Child Care News
Keiraville Community Preschool director really concerned about oversupply
Illawarra Mercury - Agron Latifi - August 15, 2017An increasing number of NSW childcare centres that have been around for decades are now going out of business due to too many vacancies. Keiraville Community Preschool, which has been operating since 1952, is safe for the moment but the oversupply issue is definitely on director...
Think Childcare Ltd share price sinks on half-year result release
The Motley Fool - James Mickleboro - August 15, 2017Despite a difficult first-half for the childcare sector, I felt this was a solid result from Think Childcare and feel quite surprised with the share price decline. Think's management labelled the challenging environment as a perfect storm, highlighting three elements which came together...
Tasmanian Government backs away from lowering school starting age
ABC News - August 15, 2017The Tasmanian Government has ditched plans to lower the school starting age to three-and-a-half. Education Minister Jeremy Rockliff used social media to outline a different plan, saying the Government had listened to the community. On Facebook, he explained the Government had...
Queensland childcare centres are breaking down gender stereotypes
The Courier Mail - Jackie Sinnerton - August 14, 2017The gender-neutral shift in early learning has been investigated by Swedish researchers. Findings published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology reveal children in these centres are more likely to play with unfamiliar children of the opposite sex and are less influenced...
Anti-vaxx campaign: Parents share tragic stories of losing babies to help raise immunisation rates
Sunday Telegraph - Jane Hansen - August 13, 2017HEARTBROKEN parents have shared the tragic stories of losing their babies to whooping cough as part of a new national campaign aimed at raising immunisation rates and fighting online anti-vax propaganda. The $5.5 million 'Get the Facts about Immunisation' campaign, launched today...
Reduce rents to bring down childcare fees: Goodstart
Daily Telegraph - Lanai Scarr - August 12, 2017THE country's largest non-profit childcare provider has called on all levels of governments to reduce the cost of rent for childcare facilities as a way to ease prices for parents. Goodstart Early Learning, which runs 645 child care centres around the country, said while wages are the highest cost...
Union poll reveals most Tasmanians reject lowering school starting age
ABC News - Annah Fromberg - August 12, 2017A poll of 1,000 Tasmanians has shown about 75 per cent oppose the Liberal Government's plan to lower the school starting age. The Liberals want to reduce the compulsory school starting age by six months, which would push the voluntary kindergarten starting age down to three and a half...
McKellar childcare site at Walkley Place on the market
Domain - Ray Sparvell - August 11, 2017"There is plenty of demand for childcare centres and it's not showing any signs of slowing down." The Burgess Rawson boss says part of the drive for new centres was that older facilities no longer met modern needs. "A lot of the older facilities were, in essence, child-minding houses," he says...
Grandparents isolated by full time child care; Bega Playability provides respite
Bega District - Alana Beitz - August 11, 2017A growing number of grandparents are sacrificing their retirement plans to provide full time care to their grandchildren. The reasons behind their circumstances are varied, but the isolation of returning to full time child care is shared among them. Older than the other parents at playgroup...
ACCC warns merger between two of the largest after-school care companies could lead to higher fees
ABC News - Ursula Malone - August 11, 2017A proposed merger between two of the nation's largest after-school care companies could result in higher fees and lower quality care, the competition watchdog has found. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has released a negative preliminary report on Camp Australia's bid...
Government, like voters, must live within its means
The Australian - August 11, 2017The failure of most state governments to secure domestic gas supplies is an obvious example. Another is the impact of federal childcare subsidies. However popular, especially with politicians who relish the excellent photo opportunities they offer, subsidies are an incentive for the sector to raise costs, as the...
Talking Point: Evidence shows starting school earlier does not help outcomes
The Mercury - Michelle O'Byrne - August 11, 2017LEADING early childhood expert Steve Biddulph nailed it when commenting on Tasmania's baffling move to lower the school starting age to 3½ years. "Australia as a whole is out of step with the world," Mr Biddulph said nine months ago when the new starting age was being hotly debated...
Government controls put their hands in our pockets
The Australian - David Uren - August 10, 2017Childcare is one of the worst examples. Fees have risen 45 per cent in the past five years, or almost 10 times the average rate of private sector inflation. The childcare quality framework introduced by the Gillard government significantly raised costs by imposing minimum qualifications and staff ratios...
Dads also needed in childcare Campaign for "Families"
Women's Agenda - Kristine Ziwica - August 10, 2017A campaign featuring only mums reinforces the view that childcare is a 'women's issue', rather than a family issue. Just last week a column in the Sydney Morning Herald made the rounds imploring us to stop calculating the costs and benefits of childcare as a percentage of the mother's salary...
Folkestone Education Trust wary of rising childcare costs
Financial Review - Nick Leneghan - August 9, 2017The country's biggest listed owner of childcare properties, Folkestone Education Trust, has warned that the rising cost of living is taking a toll on occupancy, as parents count their pennies. Despite the warning, FET booked a healthy 9.6 per cent rise in full year distributable income to $37.8 million, on the back of...
