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Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's vision for child care, announced before the 19–20 April 2008 Australia 2020 summit, has been welcomed by Early Childhood Australia and other groups in the early childhood field.
The PM's 2020 childcare proposal
Prime Minister Rudd's proposal is to provide every child under five with access to affordable, high-quality Parent and Child Centres offering a range of services. It is aimed at working families struggling to afford education, child care and mortgages.
The centres will provide a range of services in one location, giving parents access to long day care, kindergarten programs, playgroups, preschool and play-based learning activities, without having to travel to multiple centres.
Other available services will include health checks for newborn babies; nutrition advice; vaccinations; and support, advice and networking opportunities for parents.
Plan for implementation
The proposal will call for partnerships between federal, state and local governments, and the cooperation of both private and community service providers.
Prime Minister Rudd has also promised the creation of additional early childhood places in universities and incentives for childcare practitioners to improve their qualifications by abolishing TAFE fees for eligible childcare diplomas. Prime Minister Rudd has also proposed to halve the education fees for 10,000 early childhood education students willing to work in rural and regional areas.
Prime Minister Rudd stated:
'We have already set ourselves the goal of introducing universal preschool services for all four-year-olds by 2013 … We should aim to take the next step and create universal Parent and Child Centres for all children [from birth] to five by 2020.'
Early Childhood Australia's response
Margaret Young, National President of Early Childhood Australia, was delighted with the Prime Minister's proposal, describing his statement that 'early childhood reform lies at the intersection of our aspirations for the nation' as 'inspiring and courageous':
'It acknowledges the significance of early experience and learning for individuals and society, the realities of life for today's young families and the long-term impact of both on long-term productivity.
'In proposing to make high-quality integrated services available for families with babies and pre-schoolers, Mr Rudd rightly puts young children first.'
Read Early Childhood Australia's media release: 'PM's 2020 vision puts children first'.
Concerns with implementation of plan
Aspects of the Prime Minister's plan for implementing his 2020 vision concerned certain members of the early childhood sector. Barbara Romeril from the Community Childcare Association worried about the involvement of the private sector in the plan, explaining that it could lead to 'unproductive competition' between services.
The National Association for Community Based Children's Services shared this concern, stating that the involvement of commercial childcare services may diminish the overall quality of services available.
Melbourne's Lady Gowrie Child Centre is supportive of the plan but expressed concerns as to how it will be funded, as well as apprehension regarding the integration of child care and early schooling experiences.
More positive responses from sector
Carol Lymbery from Community Childcare NSW stated that, although the proposal is complex, it is achievable – and will prove especially helpful to working parents. Barrie Elvish, chief executive officer of C&K childcare services, also congratulated the Prime Minister on his proposal:
'The proposal would make better use of existing and new early childhood resources and reduce duplication, hopefully freeing up funding for improved service delivery which would result in better outcomes for the community, a suggestion backed up by research that indicates a 700 per cent return to the community on every dollar invested in quality early childhood programs.'
For more information, read:
Further reading
View these related speeches and articles on the Early Childhood Australia website:
View these related news items on the Early Childhood Australia website:
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