Child Care News
Childcare fund drained in hours
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - October 21, 2013A $300 MILLION Labor government fund for childcare workers to receive wage increases was "exhausted within 12 hours" of applications opening, the new Coalition minister has revealed. Assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley told The Australian the government believed the system...
Royal commission into child sexual abuse to examine YMCA, including response to paedophile Jonathan Lord
ABC News - Philippa McDonald and Rebecca Armitage - October 21, 2013Jonathan Lord "seemed to be ideal" as a childcare worker at the YMCA, the organisation that will be the focus of this week's public hearing at the Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse. The chief executive officer of the YMCA NSW, Phillip Hare, says that for...
Degree of difference pays off at preschools
Sydney Morning Herald - Cosima Marriner - October 20, 2013Children who attended preschool score higher in NAPLAN tests than their peers who did not - but only if their preschool teacher was highly qualified. The Melbourne Institute's national study is the first of its kind in Australia to prove the long-term academic benefits of preschool education...
Government must end education wars and focus on children
Sydney Morning Herald - October 20, 2013The Coalition is discovering how the delivery of policy solutions in government is much harder than raising the problems in opposition. This time the challenge is finding ways to ensure cheap, quality care for preschool children while maximising their opportunities. A new study by the Melbourne...
Taking those vital big steps in childcare
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Browne - October 19, 2013Lyn Connolly is a childcare veteran. She's been involved in the sector since the 1970s and heard every side of the debate about cost and quality but believes there is one salient fact often overlooked by the public and policy makers. "If every single childcare provider shut up shop...
Is childcare doing more harm than good?
NEWS.com.au - October 18, 2013CHILDREN who spend time in childcare centres or with childminders are more likely to have behavioural issues such as hyperactivity, researchers have found. Youngsters who were cared for away from their parents also had a higher chance of "peer problems", said Oxford University...
New program targets Indigenous pre-school literacy
SBS News - Shalailah Medhora - October 17, 2013Giving Indigenous children better access to pre-school education is one of the cornerstone policies of the Closing the Gap goals. Indigenous youngsters in one of New South Wales' most disadvantaged regions are benefitting from a literacy program that boasts amazing results...
Childcare red tape is keeping children safe
Sydney Morning Herald - Lisa Bryant - October 17, 2013Nine children died while in childcare in Minnesota last year. In the same year in Australia, no child suffered an accidental death at a childcare service. In the US, where there is great resistance to the intervention of government into business, the lack of regulation of childcare has resulted in a...
Fears childcare fees could rise if subsidy goes
Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Browne - October 16, 2013Childcare fees are predicted to rise as much as 10 per cent if a subsidy promised by the previous government is revoked by the Coalition. The federal department of education has told providers that a proposed $300 million fund earmarked for wage rises is now under review with the money...
Eighty per cent of parents would prefer kids not to have a nap
The Australian - Sean Parnell - October 16, 2013FOR a parent, there is nothing more beautiful than watching your child sleep, at peace with the world. Unfortunately, the opposite is also true. A frustrated child who cannot get to sleep at night, or wakes during the early hours, not only disrupts his or her family but potentially their own...
Testing the limits of love and money
The Age - Carolyn Webb - October 16, 2013Tamika Hicks owns and runs Rowville Lakes Early Learning Centre. It has 22 staff caring for 65 children a day, aged six weeks to five years. Ms Hicks says fees are $85 a day but that will rise to $90 after November, partly due to increased utility costs and partly due to having to now...
Staff wages under investigation at Hunter child play centres
ABC News - October 16, 2013The Fair Work Ombudsman will visit children's play centres across the Hunter this week after receiving several complaints about the possible underpayment of staff. The inspectors will check the businesses, that also provide out of school hours and short term child care services, are...
Parents Beware: 10 things nannies won't tell you
NEWS.com.au - Catey Hill - October 15, 2013MORE Australian families are employing nannies to care for children in their own home. The demand for in-home childcare has increased so much that last year the Australian Nanny Association was established to provide a support network for professionals in the field. It's an...
Legal threat looms over childcare funding backflip
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - October 15, 2013CHILDCARE providers across the country have been formally told the conditional funding offers they received under Labor to give staff pay rises have been revoked. Centre operators are considering a legal challenge, while some have told The Australian they will be forced to increase...
Emerald city aims to draw world's brightest
Sydney Morning Herald - Matt Wade - October 15, 2013Ms Ng, who works for consultancy firm PwC, said childcare was a major consideration for overseas professionals locating in Sydney. "For those with no family networks nearby having access to childcare is such an important factor," she said. Mr Williams said global cities must compete...
