Child Care News
Expanded RAT tests, reporting requirements: COVID-19 update for Vic services
The Sector - Freya Lucas - January 11, 2022Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Victoria have been updated about rapid antigen testing (RAT), reporting requirements for confirmed and probable cases, and COVID-19 management via an email from the Department of Education and Training...
Australia needs a national plan for children, schools and COVID-19
The Sydney Morning Herald - By Asha Bowen and Sharon Goldfeld - January 11, 2022Early childhood education and care is by far the hardest and therefore needs our greatest attention. To date, there is no COVID vaccine for under fives, and the sector relies heavily on young, female staff, who are over-represented in case numbers in the current COVID...
Childcare should be returning to normal this week, but instead it’s facing a crisis
The Sydney Morning Herald - Lisa Bryant - January 10, 2022In the third year of a pandemic one would think that public policy would be being made sensibly, with the benefit of hindsight. Not so far as childcare policy goes. Decisions are being made too late, policy implementation is overly complex, changes are communicated...
Childcare sector calls for support as Omicron wave, Vaccine booster rollout create new problems
The Canberra Times - Olivia Ireland - January 10, 2022Moving into a COVID-normal phase is the next big step for the early childhood education and care sector, which is calling out for more support to better protect Canberra's youngest members of the community. Wonderschool Early Learning Centre operations manager...
Booster mandates, RAHT processes and isolation rules – what NSW ECEC needs to know
The Sector - Freya Lucas - January 10, 2022The New South Wales Department of Education shared an update over the weekend, providing clarification and updates around rapid antigen home testing (RAHT), booster vaccinations and the rules for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector around isolation...
How Illawarra care centres protect kids from COVID
Illawarra Mercury - Zoe Cartwright - January 9, 2022The COVID-19 pandemic is now a "runaway freight train," Big Fat Smile CEO Jenni Hutchins says. The child care centres are facing a number of challenges in the attempt to protect the youngest members of our community from COVID-19. "Children aged nought to five...
Covid-19 childcare centre closures as Omicron leaves workers sick or isolating
The Daily Telegraph - Julie Cross - January 7, 2022As of January 7, there are 439 childcare centres closed across Australia due to a health emergency. A further 89 are closed due to a localised issue, including school holiday closures. The majority of centres closed due to Covid are located in NSW (322), followed by Victoria (48)...
New program to help parents support their child's mental health
Department of Health - January 7, 2022Parents of young children will get help to build their parenting skills under a new Morrison Government-funded national program grant opportunity opening today. The Parenting Education and Support Program will enable all parents of children up to 11 years of age...
Push to save shift-working families
Whyalla News - Louis Mayfield - January 7, 2022Whyalla's shift-working families are up in arms over a recent change to how childcare bookings are made, with many saying the shift from fortnightly to weekly bookings has made centres inaccessible. Local mother Wenona Reddaway-Worth recently started a petition...
Melbourne suburbs with worst preschool attendance rates
Herald Sun - Olivia Jenkins - January 7, 2021Preschool attendance rates in Melbourne’s west have plummeted to the lowest in a decade, raising concerns children could fall behind later at school. New figures released by Victoria University’s Mitchell Institute reveal suburbs in Brimbank most drastically trail...
More than 30 SA childcare centres shut due to Covid
The Advertiser - Gabriel Polychronis - January 6, 2021Staff members and children testing positive for Covid-19 have forced dozens of childcare centres across South Australia to close temporarily. Australian childcare giant Goodstart Early Learning has warned the sector will struggle unless testing results are turned...
Sessional kinders in Victoria to receive specialist COVID funding
The Sector - Freya Lucas - January 6, 2022Kindergartens across Victoria will receive special help to stay COVIDSafe thanks to a minimum funding guarantee announced yesterday by Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt. Specifically for sessional kindergarten services delivering funded Three-Year-Old...
Childcare centres closing, waiting with toddlers in testing lines: 2022 life for parents
Women's Agenda - January 5, 2022Parents of young kids hoping for an easier start to the working year have already been dealt a blow with childcare centres closing and the threat of the school year being disrupted yet again. Almost 270 childcare centres had already closed in NSW on Tuesday according...
Hundreds of childcare centres forced to close as staff, families enter Covid-19 isolation
News.com.au - Catie McLeod - January 5, 2022The federal authority that oversees the sector, the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, has identified the bulk of the closures are in NSW, which reported a record 35,054 new Covid-19 cases on Wednesday. The ACECQA marked 265 centres in NSW...
Toowoomba subdivision, childcare centre planned for land in growing area of Meringandan West
The Chronicle - Tom Gillespie - January 5, 2022A growing community northwest of Toowoomba could soon be home to hundreds more families and a new childcare centre, as part of a developer’s plans. Applicant Dobell Developments Pty Ltd, which is owned by Gold Coast man Doug Lomas, submitted plans to the...
