Hands Up for Quality countdown to 7 December

Time is running out: COAG needs to hear your voice – send the e-card!

Set Option 4 as the goal, with Option 3 as an initial step

We know that the negotiations with states and territories on the national quality standards are firming up only around Option 3, which would be a disappointing outcome for children and the nation. Find out more about the Options at the bottom of this email.

ECA's position now Option 3 is an initial step towards a national quality standard. It is acceptable if it includes an agreed timeframe for a review, a public report to the Parliament on this progress and a commitment to Option 4 as the goal. ECA understands that some states have further to go than others and different challenges to meet in reaching these standards – this is particularly the case for WA with the challenges of distance and remoteness. These challenges are shared by Queensland – but the big challenge for Queensland is that their current position in terms of early childhood service provision is well behind the other states. The final position has to negotiate with and overcome these challenges. What matters is that, in the end, all of Australia's children have access to services whose standards are based on what the evidence says they should be. The Prime Minister’s continued leadership here is essential. He has to say: 'We must do this. We can do it. We will do it.'

What you can do

Send the ECA e-card – in the space for your comments, ask that COAG sets Option 4 as the long term goal.

Email the Prime Minister and tell him your thoughts on quality.

More about the options

It is important to note that the difference between Option 3 and Option 4 is the ratios for babies and three- to five-year-olds. The numbers of children per adult are one less in each case in Option 4 – one adult for three babies and one adult for ten three- to five-year-olds.

This is not a trivial difference given the evidence from brain research that the quality of children's early relationships lays the foundation for who they will become, including for their future development and learning.

Infant/child age	Staff-to-child ratio
For children birth to 24 months	1:4 by 2011
For children 25 to 35 months	1:5 by 2015
For children 36 months and older	1:11 by 2013

Option 4

1. High staff-to-child ratios and group sizes that look like this:

Infant/child age	Staff-to-child ratio
For children birth to 24 months	1:4 by 2010 1:3 by 2020
For children 25 to 35 months	1:5 by 2015
For children 36 months and older	1:10 by 2013

2. And services where:

• there is leadership and program involvement by university-qualified early childhood teachers who are committed to working with infants and young children. (Services with 25-59 children on any day require 1x full time Early Childhood teacher by 2013, services with 60-80 children on any one day require 1.5 EC teachers, and those with over 80 require a full additional university qualified professional.)
• all staff working with children are required to have minimum certificate III qualification (or are working towards it) by end 2013
• 50% of staff have a Diploma (or are working towards it) by end 2013.

The staffing requirements for both options are the same – but there is no commitment to go to 1:3 for babies or 1:10 for three- to five-year-olds in Option 3.

Keep up to date with the campaign!

Don't forget to visit the campaign website at http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/handsupforquality.html to keep up to date with campaign developments, news, breakthroughs and more.