Child Care News

Marsden Park childcare centre: $19m development plans
The Daily Telegraph - Kate Lockley, Blacktown Advocate - March 3, 2020

Families in the booming suburb of Marsden Park could soon have another childcare centre to choose from with multimillion-dollar plans being lodged with Blacktown Council. Bathla Group has submitted plans for a multistorey apartment block with a childcare centre for up to ...

Investors Who Bought Mayfield Childcare (ASX:MFD) Shares Three Years Ago Are Now Down 17%
Simply Wall St - March 3, 2020

In order to justify the effort of selecting individual stocks, it’s worth striving to beat the returns from a market index fund. But in any portfolio, there are likely to be some stocks that fall short of that benchmark. We regret to report that long term Mayfield Childcare Limited (ASX:MFD)...

Education first
Star Weekly - Alesha Capone - March 3, 2020

Educators at a Wyndham Vale childcare centre are the first in the nation to participate in a professional development program, which aims to boost children’s readiness for school and increase their talking interactions. The centre, Adventurers, is using technology developed by...

NSW issues updated information about COVID-19 as global cases spike
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 3, 2020

The New South Wales Department of Education has released an update in relation to the COVID-19 (previously referred to as Coronavirus). In particular, this advice adds requirements for children or staff who have recently been in Iran. While only a small number of COVID-19 cases...

Integrated early learning centre to support Wycheproof families
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 3, 2020

A new integrated early learning centre, offering three and four-year-old kindergarten programs, long day care, Maternal and Child Health Services and a supported playgroup will be constructed in the Victorian town of Wycheproof, Victorian Minister for Education James Merlino...

Handwriting fluency in kindergarten linked to better reading abilities
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - March 2, 2020

Children who handwrite fluently in their first year of school are likely to be better readers a year later, prompting researchers to urge caution about relying too heavily on technology in the classroom. The Australian study of 154 students followed children from kindergarten to year 1...

Workers feel 'helpless' as staff shortages bite in wake of travel ban
The Age - Paul Sakkal - March 2, 2020

Unions are calling on the federal government to lift the "discriminatory" Chinese travel ban, with some businesses struggling to cope without temporary workers who remain trapped in China. Childcare has been particularly hard hit. Childcare worker Jess Wu travelled home for...

Goodstart Early Learning daycare buses to resume following boy’s death in Edmonton
Cairns Post - Jack Lawrie - March 2, 2020

Goodstart Early Learning will reinstate its bus services following a safety review after the tragic death of a child in Edmonton two weeks ago. The bus service, which will restart tomorrow, was suspended following the devastating incident where a little boy died while...

Talking Point: We don’t need to fail our children
Mercury Leanne McLean - March 2, 2020

The wellbeing of Tasmania’s children and young people is paramount for the future prosperity of all Tasmanians. We must do better at promoting and improving the wellbeing of all of our children and young people. For example, the proportion of children meeting all 21 markers...

ACCS next in line to see amendments as Tehan presents new Bill to parliament
The Sector - Jason Roberts - March 2, 2020

The Federal Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, has introduced a new Bill to the Parliament of Australia that aims to address feedback received from the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector regarding access to Additional Child Care Subsidy (ACCS) (child wellbeing)...

WA Government issues warning following increase in cryptosporidiosis notifications
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 2, 2020

The Western Australian Department of Health has issued a warning of interest to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector following a “substantial increase” in cryptosporidiosis notifications. The highest rate of infection is in children under five and...

Preschoolers with anxiety are more likely to struggle to bond with educators, study notes
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 2, 2020

Children who experience sadness and anxiety during their preschool years are more likely to experience relationships that deteriorate with their preschool teachers, a University of Alberta (U of A) researcher has found. PhD candidate Brenna Zatto has explored emotional...

Centrelink immunisation glitch denies 'thousands' of eligible families childcare subsidy
ABC News - Jessica Longbottom - March 2, 2020

A Centrelink bungle in which parents are being wrongly accused of not immunising their children is estimated to be leaving thousands of families hundreds of dollars out of pocket. The glitch, which Centrelink has told parents is an "IT error", means some families are not receiving...

Glen Waverley childcare centre on Ferntree Gully Road to be cleared for sale to developer
Herald Sun - Andrew Rogers, Monash Leader - March 2, 2020

A childcare centre on a huge Glen Waverley block will be bulldozed to make way for a major housing development. The non-profit Bestchance Family Child Care on Ferntree Gully Rd will be scrapped, with a housing or aged care development tipped to take its place. Commercial...

Ravenswood girl, 5, left with strangers 40km from home
The Examiner (TAS) - Ryan Young - March 1, 2020

An after school care provider and bus company are to blame for a five-year-old Ravenswood girl ending up 40 kilometres from home on a bus with strangers, the child's mother says. Charlotte Gleeson fell asleep while she was on a Tassielink bus bound for a Northern Children's Network...