Child Care News
Is this why NSW childcare is the most expensive in the country?
Sydney Morning Herald - Kelsey Munro - May 26, 2016The Auditor-General says the state government has hoarded hundreds of millions in funding budgeted for the early childhood sector, while high fees keep many families from sending their kids to childcare or preschool. The opposition says that means disadvantaged children who would benefit the...
Rising childcare costs: Let's stop subtracting it from women's salaries
Women's Agenda - Angela Priestley - May 26, 2016Childcare is getting more expensive, and as we saw in the 2016/17 Federal Budget not a whole lot's being done to immediately ease the financial pain. The current rebate of $7500 established in 2008 has had its long-overdue increase put off another couple of years, despite annual salaries...
Australia's largest listed childcare operator to focus on quality instead of continued acquisition spree
Gold Coast Bulletin - Jenny Rogers - May 26, 2016THE focus will be on quality not quantity now that the Gold Coast' G8 Education has confirmed its position as the largest listed childcare operator in the country. The previously acquisition-hungry listed Gold Coast company will slow its rate of acquisitions and instead concentrate on increasing the...
Why is childcare such a hard sell in the federal election?
The Conversation - Stacey Fox and Megan O'Connell - May 25, 2016Spending on early years education seems to be a tough sell for politicians. A significant number of Australians, both politicians and voters, see "childcare" as a service to help parents get back to work, despite growing recognition that early education is important for children's learning...
Perth BubDesk: Workspace for mums with babies expanding to CBD
WA Today - Heather McNeill - May 24, 2016A Perth co-working space with an upstairs crèche that allows mothers to bring their babies to work has plans to expand into the CBD to help big businesses better support working parents of young children. The expansion plans come in the wake of a recent report by the Australian National...
Childcare fees: How much you pay No relief in sight as map shows parents
Herald Sun - Samantha Maiden - May 22, 2016PAYING more than $100 a day in childcare fees is the new normal for Australian families, with a national map revealing for the first time that big fees are in play beyond the inner city. The pressure on families is set to increase after Treasurer Scott Morrison announced in the May budget that the...
Paid parental leave: give dads a voice
The Australian - Amy Foo - May 21, 2016Proposed changes to Australia's paid parental leave scheme will be a key issue during the federal election and, while evidence pointing to the benefits are extensive, the political debate continues to circulate around women and costs. But why are dads so often overlooked? Why do we ignore the...
NSW spends less on early childhood care and education than any other state
Newcastle Herald - Gabriel Wingate-Pearse - May 20, 2016ONE in two community-based child care centres say their future looks somewhat to very insecure, while one in four say they are struggling to meet their community's needs. The results from a funding survey conducted by the NSW Community Child Care Cooperative are concerning, advocates...
SA public schools angry over Education Department decision to strip support for maintaining websites
The Advertiser - Tim Williams - May 20, 2016SCHOOL and preschool leaders are threatening to stop maintaining their websites because the Education Department is withdrawing support and expects them to do it themselves. Small schools are particularly angry over the change, saying the department does not understand their resources...
Early childhood educators lack nutritional knowledge, research finds
The Courier Mail - Rose Brennan - May 19, 2016MANY early childhood educators lack the nutritional knowledge to help prevent obesity in youngsters. New research from the Queensland University of Technology has found worrying deficiencies among childcare workers, prompting calls for better training. "If you're not starting with the...
Federal election 2016: tax, costs 'leave mums on $5 an hour'
The Australian - Natasha Bita - May 18, 2016Mothers with fulltime jobs are working for as little as $5 an hour once they pay tax and childcare costs, research reveals. A woman on the average wage pockets just $8 an hour on her fourth day of work and $5 an hour on the fifth day, after paying tax and daycare fees. Low-income women work...
'Absolutely shocking': $35 an hour nannies forces government scheme overhaul
Sydney Morning Herald - Cosima Marriner and Adam Gartrell - May 15, 2016The Turnbull government has been forced to overhaul its $185 million nanny trial, which has seen nannies appointed to just 60 families who are paying an average of $35 an hour for care. In response to overwhelming negative feedback that the pilot was unaffordable, the government boosted in the...
Federal Election 2016: Government childcare policy attacked
The Australian - Rachel Baxendale - May 15, 2016"What we want to see is a flexible child care system that is affordable, that is accessible and that helps the vast majority of families out there who are continuing to struggle." Ms Ellis said evidence showed the child care subsidies made the biggest difference to workforce participation at the...
Federal election 2016: Bill Shorten mentions $3bn childcare relief for parents
Herald Sun - Samantha Maiden - May 15, 2016BILL Shorten has let the $3 billion cat out of the bag revealing working parents earning between $60,000 and $80,000 will secure more childcare relief under a Labor government. The Labor leader let slip during a campaign debate in Western Sydney that low- and middle-income earners are the...
Creative play: In praise of getting messy
Sydney Morning Herald - Clare Kermond - May 15, 2016Professor Kay Margetts, an associate professor in early childhood studies at Melbourne University, says craft activities that involve children copying precisely a model presented by the teacher risk stifling creativity and imagination, as well as deterring children from experimenting with...
