Child Care News
Feedback sought on how to improve critical child care program
DEEWR Media Release - June 19, 2011Minister for Child Care, Kate Ellis released a new discussion paper, 'The future of the Inclusion and Professional Support Program (IPSP) for child care services', when speaking at the Childcare Queensland National Conference in Caloundra today...
Abbott slams govt on childcare
Ninemsn - June 16, 2011Opposition Leader Tony Abbott has slammed the Labor government over its failure to provide the additional childcare centres it promised before the 2007 federal election. Of the 260 extra childcare centres promised just 38 have been delivered, he said...
Childcare Tax Rebate – Something to do TODAY!!!
Essential Baby - Justine Davies - June 16, 2011While the recent Federal budget did not contain many earth-shattering changes, one very welcome announcement was the alteration of payment frequency for the Childcare Tax Rebate. That, of course, is the one whereby the government rebates...
Call to scrap child-care HECS debt
The Canberra Times - Emma Macdonald - 16 Jun, 2011Child-care centres have traditionally lost tertiary-qualified staff to primary school teaching, where the hours are less and the pay is more. Professor Chapman has suggested the Government forgive HECS debts for each year a qualified early childhood...
Booklets a rallying call for parents of preschoolers
The West Australian - Bethany Hiatt - June 16, 2011The Education Department has released two booklets to give parents tips on teaching vital skills to their preschool-age children. Their release coincides with enrolments for kindergarten and pre-primary school. Parents have until July 29 to enrol their...
Child care is protective for children with depressed mothers
Los Angeles Times - Shari Roan - June 13, 2011Child care may be a good choice to minimize the effects of a mother's depression on her young children, a new study shows. Research in recent years has pointed to the convergence of a woman's depression and behavior problems in young children...
Toddlers learn life lessons at pre-school
The Daily Telegraph - Letitia Rowlands - June 13, 2011CHILDREN reap lifelong benefits from pre-school with new research showing those who attend in the year before kindergarten have lower rates of drug and alcohol abuse, are less likely to get in trouble with the law and enjoy higher levels of education...
Fears of childcare centre ranking
Stuff.co.nz (NZ) - John Hartevelt - June 11, 2011League tables ranking early childhood centres are feared as the Government addresses a "lack of accountability" in the sector. Education Minister Anne Tolley said last night that an ECE Taskforce proposal for "mandatory performance reporting" was…
Emails reveal early fears for ABC Learning
ABC Online - Sue Lannin - June 10, 2011The banks which lent to collapsed childcare provider ABC Learning were worried about the company's financial health six months before it collapsed, but still went ahead with a refinancing plan to keep the company afloat. An email trail revealed...
Childcare shortage in the Illawarra getting worse
ABC Local - June 8, 2011A community childcare organisation says all levels of government need to do more to address the region's growing childcare shortage. In the Illawarra, childcare providers say most of their centres are full, with lengthy waiting lists...
At risk children miss out on kinder
The Age - Caroline Milburn - June 6, 2011A FREE kindergarten program for Aboriginal and abused children is failing to reach its target, with more than three-quarters of allocated places unfilled. The Early Start Kindergarten program provides up to 11 hours of free classes a week in Victoria for...
Pay up, parents: childcare hoppers rort their rebate
The Sunday Telegraph - Helen Pow - June 05, 2011PARENTS are abusing the childcare rebate by switching centres after racking up thousands of dollars in unpaid fees but still claiming the taxpayer-funded benefit. Childcare centres are being forced to increase fees after a mass of centre-hopping where families accumulate debt...
Govt unveils indigenous pre-school plan
Ninemsn - Jun 3, 2011‎The federal government has unveiled a new strategy designed to get indigenous children into preschool. The government has invested $970 million over five years to ensure all four-year-olds can get 15 hours of preschool a week by 2013...
Emails reveal pre-collapse fears for ABC Learning
ABC Online - June 2, 2011Email exchanges between the financiers of the collapsed childcare company ABC Learning show its bankers were concerned about the company's solvency in mid-2008, six months before it went under. The company's banking syndicate were repaid $500 million before ABC collapsed...
Funding cuts leave child care at risk
Geelong Advertiser - Andrea Hamblin - June 2, 2011CUTS to early childhood funding could leave thousands of the region's families without child care services by the end of this year. The State Government's withdrawal of its $1.9 million contribution to the Take a Break program would force the closure ...
