Making news this fortnight...

New Productivity Commission inquiry into early childhood education and care (ECEC); Early Years Summit concludes; better start to school for First Nations children; new resources for services to communicate Child Care Subsidy (CCS) changes; changes to transportation requirements; update on the Paid Parental Leave Bill 2022; new Shadow Minister for Education; scholarships available for school leadership program; and new Royal Children's Hospital (RCH) poll on how Australian families play.

Scroll down to read more, find the latest in state and territory news, and discover what ECA teams have been doing.

Shop online at Coles for Business and get more value for your school! For one week only, score huge savings with a range of exclusive offers including $25 off orders over $300 and free delivery for shops over $99. Plus, hundreds of school favourites are on special, helping you stock-up up your classrooms and canteen for less! Don’t miss out on these great savings, sign up and shop at Coles for Business today. T&Cs apply.

SPONSORED

Productivity Commission inquiry

The Australian Government has announced a new Productivity Commission inquiry into early childhood education and care (ECEC) to make recommendations supporting universally affordable, accessible, equitable and high-quality ECEC; supporting children’s learning and development; and reducing barriers to workforce participation. Read the Terms of Reference.

Early Years Summit concludes

Over 100 leaders, professionals, parents and carers attended the National Early Years Summit last week with the common goal of finding a unified vision for young children to inform the development of the Commonwealth Early Years Strategy. ECA CEO Samantha Page attended as a member of the Advisory Panel. Read ECA’s media release outlining our vision for the Summit’s outcomes.

Changes to transportation requirements

New regulatory requirements will apply to centre-based services from 1 March 2023 to ensure safe transportation of children arriving at or leaving the centre. The new regulations aim to minimise the risk of children being left behind in vehicles. Learn more.

New resources for services

Changes to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) come into effect in July this year. Ahead of the changes the Department of Education has released a poster and fact sheet for services to share with families in order to help them understand the changes better. Download the poster and the fact sheet.

Early Learning Teaching Pilot

The federal government will invest $1.9 million to design, implement and evaluate the Early Learning Teaching Pilot at three early childhood education services in Australia. The Pilot program will strengthen literacy and numeracy skills, with a focus on getting up to 200 children ready for school. Learn more.

Paid Parental Leave Bill update

The Paid Parental Leave Amendment (Improvements for Families and Gender Equality) Bill 2022, supporting women’s workforce participation, while helping more fathers and partners to take time off work to be with their children, has been passed in the House of Representatives. Details here.

New Shadow Minister for Education announced

Following Hon Alan Tudge's recent resignation from federal politics, the Coalition has announced some important changes to its Shadow Ministry with Senator the Hon Sarah Henderson being appointed as the new Shadow Minister for Education. Find out more about the latest changes.

Scholarships for school leadership program

The National Excellence in School Leadership Initiative (NESLI), in partnership with Women & Leadership Australia (WLA), is providing a scholarship of up to $1,000 for women who work in schools to take part in either an advanced or middle leadership program. Apply now.

How Australian families play

Research released by the Royal Children’s Hospital today on how Australian families play highlights the importance of play and reveals that while most parents recognise play as vital for a child’s wellbeing and development, there are gaps in knowledge on how to best support play. Read the full report.

State and territory news

NSW

Seventy-one early childhood services in NSW will commence the first stage of the universal pre-Kindergarten reform next month. These services will be testing different elements of the reform, including increased attendance, extended hours of operation and transition to school programs. Read more.

To streamline the renewal process for Working with Children Checks (WWCC), the NSW Government is piloting the use of photo verification as an option for applicants to securely prove their identity online. By enabling an online photo verification, applicants will be able to renew their WWCC license online. Details here.

The NSW Government is inviting expressions of interest from teachers for new financial packages to help cover their cost of relocation and settling in their new communities. Incentives include $10,000 to help cover stamp duty costs when buying a home in their new school community. Learn more.

NT

The Care and Protection of Children Amendment Bill 2023 was introduced to the Parliament to strengthen protections for vulnerable children and young people in the Northern Territory. Proposed changes to the Bill recognise the importance of family, community and culture to Aboriginal children, and promotes the rights of children in care with disability. Read the media release.

VIC

Join ECA for one of four free online information sessions on the Child Information Sharing Scheme (CISS) in practice. The sessions include a refresher on CISS and a practical case study on how information sharing can promote the wellbeing and safety of children attending your services. Register now.

Recent data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows Victoria had the largest number of new government schools opened in the past five years. The state has experienced a 10.9% growth in the number of teaching staff and has the second-best student-to-teacher ratio in the country at 12.7 students per teacher. Details here.

WA

The WA Government has announced an additional $9.6 million investment in Ronald McDonald House to increase its free accommodation services capacity for eligible families of children who suffer from serious illnesses and require extended medical treatment in Perth. Learn more.

There are financial incentives of between $9,000 and $50,000 available for teachers and educators moving into, or re-joining, the early childhood sector in Victoria. You can search for a position with a financial incentive through the Early Childhood Jobs board. Find out more about eligibility for incentives and how to apply here.

ECA Podcast

How has the high demand in the early childhood sector impacted our understanding of inclusive practice? This week on the ECA Podcast, we discuss practical strategies to be inclusive within everyday practice with special guest Catharine Hydon. Now available on your favourite streaming platform.

Become an exhibitor

Exhibiting at the ECA National Conference is a great opportunity to engage with your target audience in the early childhood sector. Explore a range of opportunities for exhibition, including a limited number of micro-booths available to small organisations offering services or consulting. Don't miss out—book today!

New on The Spoke

Aimee Mathai reflects on how an ECA Community of Practice made her feel empowered to affect change. Read more about her experience in this Spoke blog.

STEM learning in the outdoors

Learn practical strategies to guide young children’s STEM learning in nature-based programs. Using case studies, research-informed insights and STEM learning examples, this book offers ideas about how educators can support STEM teaching and learning. Shop now.

Therapeutic Storytelling

Explore the newest Be You module Therapeutic Storytelling. The module shares and explores a story with children to help them process an emotional experience. This strategy can support children following a natural disaster or community trauma.

Rituals: making the everyday extraordinary in early childhood

Intended for educators, teachers and anyone passionate about creating meaningful and mindful experiences, this beautiful book takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary. Shop now.

Webinar: Ethics and the EYLF

Join Catharine Hydon and Stephanie Jackiewicz on a live webinar to reflect on the continued connection of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) V2 to ECA’s Code of Ethics and engage in a critically reflective dialogue around ethical pedagogy. Sign up today.

Become an ECA Member

ECA Shop Resources | ECA Professional Learning | ECA Events and Conferences

www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au

If you have questions about our products or services please contact us at marketing@earlychildhood.org.au