| COAG National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education and Care |
National Early Childhood Development Strategy – Investing in the Early Years
In July 2009 COAG endorsed a National Early Childhood Development Strategy – Investing in the Early Years which provides a shared vision for the development of young children in Australia – that by 2020 all children have the best start in life to create a better future for themselves and for the nation.
The strategy aims to achieve the following outcomes for children:
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children are born and remain healthy |
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children’s environments are nurturing, culturally appropriate and safe |
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children have the knowledge and skills for life and learning |
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children benefit from better social inclusion and reduced disadvantage, especially Indigenous children |
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children are engaged in and benefiting from educational opportunities |
The strategy also aims to achieve the following outcomes for families in recognition of the primary role and influence of families in raising children:
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families are confident and have the capabilities to support their children’s development |
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quality early childhood development services support the workforce participation choices of families |
The strategy provides a national framework to guide action by all governments in Australia to improve outcomes for children and their families. The strategy is based on clear evidence that the early years of a child’s life are very important for their future health, development and wellbeing.
National Quality Framework
On 7 December 2009 the Australian Government, in partnership with state and territory governments, agreed to a number of improvements to early childhood education and care through the introduction of a National Quality Framework.
The key points for family day care are:
Qualification Requirements
Under the new National Quality Framework by 1 January 2014 family day care coordinators will need to have a diploma-level early childhood education and care qualifications and all family day care carers will be required to have (or be actively working towards) a Certificate III level early childhood education and care qualification.
Ratios
Across Australia, the ratios for mixed age-groups of children in family day care will be one carer to seven children with a maximum of four children not yet attending school, which will also come into effect on 1 January 2014.
Quality Rating System
A new national rating system will also be introduced with each service being rated on the quality of service they provide. Each service will be assessed on their performance across the seven areas that make up the new quality standard and given one overall rating. The first changes start in 2010 during a transistion phase where services will begin to undergo assessment against the new standard. From 1 January 2012, all services will be assessed against the new standard.
Click on the links below for further information:
Early Years Learning Framework
The reform agenda includes an Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) for Australian children’s services.
The EYLF is a document which aims to extend and enrich children’s learning from birth to five yeas and through the transition to school. It will assist educators to provide young children with opportunities to maximise their potential and develop a foundation for future success in learning.
The EYLF may complement, supplement or replace individual state and territory frameworks; the exact relationship will be determined by each jurisdiction. FDCA will investigate the intentions of each jurisdiction to ascertain how the EYLF will be implemented in each state and territory.
Family Day Care Australia provided significant input into the draft EYLF which was piloted in 27 sites during April/May 2009, three of which were family day care services – in the Northern Territory (Darwin), South Australia (Mt. Gambier, Southern Region) and New South Wales (The Infants Home Ashfield, Sydney).
On 2 July 2009 COAG endorsed the Early Years Learning Framework. Implementation of the Framework will commence from July 2009.
Supporting documents:
Early Childhood Education – Universal Access
The Australian Government is committed to ensuring that every child has access to a quality early childhood education program. The program is to be delivered by a four-year university-trained early childhood teacher, for 15 hours a week, 40 weeks a year, in the year before formal schooling (often referred to as ‘preschool’ or ‘kindergarten’). The commitment is to be fully implemented by 2013.
This commitment will be underpinned by the development of the Early Years Learning Framework and supported by National Quality Standards for Child Care and Preschool, which will raise the quality of early childhood education delivered, regardless of setting, and improve access for disadvantaged children to early learning opportunities.
How a preschool program that meets the delivery model outlined by the Australian Government can be delivered successfully in family day care is the subject of comprehensive discussion at the national level. The five year plan for the sector will include universal access as one of its objectives and we will be continuing our discussions on how this may proceed.
Early Childhood Workforce Strategy
Family Day Care Australia is committed to workforce professionalisation that contributes to enhanced quality outcomes for children.
The sector consultation on the COAG discussion paper: A national quality framework for early childhood education and care in late 2008 enables FDCA to advocate that as a minimum, all family day care carers should work towards obtaining a Certificate III in Children’s Services. Further, all coordination unit staff who have regular interactions with carers and children should hold a minimum qualification of Diploma of Children’s Services. This has been reflected in the options put forward for family day care in the recently released Regulation Impact Statement for Early Childhood Education and Care Quality Reforms.
Productivity Places Program
Under the Skilling Australia for the Future initiative, the Australian government has funded the Productivity Places Program which will deliver 711,000 training places over 5 years in areas of skills shortage – including child care – to ensure that Australian workers develop the skills they need.
Of the places, 392,000 training places will be allocated to existing workers wanting to gain or upgrade their skills, and 319,000 will be allocated to job seekers. Job seeker places are fully funded under the Productivity Places Program. Places for existing workers will be jointly funded by the state or territory government (40%), the Australian government (50%) and employers or individuals will contribute the remaining 10%.
During 2008 places made available were primarily for job seekers; during 2009 the existing workers component of the Productivity Places Program will be fully implemented.
Rollout of existing worker places became the responsibility of the states and territories from 1 January 2009. In most instances there is a tender process to which Registered Training Organisations must respond in order to secure places for particular qualifications. Further information on existing worker places can be accessed from the relevant state or territory government as listed below.
