Cairns boy found dead on childcare minibus two years after similar incident
News.com.au - February 21, 2020
The three year old boy who was found dead on a daycare bus in Cairns this week was not the first child to be left on-board one of the company’s vehicles during a heatwave, it can be revealed. In the latest incident, the boy was found dead inside a blue Goodstart Early Learning vehicle...
UniSA conducts world first review of the importance of nature play
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 20, 2020
Researchers from the University of South Australia (UniSA) have conducted a world-first review of the importance of nature play which they believe could transform children’s play spaces, supporting investment in city and urban parks, while also delivering important opportunities for...
Active Kids program under pressure after money diverted to professional sports
Sydney Morning Herald - Lisa Visentin, February 20, 2020
The Berejiklian government is facing a funding shortfall for its Active Kids voucher program, after it reallocated millions of dollars from the scheme's budget to fund professional sports. The voucher is one of the government's signature cost-of-living initiatives, with parents...
'Are you a man or a woman?' Drag queen used to kids' curly questions
Sydney Morning Herald - Josh Dye - February 20, 2020
Conda has been doing story time in costume for kids at childcare centres and libraries for about three years and says she was one of the first drag queens to bring the phenomenon to Sydney. And this weekend during the Oxtravaganza festival in the lead up to Mardi Gras...
Police seize childcare passenger lists over boy’s death in van at Edmonton
The Australian - Charlie Peel, Angelica Snowden and Sarah Elks - February 19, 2020
Detectives have seized passenger checklists from the Cairns childcare centre in whose van a three-year-old boy was found dead on Tuesday afternoon. The documents will be scrutinised for “accuracy” as part of the investigation into the death. The child had been picked up...
'Devastated' child care operator cancels bus services after three-year-old found dead
SBS - February 19, 2020
A "devastated" childcare operator has cancelled its bus services across the country after a three-year-old boy was found dead in Queensland. His body was discovered by a driver at about 3.15pm on Tuesday in a Goodstart Early Learning minibus parked outside Hambledon...
TV hit offers inspiration for future of aged care – Anthony Albanese
The New Daily - Samanatha Maiden - February 19, 2020
Anthony Albanese has called for the TV show Old People’s Home For 4-Year-Olds to be considered as part of the future of aged care in Australia under a plan to create ‘daycare’ for seniors. In a major speech in Brisbane on Wednesday, the Opposition Leader called...
‘Parent shaming’ is contributing to stress and mental anguish
The New Daily - February 19, 2020
Parents are still being picked on for public breastfeeding and accessing childcare, as new research reveals almost half of Australian parents feel they have been “parent shamed”. Mums feel it the worst, and a lot of it happens online, the survey of 1000-plus parents further revealed...
Sunshine Coast Child Care Action Plan Released
My Coast Now - Kyle Christensen - February 18, 2020
Significant research has been conducted into child care on the Sunshine Coast and the situation has been referred to as a “child care crisis.” One in five Sunshine Coast families are able to secure licensed child care, one in nine families are able to find child care for kids...
Three-year-old boy found dead by driver on childcare centre bus in Cairns
News.com.au - Sarah McPhee and Rohan Smith - February 19, 2020
The head of the Queensland early learning centre where a three-year-old boy died yesterday says she is “absolutely devastated”. Mystery still surrounds the death of the young boy found dead on a minibus parked outside a school in Cairns. The devastating find was made on a...
Seven Hills child care plans progress at rundown shops site
The Daily Telegraph - Kate Lockley, Blacktown Advocate - February 18, 2020
A rundown shopping strip in Seven Hills left idle for decades will get a new lease on life. The site at 32-38 Himalaya Cres was demolished this month to make way for a child care centre. Blacktown Council has approved plans from developer Sevens Developments to...
Australian investment in ECEC examined in latest Mitchell Institute paper
The Sector - Jason Roberts - February 17, 2020
The Mitchell Institute has released a paper examining investment in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Australia as an advance chapter of an upcoming series on financial investment in the education sector. The report explores the amounts of government funding...
Mother Nature: reshaping modern play spaces for children’s health
Mirage News - February 17, 2020
A world first review of the importance of nature play could transform children’s play spaces, supporting investment in city and urban parks, while also delivering important opportunities for children’s physical, social and emotional development. Conducted by the University...
Maranatha House inter-generational centre to host workshop
Wellington Times - February 17, 2020
The construction of an Australian-first inter-generational centre at Wellington is currently underway with the facility ready to welcome leading experts this week for a workshop. The $3 million Maranatha Gunyah Inter-generational Learning Centre will host representatives of Griffith ...
New grants to upskill early childhood workforce
Mirage News - February 17, 2020
More than $2.4 million in new grants for the early childhood sector have been made available, in an effort by the Palaszczuk Government to further upskill workers in the industry. Education Minister Grace said eligible services could apply for grants of up to $30,000 to meet...
