Child Care News
Frankston Council gives controversial kindergarten ballot system tick
Herald Sun - Lucy Callander - July 31, 2014FRANKSTON Council is declaring the controversial kindergarten ballot a success, with 96 per cent of children who registered on time offered their top pick. Deputy Mayor Rebekah Spelman said 1131 children received their first choice, with a further 19 offered their second or third preference...
Western Sydney kids take the long road to care
Daily Telegraph - Adam Bell - July 30, 2014THE squeeze on childcare in inner Sydney is worsening as more and more working parents who commute from western Sydney bring their children in with them to centres near where they work. The trend was a surprise finding published in the Productivity Commission's report into the...
Axe may fall on 200 jobs
The West Australian - Bethany Hiatt - July 30, 2014More than 200 education jobs may be under threat if Federal Government funding for extra kindergarten hours is withdrawn. Education Department director-general Sharyn O'Neill said preliminary budgets released to schools yesterday funded kindergarten students for only 11...
The importance of childcare - for all of us
Sydney Morning Herald - Ross Gittins - July 30, 2014Surely the most momentous social change of our times began sometime in the 1960s or '70s when parents decided their daughters were just as entitled to an education as their sons. Girls embraced this opportunity with such diligence that today they leave schools and universities better educated...
Towards a truly even playing field in childcare
Financial Review - Andrew Podger - July 30, 2014The Productivity Commission's discussion paper on early childhood education and care identifies some sensible principles such as "safety and quality", "family choice of care options", "efficient provision of services" and "best value for the community". Central to its approach is to create a...
Study to help kids fight obesity
The West Australian - Marnie McKimmie - July 30, 2014Young children at child care are being fitted with accelerometers and GPS devices by the Telethon Kids Institute in a bid to find out what makes them get up and move and if they are active enough to prevent obesity and chronic disease. By tracking the group of about 100 children, researchers...
Ezidebit hires Deutsche, Macquarie for ASX listing
Financial Review - Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Gretchen Friedman - July 30, 2014Australia's answer to PayPal, Ezidebit, will introduce itself to fund managers next week ahead of a run at the ASX boards after reporting season. Electronic payments company Ezidebit, which helps companies collect and manage direct debits from customers, has hired Deutsche Bank and...
What WA billionaire Andrew Forrest thinks Australia can learn from this Armadale school
PerthNow - Katie Robertson - July 29, 2014A NONDESCRIPT school in Perth's eastern suburbs is at the centre of a strategy touted as a shining light for education in Australia. What has happened at the Challis Parenting and Early Learning Centre in Armadale is a key part of a 230-page yet-to-be-released report to Prime Minister Tony...
Early childhood experts pan report
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Kleinman - July 26, 2014Some of the childcare policies touted by the Productivity Commission risk dire consequences for children's wellbeing and development, according to early childhood experts. One academic said it would be "internationally embarrassing" if Australia put economics and workforce participation...
Childcare mess needs State to pitch in
Sydney Morning Herald - Kirsty Needham - July 26, 2014More than 500 working parents flooded the Productivity Commission with stressful tales of wrestling a childcare system that doesn't fit modern life. "How am I supposed to rejoin the workforce when I can't find a childcare place with 17 months notice?" demanded one young mother. Her cry for...
Parents using teachers as babysitters
Sydney Morning Herald - Alexandra Smith - July 26, 2014Parents who cannot secure after-school care or who want to avoid paying the fees are relying on teachers to be defacto babysitters outside school hours, principals and childcare groups have warned. Principals say some parents drop their children at school before formal supervised hours...
Teachers being asked to toilet train school starters
Canberra Times - Julieanne Strachan - July 26, 2014Parents are making Canberra schools responsible for toilet training their children in some cases, putting an extra burden on educators, teachers have reported. An increasing number of children were starting preschool and kindergarten with toileting difficulties and some parents were...
Books, docos and devices help kids to stay with science lessons
Sunday Telegraph - Bruce McDougall and Wes Hosking - July 26, 2014CUTTING edge technology is driving a major surge in enthusiasm for science lessons by thousands of children from preschool age to the senior secondary years. Educators are combining the use of digital devices such as electronic tablets, smart phones and laptops with hands-on field studies...
Aussie nannies forced to fill dog bowls with bottled water, wash sheets on clean beds and dress down for sleazy hubbies
Sunday Herald Sun - Ruth Lamperd - July 26, 2014IT conjures images of Frane Fine or Mary Poppins, but as Ruth Lamperd reveals, the real world of nannying is far less glamorous. For starters, here's a few reasons why: NANNY TALES Most parents who employ nannies get it right. But when they don't, their oddest demands surface in coffee...
Proposal backs short-term sublet of childcare places
Sydney Morning Herald - Judith Ireland, Rachel Browne - July 26, 2014Parents would be able to sublet their precious childcare places while they are on holiday or on maternity leave under a Productivity Commission idea that has been backed by the federal government. The federal minister with responsibility for childcare, Sussan Ley, has come out...
