Child Care News
Childcare sector defends ratios against Senate report
The Australian - Rebecca Urban - August 22, 2018Onerous staff-to-child ratios could be scrapped and childcare worker qualifications relaxed, after a Senate report questioned the evidence for stringent regulation of the childcare industry. In a move that is set to attract the ire of early childhood educators, the Senate...
Childcare workers deserve better pay - this is what I do all day
ABC News - Tracy Bell - August 22, 2018At 32, I made the decision to move into early childhood education and care, for what I thought would be a career where I would be regarded as a professional, respected for the work I did and be able to make a difference in the lives of children. I attained a diploma and advanced...
Researchers urge phonics lessons for all preschoolers
The Australian - Rebecca Urban - August 21, 2018Education researchers are calling for explicit phonics instruction to be rolled out during preschool, following a study that revealed four-year-olds showed improved reading readiness after just 13½ hours of lessons. The research, conducted by Flinders University, found children...
Arena REIT prepares for changes in childcare sector
Financial Review - Nick Lenaghan - August 21, 2018Childcare centre landlord Arena REIT expects to deliver a 5.5 per cent lift in distributions in the current year as it weathers changes in the sector and a looming peak in supply of places. The $600 million property trust - which lifted its distributable income by 21 per cent to...
A new look food allergen portal provides best practice resources on managing allergens
Food & Beverage - August 20, 2018A new look food allergen portal, the result of a collaboration between industry, consumer and government stakeholders, is providing best practice resources on managing allergens in food. Food Standards Australia New Zealand CEO, Mark Booth, said the portal, which was ...
Parents urged to bring children to Woollahra council meeting to show lack of childcare in eastern suburbs
Daily Telegraph - Emily Macdonald - August 20, 2018Woollahra council unanimously agreed to investigate funding a council run childcare facility in the wake of the closure of the beloved Benevolent Society run Sir Philip Baxter centre. Councillors did not debate the motion, voting immediately to pass it...
Cash benefits plan will aim to boost NT's population
NT News - Phillippa Butt - August 19, 2018FINANCIAL incentives will be offered to certain workers if they move to the Northern Territory under a new plan to boost the population. The Sunday Territorian can reveal the NT Government will unveil its population growth strategy this week, with a target of returning the growth...
Federal Government's new childcare rebate mess hits families
The Western Australian - Rhianna Mitchell - August 18, 2018The roll-out of the Federal Government's new childcare subsidy has been described as time-consuming, frustrating and a "disgusting mess" in a survey of childcare centre operators carried out by the industry's peak body. Almost seven weeks since the introduction of the CCS...
Go Kindy founder strikes multi-million-dollar deal to sell 11 centres in NSW and ACT to UK-based Busy Bees group
Newcastle Herald - Penelope Green - August 18, 2018FORMER teacher turned childcare entrepreneur Chris Passfield is selling the lion's share of his Go Kindy centres to UK operator Busy Bees in a multi-million-dollar deal. Maitland-raised Mr Passfield is selling 11 Go Kindy childcare centres in NSW and the ACT, including...
Parents warned of distorted Peppa Pig YouTube Kids horror
The Courier Mail - Lanai Scarr - August 18, 2018A THREE-YEAR-OLD Melbourne girl was seconds away from viewing a beheading - embedded within a YouTube Kids clip of Peppa Pig - on her TV. The tech giant is also being blamed for preschool children aged 4 and 5 from New South Wales and Queensland simulating in sexual acts...
Pedagogical thinker in Residence another innovation at Big Fat Smile
Illawarra Mercury - Greg Ellis - August 17, 2018The Pedagogical Thinker in Residence role will involve her developing an educational framework spanning all Big Fat Smile's services for children aged from naught to 12. The framework will enable parents to better understand exactly what their child is learning, providing assurance...
Researchers recognised for their scientific contributions
The University of Newcastle - August 17, 2018Two emerging researchers from the University of Newcastle have been announced as winners of the prestigious 2018 NSW Young Tall Poppy Science Awards, which recognise the achievements of Australia's outstanding young scientific researchers and communicators...
It's time to radically reimagine the role of fathers in workplaces & homes
Women's Agenda - Rob Sturrock - August 17, 2018With little fanfare, a rather special event took place in Canberra last week on the subject of fatherhood. Liana Leach at The ANU, and Amanda Cooklin at La Trobe University, quietly co-hosted a one-day forum on the importance of the role of fathers in caring for children. For the first time...
Anger as Department of Defence reneges on promise to build Medowie child-care centre to help its own
Port Stephen Examiner - Donna Page - August 16, 2018THE Department of Defence already faces a bitter battle with the Hunter community over contamination spilling from Williamtown RAAF Base, now it has reneged on a promise to build child-care services to support its own families. Parents at the Williamtown daycare, pre-school and playgroup...
Childcare developer pushes ahead with plans despite safety concerns
The Courier Mail - Brian Bennion - August 15, 2018THE developers of a childcare centre rejected by council because of the dangers of building next to a school entrance will appeal the decision in court. CCLP Consulting proposed a two-storey, 89 place childcare centre with a basement carpark level next to Marshall Road State...
