Child Care News
Leaders share home truths on getting ahead
Financial Review - Misa Han - February 22, 2016"There's the perception childcare is a woman's problem, but there is no biological reason why men cannot pick the children up." As a working mother, she says, she had to learn to be kind to herself and do her best rather than always trying to be the perfect mother. Boddington recalls coming home late...
Male teacher numbers dwindling, work in education an 'isolating experience' for men
ABC News - Rebecca Opie - February 22, 2016At the University of South Australia only 4 per cent of students studying early childhood education are male, with less than 10 graduating each year. The number is slightly higher for primary teaching, with 17 per cent of students male, however, the majority intend to work in upper primary or as physical...
Queensland 'No jab, no play' childcare laws short on impact
Brisbane Times - Jorge Branco - February 21, 2016None of Queensland's major childcare providers have announced plans to use the state's recently introduced 'no jab, no play' laws targeting anti-vaxxers. In a rare display of bipartisanship, the Queensland Parliament unanimously passed the laws last year as part of a suite of measures to increase...
Victorian primary schools running Prep transition classes as kids start school earlier
Herald Sun - Elisa Doherty - February 21, 2016KIDS are increasingly getting a taste of school life a year early in a bid to smooth the transition to prep, with kindergarten attendances as low as 50 per cent in some areas. A growing number of Victorian state schools are running extended prep transition programs to give children a headstart...
Angus Taylor: digital transactions 'can save public service $27bn'
The Australian - Joe Kelly - February 20, 2016Mr Taylor said yesterday that transforming the way government did business would help to contain expenditure and complement the push by Scott Morrison to reduce both spending and taxation as a proportion of GDP. "Much of the job growth now is in the provision of public services like childcare, aged care...
Children more likely to be vaccinated since start of 'no jab no pay', say doctors
The Guardian - Melissa Davey - February 18, 2016Anecdotal evidence suggests parents are vaccinating their children at higher rates since the introduction of the federal government's "no jab no pay" policy at the start of the year, which withholds childcare and family tax benefits from parents who do not immunise their children, according to doctors...
Childcare inquiry - why Canberra parents pay more for less
Sydney Morning Herald - Emma Macdonald - February 18, 2016Mr Rattenbury announced on Thursday that he had established an internal review team within the Education Directorate to assess issues arising from the most recent Report on Government Services "in relation to costs, service spread and qualifications within ACT Early Childhood Education providers"...
Patchwork of informal childcare to make busy family lives work
Sydney Morning Herald - Barbara Drury - February 17, 2016While every family's childcare needs are different, as kids settle in to the new school year the frantic search for flexible, affordable, quality childcare is all too familiar. Despite the increased use of formal childcare outside the home for children up to age 12, informal care is still the most commonly used...
Folkestone in surprise profit boost
The Australian - Samantha Hutchinson - February 16, 2016Folkestone Education Trust has delivered interim earnings ahead of estimates, prompting analysts to reconsider full year forecasts following a surprise boost in net profit and a steep increase in NTA. The child care centre owner (FET) posted a 13.9 per cent increase on earnings to $59.5 million at the...
Eddy Groves, ex ABC Learning boss, out of bankruptcy
The Courier Mail - Liam Walsh - February 16, 2016FALLEN childcare mogul Eddy Groves, accused of being the "architect" of a major Queensland corporate crime, has emerged from bankruptcy. The 49-year-old is now free to run a company in Australia or travel overseas without seeking permission after being discharged from bankruptcy over the weekend...
Business group ACCI calls for reform to avoid Greek-style debt crisis
ABC News - Peter Ryan - February 15, 2016The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry is warning that is a real risk down the track unless the May budget curbs what it calls "runaway spending" on the aged pension, family tax benefits and childcare. There are some contentious recommendations in an election year - abolishing Family Tax...
Nanny trial is failing and in urgent need of overhaul, Queensland parents say
ABC News - Alyse Edwards - February 15, 2016A pilot nanny program is an expensive failure and in need of an immediate overhaul, regional Queensland families say. The new national scheme, which began this year, is aimed at helping parents employ nannies if they cannot access alternative childcare. Under the scheme, the Federal Government will...
Foley's proposal to open the doors to preschool
The Australian - Mark Coulton - February 15, 2016Every child in NSW would have access at least 15 hours of affordable preschool education a week in the year before school under a proposal put forward by NSW Labor leader Luke Foley. Mr Foley, under pressure over low poll ratings, received a standing ovation at the NSW ALP conference as he...
The Sunday Telegraph Editorial: Extra 258 kids jabbed a week is win for top policy
The Daily Telegraph - February 14, 2016NEW research showing that an extra 258 children are being vaccinated every week should be comfort to all parents and parents-to-be. It's not only a win for good science but also good law. The No-Jab No-Pay legislation, which strips unvaccinated families of childcare payments, is legislation that is not only...
Luke Foley says Labor will try to fix soaring preschool fees
Sydney Morning Herald - Sean Nicholls - February 14, 2015Luke Foley has made education the centrepiece of his first state conference speech as NSW Labor leader, vowing to fix the soaring cost of preschool to make it "affordable and accessible" for every four year old in NSW. Mr Foley has also promised that every primary school child would learn a second...
