Child Care News
School at two? You’ve got to be joking
News.com.au - Kate Fagan - May 7, 2015Really? We’re going to "school" our toddlers? Do we really think that putting more expectations on what is to be the most overwhelmed generation in history will make for a better world? I don’t. Can’t we just chill out and let our little people bask in the wonder of a life yet unaffected by order?...
Restricting childcare benefit would hit poorest children hard, researchers warn
The Guardian - Shalailah Medhora - May 7, 2015Restricting childcare benefits for out-of-work parents would have dire consequences for disadvantaged children and would not boost the employment rate, early education experts have warned. Details of the government's families package will be revealed in next week’s budget, and it is expected...
Women with school-aged children to be given jobs under new government scheme
News.com.au - Lanai Scarr - May 6, 2015MOTHERS with school-aged children who have dropped out of the workforce will be given jobs in the community and aged-care sectors as part of a new program to be unveiled by the government today. The Coalition is partnering up with not-for-profit religious organisation UnitingCare...
Catholic Education Office wants toddlers as young as two to go to school
Daily Telegraph - Deborah Fitzgerald - May 6, 2015CHILDREN as young as two could have structured lessons in a radical overhaul of the school system planned by the Catholic Education Office (CEO). CEO Parramatta executive director Greg Whitby said the early years should be about more than childminding and sand pits. "The best...
Macquarie director Patricia Cross calls for tax-efficient childcare
Financial Review - Misa Han - May 5, 2015Corporate women want tax breaks for childcare to combat the blackmarket of nannies and help boards hit their 30 per cent female representation target. UK-based Newton Investments chief executive Helena Morrissey overseas £50 billion worth of assets a year and has nine children...
Nanny pilot doesn’t have to be bad news for childcare workers
The Conversation - Elizabeth Adamson - May 5, 2015A lot of the response to the government’s proposed A$246 million "nanny pilot" has focused on why public funding shouldn’t be used to support unqualified caregivers or educators – particularly when educators in mainstream services such as Long Day Care are underpaid. I agree 100% that...
Time to put the child in childcare
Brisbane Times - Stephanie Peatling - May 5, 2015Much of the language about the reforms has been what parents, employers, taxpayers and the economy in general need from childcare but not much about what children need. Children clearly need better peak body representatives. Childcare needs an image overhaul. Too many people...
Winyu House childcare Gungahlin models innovative learning for children
Canberra Times - Kimberley Granger - May 5, 2015A gender-neutral attitude is the hallmark of a new Gungahlin childcare centre which opened this week. The Winyu House childcare centre - the first childcare centre in an ACT government office building - will test a variety of innovative childcare theories embraced by service providers...
Childcare subsidies tied to work
The Australian - David Crowe - May 5, 2015Childcare rules will be brought into line with school education in a central feature of a new government scheme to offer help to those who need it most, setting a benchmark for the number of hours of care to be subsidised each day. Parents on low incomes will face new tests on the...
Federal budget 2015: Wealthy families to keep childcare
Financial Review - Phillip Coorey - May 4, 2015The federal government has ignored a recommendation by the Productivity Commission to slash childcare support for wealthier families, believing this would push women put of work. Instead, it is set to adopt a new tapered childcare subsidy that would keep levels of support for high...
How will childcare be funded?
Choice - Jemma Castle - May 4, 2015Changes to childcare funding are expected to be based on the recommendations of the Productivity Commission's report released late last year, which suggests scrapping the two childcare payments which currently exist, the childcare rebate (CCR) and childcare benefit (CCB), and replacing them...
Childcare group calls for low-income families to be given priority in system 'overhaul'
ABC News - Naomi Woodley - May 4, 2015The Federal Government is being urged to prioritise the needs of low-income families and vulnerable children as it finalises its second budget. The full details of a promised overhaul of child care will be released before the Federal Treasurer, Joe Hockey, gets to his feet on May 12...
Families package: Pre-school win as childcare funding brawl begins
News.com.au - Lauren Wilson - May 3, 2015TONY Abbott has declared childcare subsidies should not be regarded as "welfare" for families, as a political storm brews over how the government's new childcare package will be paid for. The Prime Minister on Sunday confirmed all four-year-olds will continue to be guaranteed 15 hours of...
Universal preschool access program extended for two years
The Australian - Jared Owens - May 3, 2015Speaking in western Sydney, the Prime Minister announced a two-year extension to the universal preschool access agreement that guarantees up to 15 hours of preschool for four-year-old children across the country. Asked about the mooted childcare policy, Mr Abbott said the government...
Opposition vows not to support families package that 'robs Peter to pay Paul'
ABC Radio - Anna Hernderson - May 3, 2015Labor sounds a warning about its support for the Federal Government's families package saying it will resist the measures if they are paid for by cutting other household benefits. Labor has sounded a warning about its support for the Federal Government's families package saying it will resist...