South Australia
Productivity Places Program Team – Department of Further Education, Employment, Science and Technology
Ph: (08) 8207 8767
Email: dfeest.ppp@saugov.sa.gov.au
Tasmania
Lee Veitch
Senior Project Officer – Skills for Growth –
Skills Tasmania
Ph: (03) 6233 7131
Email: lee.veitch@skills.tas.gov.au
Western Australia
Department of Education and Training Western Australia
Ph: (08) 9264 4162
Employers contact the ApprentiCentre on 13 19 54 or email apprenticentre@det.wa.edu.au
Queensland
Department of Education, Training and the Arts
Ph: 1300 369 935
Northern Territory
Department of Education and Training
Ph: (08) 8901 1357
Enquiries regarding the existing worker pilot projects (08) 8999 5659
New South Wales
Training Market NSW – Department of Education and Training
Ph: (02) 9266 8008
Email: trainingmarket@det.nsw.edu.au
Victoria
Skills Victoria – Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development
Ph: (03) 9651 9999
Email: skills@diird.vic.gov.au
ACT Education and Training
For more information please visit the Government productivity places program website.
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| Productivity Commission – review of regulatory burdens on business |
Overview
In February 2007, the Productivity Commission was asked to review, over a five-year period, the burdens on business arising from Australian government regulation.
The objective of the review is to ensure that the current stock of regulation is efficient and effective and to identify priority areas where regulation needs to be improved, consolidated or removed. The Commission’s task is to identify improvements to regulation that will raise the productivity of businesses without compromising the underlying policy objectives. For 2009, the task is to examine regulations that affect the social and economic infrastructure services sector — this includes energy, construction, transport, telecommunications and broadcasting, health care and social assistance, education, aged care and child care.
Draft research report
A draft research report – Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business: Social and Economic Infrastructure Services Sector – identified ways to reduce the regulatory burdens on business in aged care, child care, education, telecommunications, energy, transport and other areas. Chapter 3 specifically refers to child care – Chapter 3 Child Care
During July 2009 the family day care community was invited to examine the draft research report and provide written comments on the draft recommendations in Chapter 3 to Family Day Care Australia to feed into a national response to this review. Download the Family Day Care Australia Submission to the Productivity Commission's Annual Review of Regulatory Burdens on Business - July 2009.
The Productivity Commission released its final research report on the Review in August 2009.
In most instances, the recommendations are in line with the views represented in Family Day Care Australia’s submission.
However, the Productivity Commission rejected the recommendation relating to the publishing of a ‘not accredited’ status of the NCAC website. One of the issues raised in the Family Day Care Australia submission was that this should only be done after the whole accreditation and appeal process has been completed, and in the meantime a ‘decision pending’ status could be published. Page 109 in Chapter 3 outlines that this recommendation was rejected for the following reasons:
‘So long as parents are provided with sufficient information explaining why a service is in the existing ‘not accredited’ category, and they are aware that the service must improve practice over the following three to six months to meet the standards required for accreditation, they can make an informed decision as to whether their children should enrol or remain enrolled at the service.’
We thank all members who contributed to the Family Day Care Australia response to this important review.
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| Senate Inquiry into the Provision of Child Care in Australia |
A Senate inquiry was held in the wake of the collapse of ABC Learning. Submissions were due in January with the committee report expected in March and subsequently extended to November 2009.
The terms of reference for the inquiry were as follows:
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the financial, social and industry impact of the ABC Learning collapse on the provision of child care in Australia |
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alternative options and models for the provision of child care |
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the role of governments at all levels in: |
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funding for community, not-for-profit and independent service providers |
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consistent regulatory frameworks for child care across the country |
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licensing requirements to operate child care centres |
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nationally-consistent training and qualification requirements for child care workers, and |
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the collection, evaluation and publishing of reliable, up-to-date data on casual and permanent child care vacancies |
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the feasibility for establishing a national authority to oversee the child care industry in Australia |
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other related matters |
Family Day Care Australia representatives gave evidence to the Senate Standing Committee on Education, Employment and Workplace Relations Reference Committee on 16 July 2009
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Productivity Inquiry - Paid Maternity Leave, Paternity and Parental Leave 2008 |
The Australian Government asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a public inquiry into paid maternity, paternity and paternal leave. The inquiry concentrated on support for parents of newborn children up to the age of two years.
The inquiry:
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considered the economic, productivity and social costs and benefits of providing paid maternity, paternity and parental leave |
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assessed the current extent of employer-provided of paid maternity, paternity and parental leave in Australia |
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identify the models that could be used to provide such parental support and assess these against a number of criteria. These include their cost effectiveness; impacts on business; labour market consequences; work/family preferences of parents; child and parental welfare; and interactions with the Social Security and Family Assistance Systems |
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assess the impacts and applicability of the various models across the full range of employment forms (such as the self-employed, farmers, and shift workers) |
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assess the efficiency and effectiveness of Government policies that would facilitate the provision and take-up of these models |
The inquiry has now concluded. The final inquiry report was sent to Government on 28 February 2009 and was publicly released on 12 May 2009.
As part of the 2009-10 Budget, the Australian Government announced its intention to introduce a Paid Parental Leave scheme. The scheme being introduced is closely based on that proposed in the Commission's final inquiry report.
FDCA Submission to the Productivity Enquiry and Appendix - Relief Care - Katrina Mason
Australia's Paid Parental Leave Scheme - Supporting working Australian families
For more information please visit the Productivity Commission website.
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| Healthy Eating and Physical Activities Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings |
The Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood Settings are evidence-based, practical resources and materials that will support healthy eating and physical activity in children attending early childhood education and care services including family day care, child care centres and pre-school. The Guidelines will be linked to the new National Quality Framework for Early Childhood Education and Care.
The Guidelines are in the final stages of being prepared for distribution and it is expected that they will soon be available on the Department of Health and Ageing's website at www.health.gov.au. Please monitor the website for any updates and details about how you can order copies of these resources over the coming weeks. |
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| State/Territory Regulations |
Please click here to view the child care regulations in each state and territory.
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Please click here to view the National Standards for family day care.
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