Child Care News
Early days, but we’ve found a way to lift the IQ and resilience of Australia’s most vulnerable children
The Conversation - Jeff Borland & Yi-Ping Tseng - July 4, 2019What happens in our first three years profoundly influences the rest of our lives. Children who encounter extreme adversity in those early years - including prolonged exposure to physical or sexual abuse and living in a highly stressful family environment - are likely to suffer major impairments to...
Steller co-founder Simon Pitard's rebranding exposed on Twitter
Australian Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - July 3, 2019This week, Steller Developments and 12 related companies including Steller Projects, Steller Child Care and Steller Restaurants were placed in the hands of receivers at McGrathNicol at the behest of Asian hedge fund OCP, which provided funding to the Steller Group...
Family day care service axed by Monash Council
Herald Sun - Geordie Cowan - July 3, 2019More than 100 families will have to find a new provider after Monash Council decided to scrap its family day care service. A declining number of both families and educators using the service, combined with a lack of Federal Government funding, led to the axing after it was unable to continue without...
Gold Coast police officer visits child care centre to share stories from on the job
Gold Coast Bulletin - Annie Perets - July 3, 2019Kids at a Gold Coast childcare centre found themselves inside a police vehicle - but it’s not because they were in trouble with the law. Police visited the youngsters at Foxwell Magic in Coomera to give the kids a taste of what life in the force is like. Senior Constable Kirstin Hennessy, from the Surfers Paradise station...
Runaway Bay Kindyland closes for week after maintenance worker washed roof with high pressure hose
Gold Coast Bulletin - Lea Emery - July 3, 2019A Runaway Bay childcare centre was forced to close for at least week after a maintenance worker cleaned an asbestos laden roof with a high pressure washer, a Southport court was told. Runaway Bay Kindyland was left with asbestos contaminated flakes throughout the centre after the cleaning...
Newly released flu app has applications to prevent gastro outbreaks in ECEC services
The Sector - Freya Lucas - July 3, 2019The InFLUenza outbreak Communication, Advice and REporting app, or FluCARE, has been developed by a team from the Public Health Unit at Sydney Local Health District, with designers noting the potential for the app to be adapted to respond to other illness outbreaks “like a gastroenteritis outbreak in a childcare centre...
We need human oversight of machine decisions to stop robo-debt drama
Canberra Times - Anna Huggins - July 3, 2019Federal MP Amanda Rishworth raised concerns over the weekend that Australia could be headed for another robo-debt ordeal after the government reportedly confirmed the Australian Taxation Office will use data matching to audit childcare rebates. Government agencies increasingly use automated tools...
NSW Government's $120 million investment in Before/After School Care
Nambucca Guardian - July 2, 2019Parents can now have their say on the NSW Government's Before and After School Care plan, with an 'expressions of interest' page launched on Service NSW. Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell said the NSW Government was ramping up Before and After School Care to...
Owners take $22 million in a year from Geelong children centre sales
News.com.au - Peter Farago - July 2, 2019Owners have raked in more than $22 million from childcare asset sales in the Geelong region in the past year. The figure emerged after a Curlewis centre leased to ASX-listed industry giant G8 Education sold for $4.815 million, representing at 6.38 per cent yield...
Gwelup childcare centre gets green light
Stirling Times - Tyler Brown - July 2, 2019Revised plans for a two-storey childcare centre in Gwelup have been approved. The Metro North-West Joint Development Assessment Panel first considered the $3.3 million proposal for 50 and 52 Porter Street – opposite Lake Gwelup pre-primary and primary schools – in May but deferred making...
Second round of 2019 ELSA STEM workshops held in Cairns
The Sector - Freya Lucas - July 2, 2019Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) is a play-based digital learning program for preschool aged children, designed to support them to explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts. Educators from around Australia involved in its pilot trial recently gathered in Cairns for...
50% of families have limited awareness of service ratings, new Kindy Now survey shows
The Sector - Freya Lucas - July 2, 2019A recent survey conducted with 648 parents by KindyNow found that nearly 50 per cent of those surveyed had little to no awareness of the service ratings under the National Quality Framework. The findings will be of interest to those working in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector...
Minister promises to resolve early intervention NDIS delays
The Sector - Freya Lucas - July 2, 2019The Minister for the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) Stuart Robert has outlined a plan to resolve delays and backlogs for children living with disability in accessing Early Childhood Early Intervention (ECEI) supports through the NDIS. The role of early intervention in the life of a child living with disability is...
Childcare centre duo snap up Melbourne offices on 4.4 pc yield
Australian Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - July 2, 2019The Doncaster Hill office building at 90-96 Tram Road - opposite Westfield Doncaster - was bought by Shan Kuo and her husband Mike Wu, the owners of Avenues Early Learning which operates 15 childcare centres in Brisbane. Last year the couple struck gold when they sold nine Avenues...
The system seems to punish those who seek vocational training
The Courier Mail - Jessica Marszalek - July 2, 2019Queensland is crying out for more mechanics, electrical engineers, child care workers, onshore gas drillers, plumbers, bakers and furniture makers. But perversely, it’s more affordable to study a Bachelor of Arts in Ancient Greek and Latin than skill up for the state’s most needed jobs...