Early Childhood Free TAFE Courses Get Underway
Mirage News - February 17, 2020
More learners across Victoria will gain a rewarding career in early childhood education and care, thanks to the Andrews Labor Government. Minister for Training and Skills and Higher Education Gayle Tierney today visited Holmesglen Institute’s Glen Waverley campus to officially...
Mayor’s plea not enough to stop Perth childcare centre
Western Suburbs Weekly - Laura Pond - February 17, 2020
A multi-million dollar childcare centre is going ahead in Floreat despite claims noise from children playing would be “annoying” to neighbours. The application is to build a centre known as The Little School, catering to 107 children from babies to five-year-olds and 25 staff...
Preschool closure shuts door on mum's plan to get work off-farm amid drought
ABC News - Laura Collins - February 17, 2020
A vital service has ended, preventing mother-of-four, Nerissa Forster, from entering the workforce in 2020 as her community enters its third year in drought. However the South Australian Government has closed the local Geranium Preschool this year, derailing their plan...
My first 100 days
Pro Bono News - Lea Corbett and Amanda Cornwall - February 17, 2020
Carolyn Morris had recently completed her first three months in the role of CEO of YMCA Victoria when we caught up with her. The Y’s previous CEO had been in the role for 17 years prior to Morris’ appointment so we were particularly keen to find out how she intended to put her own...
Bushfire-impacted preschools to receive $10k grants for fee relief
Bega District News - February 17, 2020
Preschools in bushfire-impacted areas will receive a one-off payment to provide fee relief and help with the recovery from this season's devastating fires. Minister for Education and Early Childhood Learning Sarah Mitchell announced the $10,000 grants last Thursday for more than 200 ...
Tehan announces fee relief for bushfire affected families and firefighters
The Sector - Freya Lucas - February 17, 2020
A new measure, allowing families impacted by the bushfires to receive third-party contributions towards their childcare fees without it affecting their Child Care Subsidy (CCS) entitlement, has been announced by the Federal Government, aimed at “making it easier for the...
Quality childcare has become a necessity for Australian families, it’s time the government paid up
SBS Insight - Jen Jackson - February 17, 2020
Quality preschool can deliver $2 for every $1 from government. But families are paying more for it than if they sent their child to private primary school. Some forego quality for affordability. An Australian family on the average wage typically spends close to A$6,000 on...
Here’s What We Like About Mayfield Childcare Limited (ASX:MFD)’s Upcoming Dividend
Simply Wall Street - February 17, 2020
Readers hoping to buy Mayfield Childcare Limited (ASX:MFD) for its dividend will need to make their move shortly, as the stock is about to trade ex-dividend. This means that investors who purchase shares on or after the 21st of February will not receive the dividend...
Four-storey childcare centre proposed for new high-rise zone on Taren Point Road
The Leader - Murray Trembath - February 17, 2020
A proposal for a four-storey childcare centre takes development in Sutherland Shire to a new level. The long day care centre, catering for up to 107 children from 0 to six, is proposed for the new high-rise residential area on Taren Point Road, next to Caringbah High School...
Average family spend more on childcare than they would on private schooling
The Sydney Morning Herald - Natassia Chrysanthos - February 16, 2020
Average income parents are spending more on early childhood care and education than they would sending their child to private primary schools, despite increased government funding for the sector. A family of two adults working full-time on an average combined income of ...
Childcare costs now higher than private school fees, as experts call for new funding model
ABC News - Conor Duffy and Rahni Sadler - February 16, 2020
As a senior corporate leader at one of Australia's big banks, Lina Gyle knows a thing or two about managing money. But she has not been able to find a way around the budget-busting costs of childcare for her son, Eddy. "The childcare cost is bigger than my mortgage repayments," ...
Quality childcare has become a necessity for Australian families, and for society. It’s time the government paid up
The Conversation - Jen Jackson - February 16, 2020
An Australian family on the average wage typically spends close to A$6,000 out of pocket per year on child care, a new analysis from the Mitchell Institute shows. This is more than the average cost of sending a child to a private primary school. Unlike the school sector, families don’t ...
Au Pair’s the fix for time-poor parents
The Courier-Mail - Elise Williams - February 16, 2020
Time poor parents who once splashed the cash for part-time child care services or nannies are ditching the outdated and overpriced care options, instead opting for live in, full time support for a fraction of the cost. The popularity of live-in help has risen enormously over the last decade...
The face behind the early childhood conference coming to the Illawarra in March
Illawarra Mercury - Tareyn Varley - February 16, 2020
Stella Stead has attended and keynoted enough conferences in her 24-year career to know what will send an audience straight to sleep. So when the early childhood consultant decided to turn her educator nights into an all-day conference, she set herself the challenge of...
GPs fed up with schools, clubs sending kids for 'no coronavirus' certificates
The Sydney Morning Herald - Dana McCauley - February 16, 2020
GPs are calling on schools, daycare centres and sporting clubs to stop sending children to their practices to ask for certificates declaring them coronavirus-free, saying it is not possible to categorically rule out infection - even with a swab test. "I can't write a letter to say you don't...
