Child Care News
Education costs outstrip inflation
The Age - Bianca Hall - April 25, 2012Nor were parents of young children spared the price rises, with childcare costs rising by 9.7 per cent in the past year, and by 4 per cent in the four months to March alone. The Australian Bureau of Statistics quarterly inflation figures, released yesterday, calculated the cost of...
Incomes can't keep pace with hikes in living costs
The Australian - Michael Owen - April 25, 2012Child Care National Association president Chris Buck was scathing of the federal government after the release of the CPI data, saying no one, least of all Wayne Swan, should be surprised by the sharp rise in childcare costs. "The federal government has been pushing in this direction since…
Hyperactivity link with before-school care
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - April 24, 2012CHILDREN who go to before-school care early in their first year of school have been found to have higher levels of hyperactivity and behaviour such as hurting others, tantrums and fighting. A controversial study by Kay Margetts of Melbourne University's Graduate School of Education...
Childcare charity 'in the dark' after failed tender
ABC News - April 23, 2012A national childcare provider is facing an uncertain future after the Government chose not to review a key Defence contract. The charity B4Kids runs 21 Australian Defence Force childcare centres around Australia, including four it took over in the Northern Territory after...
Hands up for your favourite teacher
The Advertiser - Sheradyn Holderhead - April 22, 2012Nominations are open today for seven award categories recognising the top preschool teacher, primary school teacher, high school teacher, school leader, early career teacher, support staff member and the most innovative engagement with business and the community by a school…
Neuroscientist explains how to stimulate young brains
ABC Lateline - Emma Alberici - April 20, 2012Educational engagement with children in those first years pays off according to one of the world's leading neurologists, Dr Judy Willis. Dr Willis is a scientist and former teacher who has written six books about applying the mind, the brain and educational research in the classroom…
Out of the box: TV better than childcare
Canberra Times - Emma Macdonald - April 19, 2012Children who spend time in front of the television or computer may benefit cognitively more than if they were hanging out with friends, alone at home or in after-school care. According to a new paper to be presented at a National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling seminar today, how children spend their time...
Learning crucial to childcare: Coalition
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - April 18, 2012TONY Abbott's Coalition has promised the childcare industry it will not fund nannies unless they are as qualified as those who work in centres. Opposition childcare spokeswoman Sussan Ley said yesterday education would be key to the Opposition Leader's pledge that the Productivity Commission be asked...
NSW puts schools at the centre of communities
ABC Lateline - Suzanne Smith - April 17, 2012Struggling schools in regional and remote NSW are volunteering to be part of a bold new experiment which aims to close the educational gap between children from rich and poor families. Those who take part will be much more than learning institutions, they will become community hubs - and preschool education will be a central feature...
Science fuels push for education rethink
774 ABC Mebourne - Suzanne Smith and Tim Leslie - April 17, 2012A greater understanding of the huge impact the first five years of life has on a child's development is causing a major rethink of pre-school education. About 80 per cent of brain development occurs from the time a baby is in the womb to the age of three, and leading medical experts say...
Peak body warns of nanny 'risk'
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - April 17, 2012TAXPAYER subsidies for nannies will put more children at risk of household dangers and place kids "well behind their peers by the time they go to school", according to the childcare industry's peak group. The Australian Childcare Alliance, which represents 70 per cent of the long-day childcare sector...
Government committed to early education
ABC Lateline - Emma Alberici - April 16, 2012Education Minister Peter Garrett says the Government is committed to universal access to education by university-educated teachers for four-year-olds. Now the scientific research is clear and unchallenged that every child should be in a pre-school by the age of three and it should be provided by the state...
Education programs target pre-school children
ABC Lateline - Suzanne Smith - April 16, 2012The latest neuroscience research on young children's brains may have major consequences for our education system. 80 per cent of brain development occurs from the time a baby's in the womb to the age of three. This means children living in vulnerable situations in dysfunctional families need educational interventions at three, not five when most primary schools start...
Insurer takes the lead on parent leave
Sydney Morning Herald - Eric Johnston - April 16, 2012ONE of Australia's biggest companies will pay the equivalent of 20 weeks parental leave including a bonus payment for the first six weeks on returning to work, as part of efforts to keep more of its women staff in senior roles. The move by Insurance Australia Group, which has one of...
Parents should have a say about who cares for their children
Brisbane Times - Amanda Vanstone - April 16, 2012Abbott's proposal may have sounded elitist but the idea itself is worthy. CHILDCARE assistance needs a rethink. Some people genuinely do not like Tony Abbott's idea of a subsidy for in-home care. (Others always say no to any proposition he puts and at the same time criticise him for being negative.)...
