Child Care News
Experts fear the 'stranger danger' message is being overlooked after 'shocking' results of park experiment
Nine News - June 12, 2018Many childcare centres have stopped doing stranger danger talks, concerned they frighten children, but the results of a social experiment carried out by the TODAY Show with the help of a former police officer will shock parents. It's a frightening reminder of how trusting children...
When is the best age to start school? How about 7?
Sydney Morning Herald - Pasi Sahlberg - June 12, 2018One of the biggest questions parents face is when to send their child to school. There are many factors to consider in Australia: is the child ready, will he/she be the youngest in the class, what kind of school, can we afford high child care fees, what are other mothers and...
Labor's childcare policy would blow out to $1 billion according to Turnbull government modelling
Daily Telegraph - Sharri Markson - June 12, 2018TURNBULL government modelling estimates that Labor's childcare policy would blow out in cost by $1 billion, with no incentive to get mums back into the workforce linked to rebates. Labor voted against the federal government's "activity test" for childcare subsidies...
Moral development: children become more caring and inclusive as they age
The Conversation - Karri Neldner & Dan Crimston - June 12, 2018Schools track and nurture the academic development of children, measuring literacy and numeracy against a bell curve. But what about children's moral development? A new study has found this also develops over time, and there's a lot parents can do to help it along. Our team...
Doubts over quality ratings for childcare centres
Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - June 11, 2018Almost a third of childcare centres in NSW have not been re-assessed under the National Quality Framework for at least four years and many of those still have the same ratings they were awarded in 2012, when the standard was introduced. Almost 4 per cent of approved services in NSW...
1 in 3 families still aren't signed up to the new Child Care Subsidy - will you miss out?
ABC.net.au - Sabra Lane - June 11, 2018Around 350,000 families who are eligible to receive the new childcare payment may not get a cent - because they are yet to fill in the necessary online forms. Despite the package being introduced to Parliament in 2016, one in three families still has not signed up to the new...
Childcare changes 'a missed opportunity'
Nine.com.au - June 11, 2018But submissions from childcare organisations to a parliamentary red tape committee suggest the new subsidy won't reduce complexity but will create new problems for both providers and families. Three weeks before changes are due to be introduced, nearly a third of families...
Childcare fee relief for NSW families only three weeks away
The Daily Telegraph - Matthew Benns - June 11, 2018A TYPICAL South Australian family with two children in childcare will be up to $2800 a year better off under a new system launching next month, modelling reveals. But thousands of families are yet to sign up for the new system, putting their payments at risk. The saving of $1400...
Catholic schools seek green light to build kindergartens in Queensland
The Courier Mail - Lauren Martyn-Jones - June 11, 2018CATHOLIC schools want to the opportunity to dip into their capital funds to build more kindergartens on school grounds, as the demand for early learning programs grow. Currently, state and federal governments dictate the capital funding they provide to Catholic school bodies...
Goodstart Early Learning to stop charging in 12-hour blocks
News.com.au - Lauren Martyn-Jones - June 10, 2018THE country's largest childcare provider will no longer make all parents pay for a full 12 hours care a day, regardless of the hours their children attend a centre. From July 2, when the Federal Government's new childcare system comes into effect, Goodstart Early Learning will begin...
'No Jab, No Play' laws for childcare centres and schools delayed
Perth Now - Regina Titelius - June 10, 2018Federal Health Minister Greg Hunt has now accused his WA counterpart, Roger Cook, of "sitting on his hands" by not introducing State-based legislation to have tougher rules. But Mr Cook said "considerable work" to develop a national framework for new rules could be "wasted"...
Another controversial childcare project scuttled by Brisbane City Council
The Courier Mail - Brendan O'Malley - June 10, 2018RESIDENTS in Goldie St, The Gap, are celebrating after Council rejected a bid to build a controversial C & K-backed childcare centre on their street. But now they have a new battle on their hands after developer Ashvan Investments Unit Trust immediately appealed, last Friday...
Childcare workers allegedly unpaid for a year of work
Sydney Morning Herald - Anna Patty - June 8, 2018The Fair Work Ombudsman is taking legal action against a Sydney childcare operator that allegedly failed to pay two migrant workers for a year of work. The owner and operator of the centre and his company face the Federal Circuit Court for allegedly treating two workers as trainees when...
Quadrant JAGs after school care provider pre-auction
Financial Review - Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald & Julie-anne Sprague - June 8, 2018Quadrant Private Equity is set to buy outside school hours care provider Junior Adventures Group. Street Talk can reveal the Sydney-based private equity firm will pay more than $100 million for a majority stake in the company and will invest alongside existing JAG shareholders Advent Partners...
Child care package promises more transparency
The Advocate - Senator Simon Birmingham - June 7, 2018The reality is that for years now, hardworking Australian families have battled with a broken child care system – a system with considerable uncertainty, where families have struggled with exorbitant child care costs that dictate how much and for how long parents work. On top of this, families...
