Child Care News
Children stung by wasps at Vic childcare
Ninemsn.com.au - February 29, 2012Thirteen children and three childcare workers have been stung by wasps at a Melbourne childcare centre. Paramedics were called after the wasps stung each victim five to 10 times around the head, neck, upper arms and stomach at the Bulleen centre about 1.15pm (AEDT) on Wednesday...
G8 Education profit up 208 per cent
The Gold Coast - Nick Nichols - February 28, 2012Gold Coast-based G8 Education has put to bed any lingering doubts about the commercial viability of the childcare sector with a stunning surge in profit. The childcare centre operator has reported a $13.91 million net profit for the year to the end of December -- 208 per cent up on a year earlier...
Boost for child care services
The West Australian - Yolanda Zaw - February 28, 2012Regional child care services at risk of closure will be boosted by a new round of government funding. Child care providers in regional WA will be able to apply for Royalties for Regions funding of up to $10,000 under the $9.3 million Regional Child Care Development Fund launched today...
School costs soar for tiny tots
The Sunday Times - Yasmine Phillips - February 26, 2012THE cost of sending kindergarten and pre-primary tots to private school has hit $14,000. Parents of WA children as young as three and four will pay up to $12,648 for kindergarten and up to $13,960 for pre-primary in 2012...
Criminal checks for volunteers
Sydney Morning Herald - Jim O'Rourke - February 26, 2012More than 1.3 million volunteers in junior sport and community groups involving children will be forced to undergo criminal history checks to weed out potential abusers and molesters. At the same time, job seekers who want to work with children will, for the first time, have to pay for their own background test before applying for a job...
Nits dilemma a head-scratcher for schools
Herald Sun - Susie O'Brien - February 25, 2012Guidelines also say teachers should "exercise sensitivity" towards children with nits for fear of upsetting them. But schools, preschools and childcare centres across the state are flouting these policies by immediately asking parents to collect their children. Children are often isolated from...
Childcare's so yesterday. See these companies making a play in new market
News.com.au - February 21, 2012Organised sport for preschoolers is turning into a serious business with the more savvy operators tapping into parents' needs for high-quality activities. As leading sport organisations such as the AFL use the market power...
New chief brings hope of less grief
The Age - Caroline Milburn - February 20, 2012The government is also considering whether to expand the institute's role to register and accredit Victoria's 3630 early-childhood teachers who work in kindergartens and childcare centres. Mr Paproth replaced Susan Halliday, the agency's inaugural chairman...
New rules 'won't hit' childcare places, fees
The Canberra Times - Noel Towell - February 20, 2012The ACT government has hit back at claims of reductions in numbers of childcare places and higher fees under national quality standards for the industry introduced by the federal government...
Babies look out for mates according to remarkable new study
The Daily Telegraph - Susie O'Brien and Rosemarie Lentini - February 18, 2012Babies too young to talk still know how to be good mates, make jokes and take care of each other, new research has revealed. In a unique study offering a baby's eye view of the world, Australian experts strapped cameras to the heads of children...
CFO Fast track
The Australian Financial Review - Sally Rose - February 16, 2012Childcare provider G8 Education has appointed Damien Peters as its new chief financial officer effective next month. Peters’s last day in his current role as CFO of Retail Foods Group – a collection of fast-food franchise brands – will be February 28...
Securing place at a private school can be costly lesson in economics
Sydney Morning Herald - Alexandra Smith and Kim Arlington - February 17, 2012Parents are spending hundreds of dollars on non-refundable deposits to put their children's names on waiting lists for childcare spots they are unlikely to get. Childcare centres, particularly in Sydney's inner suburbs...
Childcare payment meltdown hits 1000’s
Sussan Ley MP - Shadow Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care - February 17, 2012Questioned in Senate Estimates today, DEEWR officials confirmed they had received an average of 77 complaint calls per day since early January from childcare operators concerned with payment delays and anomalies. Complaints peaked at over 350 calls received on both January 31st & February 6th...
Opposition must stop getting their facts wrong on child care
Kate Ellis MP - Minister for Early Childhood and Child Care - February 16, 2012The Opposition's false and misleading claims on child care were exposed yet again in a Senate Estimates hearing today. In recent days the Opposition have unnecessarily alarmed parents across the country by claiming that families are being charged $40 000 rather than $40 because of technical issues...
All care, but still no relief on IT bungle
The Australian - Patricia Karvelas - February 15, 2012Parents with children in childcare face delays in getting accurate information about how much money they owe for care following the breakdown of the national IT system, which the government is still battling to fix. Departmental bureaucrats face a grilling in Senate estimates this week...
