Child Care News
G8 Education to open five new childcare centres in Adelaide as part of expansion plans into SA
The Advertiser - Lydia Kellner - February 17, 2022There’ll be room for another 600 kids in childcare as a national company reveals its plans for new centres, starting with a build at Gilles Plains. SA families will soon have greater access to childhood education with a nationally recognised early learning provider...
Goulburn kids called to become the next generation of environmental champions
Goulburn Post - February 17, 2022Woolworths will offer Goulburn schools and early learning centres, up to $1000 each, to develop projects that focus on sustainable food production, improving waste management practices or enhancing native habitats...
Queensland babies to get early start on literacy with free board book
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 17, 2022Babies born in Queensland in 2022 will get an early start on literacy with a free board book as part of the Queensland Government’s First 5 Forever program. The A Book for Every Little Queenslander initiative was launched yesterday by Queensland Minister for Communities...
Federal government urged to inject $1b into childcare sector to fix crisis
The Sydney Morning Herald - Katina Curtis - February 17, 2022Childcare centres are facing a staffing crisis and the federal government is being asked to put almost $1 billion a year into the sector to fund pay rises to help attract more educators. More than one in eight childcare centres now have waivers from the sector’s quality regulator...
70+ Childcare centres throughout Central Queensland have been graded, with 14 ‘Excellent’
The Courier Mail - Jacobbe McBride - February 17, 2022A fresh ranking system, which scores childcare centres out of 10, has been performed through Central Queensland with 70+ facilities given a result based on parent feedback and government audits. Now, the best and worst centres can be revealed. Full list...
Large for-profit nursery groups are becoming more common – with negative consequences for parents and the sector
The Conversation - Eva Lloyd and Antonia Simon - February 16, 2022High-quality early education and childcare can have a positive impact on children’s wellbeing and life chances. The ability to combine work and care can benefit the whole family. But, for many parents, childcare costs are a significant drain on household income, and COVID-19...
Vic services warned that RAT deliveries may be missed due to packaging change
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 16, 2022Victorian early childhood education and care (ECEC) services have been reminded to check their emails carefully in relation to communication from the Victorian Government regarding delivery of free at-home Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs) for Victorian children aged three to five...
Families outraged by council proposal to sell childcare centres
9Now - February 16, 2022While childcare costs continue to soar across the country, some working parents say they're now facing the prospect of having nowhere to go, claiming their council wants to sell childcare facilities sitting on prime real estate. Melbourne council, the City of Port Phillip, is proposing to sell...
Queensland childcare centre workers 'leaving in droves' amid staffing crisis and shortage of COVID-19 rapid antigen tests
ABC News - Emma Pollard - February 15, 2022Childcare providers in the grips of a "workforce crisis" made worse by the Omicron wave of COVID-19 are calling on the Queensland government to provide free rapid antigen tests and essential worker status. Figures from the Queensland Department of Education show there...
Education NT: Low attendance, retention in Territory schools
NT News - Bethany Griffiths and Jessica Roberts - February 15, 2022Early childhood, school and vocational education have all been reviewed in data by the Productivity Commission. SEE HOW THE TERRITORY PERFORMED. THE Territory’s schools have been ranked against the rest of the country, with mixed results across the cohorts...
Wentworth Preschool will offer long day care after much anticipated redevelopment
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 15, 2022A major revamp of the Wentworth Preschool will see the existing preschool transformed into a long day care (LDC) centre and preschool after more than five years of lobbying and fundraising by preschool committee members. “This has all come about after being successful...
Investor demand sends yields on fast food, petrol, childcare tumbling
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - February 14, 2022Yields on fast-food outlets, childcare centres and petrol stations are expected to fall even further in 2022, as private investors seek to bolster their portfolios with trophy commercial property assets on long, secure leases to major national brands. New data compiled by...
Plans lodged for childcare centre in Coombs
RioTact - Ian Bushnell - February 14, 2022A medium-scale childcare centre is being proposed in Coombs to fill the gap for such services in the growing Molonglo Valley. A development application has been lodged for the two-storey, 59-place long-day care centre on the corner of Telfer Street and Edwin Hicks Way...
When women’s wages can’t keep up with living costs
PSNews - February 14, 2022The cost of childcare has gone up, but wages growth for women remains subdued and this is a big problem for economic equality that needs attention. As it stands most childcare workers are women, and most Mother’s and many families, will evaluate the woman’s wage to...
“Once in generation” overhaul of school day: Labor pledges
The Advertiser - Elizabeth Henson - February 14, 2022Labor says the 9am-3pm school day is a “relic of the past” and has promised to change it if it wins the March state election. Out-of-school-hours care will undergo a “once in a generation” overhaul to allow more flexibility, such as earlier drop-offs and later pick-ups, under a Labor...
