ECA early childhood news http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au Fri, 10 Sep 2010 23:41:16 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/july_2010_eca_calls_on_all_political_parties_to_respond_to_national_early_childhood_priorities.html ECA calls on all political parties to respond to national early childhood priorities In light of the imminent election, Julia Gillard, Sarah Hanson-Young and Sharman Stone were recently invited by ECA to contribute a written response to ECA's Every Child magazine regarding the issues below. ECA is looking for a commitment to: The ECEC reform agenda particularly those parts of it that relate to staff qualifications and staff: child ratios, including the commitment to review the ratios for babies in 2014 to see if further improvements can be made and, the implementation of a national quality standards rating system in ECEC services. Make further investments to support staff already in ECEC services to gain qualifications, particularly for Diploma holders to upgrade to EC teacher qualifications—note this will/must mean wage maintenance for these staff and fee support possibly via bonded scholarships. We should allow staff the opportunity of time off work to take courses to improve their qualifications. Otherwise low paid workers are caught in a trap of not being able to afford to improve their qualifications. Take action to ensure that Registered Training Organisations (RTOs) deliver robust, high calibre qualifications—not courses which short sell students and children because they are fast tracked so that... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 11:38:43 +0100 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/july_2010_coalition_back_to_the_dark_ages_with_plan_to_remove_childcare_national_rating_system.html MEDIA RELEASE Monday 26 July 2010 Coalition plans to abandon the National Quality Rating system for early childhood education and care services would take Australia backwards, the body representing early childhood educators said today. This policy and further plans to review the Early Childhood national reform agenda runs in the face of research, which shows unequivocally that high quality early childhood experiences not only underwrite a child¹s future but also future productivity said the CEO of Early Childhood Australia, Pam Cahir. "The coalition says it supports high quality and standards for the sector but this is very difficult to believe in the face of these announcements. A national quality agenda that provides qualified staff, a commitment to an early childhood learning framework and an improved staff:child ratio are essential to a system that works well for children, for families and for the nation. Parents are entitled to a transparent system of accreditation, which tells them where their services stand in relation to the national quality standard, Ms Cahir said. "While we are happy to see efforts to make childcare more affordable we are disappointed to see a complete disregard for quality in the sector. "We are calling on commitments from both sides of politics to implement the... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:32:08 +0100 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/july_2010_early_childhood_industry_welcomes_fortnightly_childcare_rebate.html MEDIA RELEASE Friday 9 July 2010 Paying the childcare rebate to families fortnightly instead of quarterly will help parents pay for childcare and complement the incoming childcare quality reform agenda, said Early Childhood Australia today. ECA, the peak organisation representing children and childcare services, welcomed the announcement and called on Prime Minister Julia Gillard to stay strong on the National Quality Framework. ECA chief executive officer Pam Cahir said the quality reforms agreed to by COAG were vital to improving the quality of childcare in the long term in Australia, and that plans by the Opposition to review them were concerning. "Last year COAG agreed to implement quality reforms, because that is what we know is best for children who are in early childhood education and care services." "Improving staff-to-child ratios and increasing the qualifications of staff will go a long way to improving outcomes for children and their families who rely on childcare, and creating a consistent standard of childcare across the country." "The Opposition’s plans to review and possibly role back the reforms would be a huge concern to many childcare operators, families and staff who know how important these reforms are," Ms Cahir said. Ms Cahir said more needed to be done to ensure... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:25:59 +0100 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/july_2010_childcare_quality_not_price_at_top_of_new_parents_minds.html MEDIA RELEASE Tuesday 20 July 2010 Expectant mothers have rated qualified, experienced staff and formal childcare regulations above costs and location when it comes to choosing childcare after they go back to work, according to new research in the Australian Journal of Early Childhood. The study involving 124 pregnant women found less than 10 per cent said the pragmatics of care, including location of the centre, convenience and cost were important factors in making a decision about childcare. The issues that were most important to participants were the characteristics of the carer, the setting of the care, the environment and the 'child-centrednes' of the care. "When it comes to care other than family, participants said they would look for staff who are experienced, qualified, friendly and loving. "A safe environment, security and happiness were also important factors. "For some participants, centre-based childcare was considered favourable provided it had stable, qualified and experienced staff and low staff:child ratios. "Many women wanted to know that their child would be safe and well cared for, factors that would make leaving the child in another person’s care easier. "With more and more women going back into the workforce after their child is born, it’s important to understand what factors will help make... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:20:06 +0100 http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/early_childhood_news/july_2010_early_childhood_must_be_a_focus_in_federal_election.html MEDIA RELEASE | Tuesday 20 July 2010 Early childhood must be a focus in federal election With childcare set to be a key issue for families in this year’s federal election Early Childhood Australia has called on both sides of politics to commit to the national quality reform agenda and ensure childcare is affordable for all families. With 1.5 million Australian children in some form of childcare, ECA chief executive Pam Cahir said the national quality reform agenda endorsed by COAG was more important than ever. She said more work was needed to ensure that key elements of the reforms were realised, in particular support for staff to upgrade their qualifications to the levels required by the reform agenda. Qualified staff led by qualified specialist early childhood teachers are fundamental to the achievement of the goals of this agenda. ECA also called for a commitment from Julia Gillard and Tony Abbott to support early childhood staff who needed to upgrade their qualifications. "We hope both sides will commit to wage maintenance and fee support for those staff already in services who are seeking to upgrade their qualifications to meet the requirement of the reform agenda. "What we don’t want is for low paid workers to be caught... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 10:07:42 +0100