Child Care News
Prep students' behaviour would improve with more play, says C&K
Courier Mail - Brittany Vonow - June 4, 2013QUEENSLAND'S Prep year should be more play-focused to improve children's behaviour, one of Queensland's biggest not-for-profit kindergarten providers has warned. C&K acting chief executive officer Mel Comerford said the new national curriculum was unsuitable for young students, who...
Screening of child workers 'misleading'
Sydney Morning Herald - Catherine Armitage - June 3, 2013The system of compulsory background checks on the "millions" of people who work with children needs an overhaul because it misleads people into thinking children are safe, misses some targets, wrongly catches others, and may be a "very costly sledgehammer to crack the wrong nut"...
Girl abused by child at day care wins payout
The Age - Adrian Lowe - June 3, 2013A five-year-old girl has won the right to ongoing counselling and a $9000 payout for being sexually abused by another child at a Victorian day care centre. The girl was suffering considerably and blames herself for what happened, the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal was recently...
Prep school bans soar amid rise in classroom violence
Courier Mail - Tanya Chilcott - June 3, 2013A RECORD number of suspensions have been handed out to violent and unruly Prep students as principals warn that boys who aren't ready for school should be held back. More than 580 suspensions were issued to state school Preps last year - up from 406 in 2011. The four to six...
Libs promise not to means-test childcare rebate
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 30, 2013THE Coalition has pledged not to means-test the childcare rebate, in a move aimed at blunting a Labor campaign to raise fears among parents that childcare payments will be pared back. Opposition childcare spokeswoman Sussan Ley said an Abbott government had no intention of...
Children just want to have fun, experts say
Herald Sun - Wes Hosking - May 29 2013AMBITIOUS parents are expecting four-year-olds to solve basic equations and learn phonics at kinder. But experts say children need time to be kids and develop skills through play. University of Melbourne Early Learning Centre director Jan Deans said NAPLAN and an explosion in educational...
Anti-vax parents may join 'dubious' church
NEWS.com.au - May 29, 2013AN anti-vaccination group is encouraging parents to circumvent the NSW government's crackdown on unvaccinated children by joining a "dubious" religious organisation. The Australian Anti-Vaccination Network (AVN) is telling supporters to join the Church of Conscious Living to get their...
United Voice role a direct snub: teachers
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 29, 2013THE early childhood teachers union has written to Julia Gillard asking her to overturn School Education Minister Peter Garrett's decision to appoint only one union, Labor-affiliated United Voice, to sit on a new board that will determine the allocation of $300 million in new funding. The Early...
No-shots kids to face NSW childcare bans
The Australian - May 28, 2013CHILDREN who haven't had their shots will be expelled from childcare centres or banned from enrolling under the NSW government''s bid to lift vaccination rates. Parents who object to vaccinations on religious or medical grounds will be exempt from the laws but they'll have to...
Vaccinate your children or declare why not, parents told
Sydney Morning Herald - Melissa Davey - May 28, 2013Parents will be forced to either vaccinate their children or register for an exemption in order to enrol them in childcare, after changes to the Public Health Act passed through cabinet Monday night. The changes mean parents or guardians must provide evidence their child is fully...
Coalition confirms support for baby bonus axing
The Age - Judith Ireland and Dan Harrison - May 28, 2013Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has confirmed that the Coalition will support the abolition of the baby bonus, and one of two government amendments to the private health insurance rebate. Mr Abbott told a meeting of Coalition MPs in Canberra on Tuesday that the opposition would...
Kids in childcare top the million mark
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - May 28, 2013THE number of kids in childcare has topped one million and the average hours spent in care has surged to record levels. A new report into children in childcare across Australia for the 2012 September quarter shows that for the first time more than one million children -- 1,030,970...
Debate on rebate
The Age - Stephanie Peatling - May 27, 2013One in five families receiving government assistance with the cost of childcare is on a combined income of more than $155,000 a year. The Coalition's treasury spokesman, Joe Hockey, has refused to rule out whether means-testing the childcare rebate was being considered as one way...
Childcare management enters the public Arena
Financial Review - Jake Mitchell - May 27, 2013The childcare-focused Arena REIT has latched on to the strong performance of the listed property sector by conducting a public offering aimed at increasing liquidity in the fund. The Morgan Stanley-controlled management team decided this was the best way to provide investors with an exit...
Vaccination supporters call for end to danger within daycare
Sunday Telegraph - Jane Hansen - May 26, 2013TONI McCaffery suspects a daycare centre was the most likely point where her daughter Dana contracted whooping cough in 2009. Dana was just six days old when Mrs McCaffery took her inside the centre while dropping off her four-year-old daughter Aisling. Just over three weeks later...
