shifted to working from home, social distancing measures were applied ...
Children unlikely to transmit coronavirus, says study cited in PM's push to reopen schools
The Guardian - Luke Henriques-Gomes - April 26, 2020A new report, cited by the chief medical officer as the federal government advocates the reopening of schools, says children are unlikely to transmit Covid-19 between each other or to adults. The study by NSW Health’s Centre for Immunisation Research and Surveillance (NCIRS)...
The silver lining of kids and the coronavirus
The Canberra Times - Megan Doherty - April 26, 2020A Canberra childcare centre is reporting a kind of silver lining from the coronavirus pandemic - greater interaction between younger and older children due to reduced numbers and nurturing friendships being developed as a result. Guardian Childcare and Education in Gungahlin ...
