Child Care News
Anti-vaxxer teacher in Victoria seeks to infect kids with measles
Herald Sun - Aneeka Simonis - February 26, 2018A PRIVATE school teacher seemingly sought to deliberately infect her children with the deadly measles virus. The anti-vaccination teacher appears to have used an online post to encourage parents of infected children to "share" the highly contagious disease with her kids. Her shocking post came...
Private equity-backed childcare operator up for sale; Luminis hired
Financial Review - Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald & Joyce Moullakis - February 26, 2018Little more than two years after snaring childcare operator Affinity Education in a bruising takeover battle, turnaround specialists Anchorage Capital Partners is set to put the business back on the sale block. Street Talk can reveal Anchorage has tapped Luminis Partners to test buyer...
Australian students go backwards in maths, reading and science: report
The Age - Pallavi Singhal - February 25, 2018It also found that Australia ranks in the bottom third of OECD countries for preschool attendance, with only 83.3 per cent of all four and five-year-olds not in primary school attending preschool. Other concerning findings include a fall in the proportion of children who are fully immunised...
Mental illness among Australian children rises, immunisation rates fall
The Australian - Rachel Baxendale - February 25, 2018Immunisation rates for two-year-olds have dropped from 92.7 per cent in 2008 to 90.5 per cent in December 2017, and Australia ranked near the bottom in the OECD for Measles and Whooping Cough immunisation. Rates of mental illness had also increased. The news for older...
It's cheaper to rent a place than put your youngster in childcare
Courier Mail - Domanii Cameron - February 24, 2018BRISBANE parents are paying more to keep their children in childcare than they are to keep a roof over their heads, with costs of more than $130 per day in some centres. According to careforkids.com.au, Guardian Early Learning Centre on Queen Street charges $140 per day...
Scrimp, save and borrow: how parents pay for private school fees
Sydney Morning Herald - John Collett - February 23, 2018The study found the costs of educating two children, which includes any childcare, makes up about 6 per cent of a low-income family's total expenditure, about 9 per cent of a middle-income family and about 21 per cent of the expenditure of a high- income family. "In dollar...
Objections to childcare centre won't count where it matters
The Courier Mail - Brendan O'Malley - February 23, 2018Mrs Rogers said residents were now scrambling to lodge a compliant e-petition by the March 1 closing date. A council spokesman said that under the State's Planning Act, only written submissions made during the consultation period entitled submitters to Court appeal rights. "Council takes all...
CHILD CARE SUBSIDY: Warwick parents could be worse off
Warwick Daily News - Marian Faa - February 23, 2018The Department of Education and Training has launched a new online estimator to calculate how much money you will receive to send your kids to childcare. Little Tackers Early Childhood Centres nominated supervisor Debby Cain said many parents were unsure of how the changes would affect them...
Arena REIT set for 'sweet spot' in childcare funding
The Australian - Nick Lenaghan - February 22, 2018Arena REIT expects its $593 million portfolio of childcare facilities will be well placed to capture the flow-on effect of increased federal funding to the sector. The property trust booked a net operating profit for the 2018 half-year of $16.8 million, up 18 per cent on the previous corresponding period...
Andrews Government attacks federal counterparts for 'dudding' Victoria on occasional childcare
Herald Sun - Monique Hore - February 22, 2018FUNDING for occasional childcare could be on the chopping block, in the latest stoush between the state and federal governments. The Andrews Government is expected to go on the attack today over the future of the National Occasional Care Program - due to expire in July...
Play-based learning can set your child up for success at school and beyond
The Conversation - Natalie Robertson, Anne-Marie Morrissey & Elizabeth Rouse - February 22, 2018One approach gaining momentum in the early years of primary school curriculum is play-based learning. Research shows play-based learning enhances children's academic and developmental learning outcomes. It can also set your child up for success in the 21st century by...
Connected Beginnings program launched in Ceduna
West Coast Sentinel - February 21, 2018The federal government has committed $12 million over three years from the Indigenous Australians' Health Program to implement the health component of Connected Beginnings, plus around $10 million per year from the Community Child Care Fund to support the education...
Partnership aims to increase nourishment for young children with new menu planning tool
Bendigo Advertiser - Anthony Pinda - February 21, 2018A national partnership has developed a program that provides expert nutritional knowledge for cooks and food handlers within the childcare services industry as an intervention to prevent obesity. Healthy Australia chief executive officer Ruby O'Rourke said the program was...
ABC launches new digital station ABC KIDS listen
Radio Info - February 21, 2018ABC KIDS characters. ABC KIDS listen is aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework for Australia, the national early childhood curriculum for childhood educators, that encourages children to learn through play. The new station aims to enhance learning, imagination, cognitive and physical activity...
Super during parental leave the new 'benchmark' for family friendly
Financial Review - Misa Han - February 21, 2018More employers are stepping up their game to make their workplace more family friendly, by paying employees super while they are on parental leave and actively supporting flexible work options. When Megan Cross, a senior regulatory compliance manager for HSBC Australia, had her first...
