Child Care News
Au Pair’s the fix for time-poor parents
The Courier-Mail - Elise Williams - February 16, 2020Time poor parents who once splashed the cash for part-time child care services or nannies are ditching the outdated and overpriced care options, instead opting for live in, full time support for a fraction of the cost. The popularity of live-in help has risen enormously over the last decade...
The face behind the early childhood conference coming to the Illawarra in March
Illawarra Mercury - Tareyn Varley - February 16, 2020Stella Stead has attended and keynoted enough conferences in her 24-year career to know what will send an audience straight to sleep. So when the early childhood consultant decided to turn her educator nights into an all-day conference, she set herself the challenge of...
GPs fed up with schools, clubs sending kids for 'no coronavirus' certificates
The Sydney Morning Herald - Dana McCauley - February 16, 2020GPs are calling on schools, daycare centres and sporting clubs to stop sending children to their practices to ask for certificates declaring them coronavirus-free, saying it is not possible to categorically rule out infection - even with a swab test. "I can't write a letter to say you don't...
Parents juggle kindergarten as they wait for the promise of a childcare centre at every new school
ABC News - Rebecca Turner - February 15, 2020Three-year-old Quinn Boladeras is old enough to go to the kindy run by his local public primary school, but he is staying at day care instead. If he went to the local kindergarten, Quinn's schedule would be different each week, with the local kindy roster of two days one week...
Spring Square: Massive $250m development underway in heart of Bankstown
The Daily Telegraph - Tony Ibrahim, Canterbury-Bankstown Express - February 14, 2020The old site of Bankstown RSL has been knocked down to make way for one of the largest developments the area has seen yet. Spring Square will offer 516 apartments, eleven retail shops, a “health services facility” and a childcare centre. Bankstown is readying to undergo big changes...
Stress in small children separated from their parents may alter genes
Mirage News February 14, 2020Experts in the emotional needs of small children say increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol in babies and small children who are separated from their parents, especially their mothers, could have a long-term genetic impact on future generations. In a commentary published by ...
SNAICC welcomes Federal Gov announcement of Indigenous early childhood strategy
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 14, 2020SNAICC – National Voice for our Children welcomed the announcement earlier this week that the Federal Government will be developing an Indigenous early childhood strategy in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The announcement came in the wake of...
Learning with the learners – new training centre will merge VET and ECEC
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 14, 2020Over the coming months Wodonga TAFE will work with Premier Building and Construction to carry out renovations to combine their early childhood education and care (ECEC) service, Kids on Campus, with training spaces catering for students studying Certificate III and Diploma...
Medical centre fit for childcare landlord Arena
Australian Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - February 13, 2020Arena REIT, the landlord of 223 childcare centres around the country, is steadily diversifying its portfolio with healthcare real estate, with its latest acquisition being a Perth medical facility. News of the acquisition came as Arena posted a 17 per cent lift in its net operating profit ...
Health and developmental needs at outset of schooling predict poorer NAPLAN results in Grade 3
Mirage News - February 13, 2020One in five children starts school with emerging health and developmental needs identified by their teachers, and on average goes onto having poorer NAPLAN results in Grade 3, a new study has found. For these kids this is equivalent of being nine months behind in schooling...
‘Grossly unfair’: How Australia’s super system penalises mothers
Yahoo Finance - Lucy Dean - February 13, 2020Australian workers get paid superannuation payments during paid sick leave, paid long service leave and paid annual leave. But it’s not a legal requirement that Australians receive superannuation when they take paid parental leave, a policy setting Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas ...
The biggest lie new parents are led to believe
Yahoo Lifestyle - Bianca Soldani - February 13, 2020At a time where cost of living means more of us are chained to the workforce for longer, the network of family and friends who would’ve once made up the traditional ‘village’ of yesteryear now have very little time to spare for childcare. Unfortunately, bringing home a new baby ...
Finland is giving mums and dads the same parental leave, and Australia is trailing behind
7News.com.au - Sarah Carson and Jenny Ky - February 13, 2020This week, Finland announced new rules around maternity and paternity leave. In a progressive move, dads will have the same entitlements as mums - getting nearly seven months’ paid leave and a chance to spend more time with their newly born babies. On our shores, Aussie mums...
Skilling South Australia rolls out two initiatives to combat ECEC workforce shortages
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 13, 2020Skilling South Australia, an initiative of the South Australian Government, designed to increase apprenticeships and traineeships leading to lasting careers, and to grow the State’s skilled workforce in preparation for growth sectors and industries, such as early childhood education ...
South West TAFE will include free ECEC courses for the first time in Hamilton
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 13, 2020Those wishing to work in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector have received a boost in their qualification pathway options, with a recent announcement by South West TAFE that they will be offering free ECEC courses for the first time at both their Hamilton and ...
