Gastro outbreak in WA childcare centres, nursing homes sparks health warning
ABC News - Georgia Loney & Eliza Laschon - September 6, 2016A sharp increase in outbreaks of gastroenteritis in Western Australian childcare centres and nursing homes has prompted a warning from the state's health authorities. In the past six weeks there have been six reported outbreaks at childcare centres and 19 at nursing homes across the state...
A Value Investor's Guide to G8 Education Ltd - Part II
Motley Fool - Sean O'Neill - September 6, 2016A week ago I took a look at G8 Education Ltd's (ASX: GEM) costs and depreciation both compared to its historical norms, and compared to other competitors on the ASX. I found that by and large, G8's costs had remained relatively stable until the sharp rise in costs that rocked shares a few...
Gender pay strikes to shut childcare centres
Sydney Morning Herald - Nick Toscano - September 6, 2016Children in daycare centres will be sent home early on Thursday, as some of the sector's 80,000 mostly female staff strike to narrow the large pay gap between men and women. Several childcare centres in Melbourne's north and south-east will be forced to shut soon after 3pm, and staff will suspend...
Lunches, homework and drop offs: the rise of the part-time power dad
Financial Review - Patrick Durkin & Lucille Keen - September 3, 2016The CEOs and executives are part of the small but growing number of part-time power dads, firing off emails late at night or from the car as they drop the kids off at school, sporting events or help with the homework, as they juggle the competing demands of work and family life. The number of...
Plan for parents to check kindergarten standards
The Mercury - Matt Smith - September 3, 2016TASMANIAN parents will be able to compare the quality standards of all government kindergartens for the first time under a plan being pushed by the State Government. Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff said all government kindergartens would fall under the National Quality Standards...
North Perth childcare facility fined $40k over alleged abduction, sexual abuse of two children
Perth Now - Kate Campbell - September 3, 2016STAFF at a North Perth childcare facility raised the alarm with their boss that a man was hanging around and smoking near playing children on the same day two kids were allegedly abducted from the centre and sexually assaulted. That revelation was detailed in a State Administrative Tribunal...
Is it time for Australia to provide preschool education for all three-year-olds?
ABC News - Stacy Fox - September 2, 2016There is a clear move internationally towards delivery of two years of preschool, with early education being understood as a critical investment in human capital. Many European countries, including France, Germany and Norway, have provided universal preschool for three and four-year-olds for...
Education expert backs Tasmanian move to lower school starting age
ABC News - Emilie Gramenz - September 2, 2016An international education expert has thrown his support behind a Tasmanian Government move to lower the school starting age by six months, saying it could help the state improve its poor educational outcomes. Oxford University Professor Ted Melhuish was invited to visit Tasmania by the State...
New parliament test for childcare package
News.com.au - Rashida Yosufzai - September 2, 2016The federal government has launched talks with the Senate crossbench on cuts to family payment bonuses to be used to pay for a reintroduced child care package. Social Services Minister Christian Porter has already kicked-off negotiations over the legislation to phase out family tax benefit Part A...
Hands-on dads happiest, most satisfied, new research shows
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - September 1, 2016HANDS-on Dads are the happiest, new research shows. Fathers who spend more time on childcare are the most satisfied with their relationship with their children, a study from the Australian Institute of Family Studies has found. Dads spend on average 13 hours a week looking after their kids...
Turnbull loses round one of Senate bout
The Australian - David Crowe - August 30, 2016Senate powerbrokers have spurned Malcolm Turnbull's opening gambit in the first battle of the new parliament, challenging more than $6.9 billion in welfare savings that are meant to pay for a landmark childcare package. Angry at the Prime Minister's treatment of the upper house, the...
A Value Investor's Guide to G8 Education Ltd
Motley Fool - Sean O'Neill - August 30, 2016After G8 Education Ltd's (ASX: GEM) poor results two weeks ago spooked the market, I had a more in-depth look at the company's operating history. In particular, I wanted to see how the company contained its costs over the past five years, to see whether February''s blow-out was an aberration or...
Paying more than $115.50 a day for childcare? Coalition reforms leave you dudded
Sydney Morning Herald - Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon - August 28, 2016It's not that childcare isn't on policymakers' radar – it is. The government sees it as an economic issue, because better childcare would boost women's workforce participation and therefore national productivity. But it's also an issue about access to early childhood education. This is hugely beneficial...
Canberra-based program aims to boost children's literacy levels
The Canberra Times - Andrew Brown - August 28, 2016While literacy rates are on the decline in Australian schools, work is under way in Canberra to give children key reading skills long before they start school. Run by charity The Smith Family, the Let's Read program aims at fostering a love of reading in pre-school aged children. Its team leader in...
One in four NSW childcare centres failing to meet national standards: report
ABC News - Lee Brooks - August 27, 2016The Federal Government is urging the New South Wales Government to do more to make the state's childcare centres compliant with the latest national standards introduced four years ago. The latest National Quality Framework Snapshot issued by the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality...