Child Care News
‘I’ve never stopped feeling lucky’: Gaining placement for my kids in council-run childcare changed my life
Women's Agenda - Dr Neela Janakiramanan - January 5, 2022In late December 2009 I was holding a baby and sobbing into the phone. At the time my profession didn’t offer easy maternity leave pathways for medical specialists in training and many colleagues had been threatened with dismissal from their own training programs...
Hundreds of NSW childcare centres shut due to COVID
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - January 4, 2022Almost 270 early childhood centres in NSW were shut due to COVID-19 on Tuesday, as the sector braced for further closures due to staff illness, causing more headaches for parents at the start of the working year. The sector is also preparing for stress over fees and...
Big investors back developer’s plans for $400m childcare fund
Financial Review - Larry Schlesinger - January 4, 2022High net worth investors, family offices and a Queensland wholesale investor have backed South Australian developer and fund manager Accord’s plans to build a $300 million - $400 million childcare centre fund, after piling into its first capital raising. Accord, established...
Kindergartens set to grow across the state
Star Weekly - Sarah Oliver - January 4, 2022The state government has also invested almost $5 billion to deliver a full 15 hours of three-year-old Kinder to children across the state. As part of this roll-out, the government is co-investing $1.68 billion with the early childhood sector to build and expand kindergarten...
Supported employment ECT course list expands in Victoria in response to extra demand
The Sector - Freya Lucas - January 4, 2022Aspiring early childhood teachers (ECTs) in Victoria will receive further support thanks to an expansion of supported employment-based university courses in early childhood education announced over the weekend by Minister for Early Childhood Ingrid Stitt. An extra...
Vaccine, asymptomatic cases to boost kids’ immunity ahead of school return
The Sydney Morning Herald - Mary Ward - January 4, 2022From next Monday, children aged five to 11 will become eligible for vaccination against COVID-19. They can receive the vaccine at NSW Health clinics, GPs and pharmacies, with two doses administered eight weeks apart. In the past seven days, NSW recorded 7297...
RAHT Test to Stay program available for NSW ECEC services with positive COVID-19 cases
The Sector - Freya Lucas - January 4, 2022The COVID-19 management landscape for early childhood education and care services in New South Wales will change from today, with the introduction of the Rapid Antigen Home Testing (RAHT) Test to Stay program for those services who have a positive case...
Kearneys Spring childcare centre proposed by HomeCo next to Toowoomba location
The Chronicle - Tom Gillespie - January 3, 2022A new childcare centre for more than 100 kids has been planned next to a major homewares centre in a growing Toowoomba suburb. Home Consortium last month submitted plans to the Toowoomba Regional Council to build a new facility next door to its major...
Vic puts $32m to upskill kinder workforce
Riverine Herald - AAP Newswire - January 2, 2022Victoria will fund an extra 1330 early childhood teaching places to boost the workforce and support the state's rollout of kindergarten for three-year-olds. The state government announced on Sunday $32 million would be invested over three years to upskill...
Kinder funding a welcome boost
Star Weekly - Tara Murray - January 1, 2022The preschool reform agreement confirms up to $514 million of commonwealth funding for four-year-old kindergarten in Victoria from 2022 to 2025. Federal Acting Education and Youth Minister Stuart Robert said the agreement will ensure Victorian children have...
Edge Early Learning secures $25m investment to fund future growth
The Sector - Freya Lucas - December 17, 2021Queensland based early childhood education and care (ECEC) provider Edge Early Learning has secured $25 million of funding from HEAL Partners, an Australia-based private equity fund specialising in Health, Education and Lifestyle sector investments. The funding...
ACECQA reminder that language is power, in line with Shaping our Future strategy
The Sector - Freya Lucas - December 16, 2021ACECQA is actively working on many of the 21 actions outlined in the Shaping our Future: A ten-year strategy to ensure a sustainable, high-quality children’s education and care workforce 2022–2031 report, including recognising the importance of the words...
Call for Anglicans to scale back Deakin child care centre proposal
Riotact - Ian Bushnell - December 16, 2021The Anglican Church’s child care centre proposal for its St Luke’s site in Deakin is too big and will cause traffic chaos in the quiet residential streets around it, according to the residents’ group. In a development application submission, Deakin Residents...
Vic ECEC services asked for their help to spread the word about COVID vax for under 5s
The Sector - Freya Lucas - December 16, 2021Victorian children aged between 5 and 11 years will be eligible for vaccination against COVID-19 from 10 January 2022, including five year olds who attend early childhood education and care (ECEC) services. As part of messaging from the Government...
‘Heartbreaking’: New hurdle for parent-run after-school care centres
The Age - Caitlin Fitzsimmons - December 14, 2021Dozens of before and after-school care centres run by parents could be forced to compete in commercial tenders from next year, under a decision announced by the NSW government in the final week of the school year. Parent-incorporated centres have until...
