Child Care News

'We've all got a stake in this': Why striking childcare staff will get my support
The Age - Miki Perkins - September 5, 2017

We owe an enormous debt to the fabulous educators – overwhelmingly women – who look after our children with such care and diligence when we are at work. If these educators walk off the job on Thursday to join a national strike and call for better pay, I'll back them. We should accept...

Gender isn't the only reason childcare workers are paid poorly
Nine.com.au - Jo Abi - September 4, 2017

The truth is that a male early educator will be paid the same low wage as a female early educator. That's because as a nation, we grossly undervalue the education of young children, in particular those under five. As Gibbons explains, it shouldn't be this way. "Historically we don't value...

Xplor and KindyNow bring tech to the toddler market
The Sydney Morning Herald - Cara Waters - September 4, 2017

The app is now the foundation of Woodland's business Xplor, which provides an online platform so parents can interact with their children in real-time during the day and childcare centres and schools can manage their operations. Xplor is one of a growing number of businesses...

Childcare workers to walk-off job Thursday
News.com.au - Rebecca Gredley - September 3, 2017

Over the past six years Kylie Grey's salary has increased by just $4 an hour, which she says can't even buy a cup of coffee. The early childhood education worker will walk off the job on Thursday with thousands of others across the country to demand higher wages. It will be the biggest...

Bilingual app program for preschoolers is being expanded
The Mercury - Annika Smethurst - September 3, 2017

A PLAY-BASED app that gets preschool-aged children interested in foreign languages has been such a hit, the federal Government is planning to dramatically expand the program. Preschoolers surprised their parents by using Japanese, French and Arabic words at home after using...

Australia right to block 'world's number one anti-vaxxer' Kent Heckenlively
The Age - September 3, 2017

Personal liberty is a cornerstone of Australia. Freedom of expression is particularly precious. But there are cases where community safety compels limits on freedom. The federal government has reasonably decided that one such case is the dangerous rubbish spouted by the self...

Sex crime crackdown proposes jail over 'failing to protect children'
The Daily Telegraph - Natasha Bita - September 2, 2017

TEACHERS, childcare workers and even volunteer sports coaches could be jailed for failing to protect children from sexual abuse, under proposed tougher child protection laws. The royal commission into child sexual abuse wants the state government to prosecute anyone working with...

Families spending more on childcare than mortgages as costs skyrocket
A Current Affair - August 31, 2017

Families are struggling to keep up with ballooning childcare costs, with some paying more for childcare than they do their mortgage. The high prices are even circling around the bite the daycares, with some parents racking up thousands of dollars in debt before switching to a different centre…

Rogue Mitcham doctor John Piesse to stop treating patients
Herald Sun - Grant McArthur and Lucie van den Berg - August 31, 2017

HUNDREDS of children with immunisation exemptions may be booted from kindergartens and childcare, or forced to have the shots, if those exemptions are found to be invalid or to have been granted by a suspect doctor. State and federal health authorities are reviewing the validity of vaccination...

Australia bars 'world's no.1 anti-vaxxer' from entry
Yahoo News - August 31, 2017

An American who describes himself as the "world's #1 anti-vaxxer" has been barred from entering Australia, officials said Thursday, in a further crackdown on the anti-immunisation movement after outbreaks of preventable diseases. Kent Heckenlively had outlined plans to travel to Australia...

Outrage as Secret Cameras Found in Kindergarten Classroom at Ashtonfield Public School
Daily Telegraph - Bruce McDougall - August 31, 2017

A FURORE has erupted over the discovery of secret surveillance cameras in a kindergarten classroom that parents fear were used to spy on their children while doing lessons. One mum has claimed cameras were found "hidden in a clock and game console" as outraged parents took to social media...

Worker stood down after child at Edithvale Family and Children's Centre suffers anaphylactic shock
Moorabbin Kingston Leader - Donna Carton - August 31, 2017

A CHILD with a severe food allergy went into anaphylactic shock after being given food containing traces of dairy at a childcare centre today. Staff at the Edithvale Family and Children's Centre, who noticed a rash and swelling developing around the child's mouth, administered an epi-pen.

Future Brisbane: New schools to revolutionise education in Queensland
Courier Mail - Emmaline Stigwood - August 31, 2017

Catering for a digital-savvy mega cohort of more than half a million students will require the construction of 87 schools – at about $40 million each – in southeast Queensland. These will include new hi-tech vertical inner-city colleges and suburban campuses connected to childcare centres, cafes...

'Making the ladies happy': When bringing generations together is child's play
The Age - Miki Perkins - August 29, 2017

Australia is yet to follow international examples that include a preschool inside a nursing home, such as the Intergenerational Learning Center in West Seattle, in the US. But there are playgroups, childcare centres and kindergartens that have regular reciprocal visits from nearby...

Tom Gleisner and wife Mary Muirhead on the growth of their Learning for Life centre in Kew
Herlad Sun - Greg Gliddon - August 29, 2017

As co-founder and director of Learning For Life, a Kew-based centre providing early intervention to autistic children as young as 18 months, Mary has been the driving force behind the not-for-profit organisation giving families and children a chance to live as normal lives as possible...