Busy Bees buys New Zealand’s Provincial for $NZ160 million
Financial Review - Anthony Macdonald, Yolanda Redrup and Kanika Sood - October 21, 2021
Early childhood education provider Busy Bees Early Learning Australia has acquired New Zealand-based group Provincial Education from majority shareholder Waterman Private Capital, Ascentro Capital and its founders. Industry sources suggest Busy Bees...
Revealed: Best childcare centres in Central Queensland
The Courier Mail - Lachlan Berlin - October 21, 2021
The vast majority of Central Queensland childcare centres are meeting or exceeding national quality standards, according to new data released by the federal government. The National Quality Framework is Australia’s system for regulating early learning...
KU Heathcote Preschool celebrates 125 years of founder
The Leader - October 21, 2021
The children of KU Heathcote Preschool celebrated the 125th anniversary of the institution's founding organisation by establishing a vegetable garden to support sustainable practice. KU Children's Service (KU), which runs the Heathcote Preschool, was founded in 1895...
Attendance records accurate? Advice and support for meeting Regulations 158 and 159
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 21, 2021
The New South Wales Department of Education, which also serves as the state’s regulatory authority, has issued advice designed to support services to meet Regulations 158 and 159. “It’s important to keep an accurate record of attendance for each child...
Children in schools and childcare ‘didn’t drive’ Delta spread
The Sydney Morning Herald - Adam Carey and Madeleine Heffernan - October 21, 2021
Analysis of coronavirus cases in schools and early learning centres by the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute has found the Delta variant has mostly spread from adult to adult, less frequently from adult to child and is only rarely transmitted between children...
Victorian suburbs where childcare costs are rising
Herald Sun - Jade Gailberger - October 20, 2021
Thousands of families across Victoria have been hit with childcare fee hikes during the pandemic. But some parents in regional parts of the state and Melbourne’s Bayside have also had a win, with the cost of care falling compared to March 2020. New figures...
Victorian ECEC rules clarified ahead of partial reopen day this Friday
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 20, 2021
The Victorian Government has recapped current restrictions relating to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, ahead of two upcoming milestones in terms of unrestricted access to children returning to ECEC. Services with funded kindergarten...
Burgess Rawson confirms November auction schedule with 12 ECEC sites feature
The Sector - Jason Roberts - October 19, 2021
Burgess Rawson, the early childhood education and care (ECEC) focused real estate and business broker, has confirmed its next series of portfolio auctions will see twelve ECEC sites featuring. Following the new format of three consecutive auctions introduced...
ECEC to re-open ahead of schedule after Victorian’s hit vax targets earlier than expected
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 18, 2021
Early childhood education and care (ECEC) services in Victoria are set to re-open ahead of schedule after the state hit its 70 per cent double vaccination target sooner than anticipated, Premier Daniel Andrews announced over the weekend...
$98m childcare deal sealed as centres dubbed ‘the new bank’
Real Commercial - Nathan Mawby - October 15, 2021
An almost $100m Australian mega-deal for 12 childcare centres, all but one in Melbourne, has been struck as early learning real estate has been branded “the new bank”. It comes as another super-sized childcare portfolio is expected to top $30m by November...
ELACCA welcomes ACECQA’s ten year roadmap to a strong respected ECEC workforce
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 15, 2021
The Early Learning and Care Council of Australia (ELACCA) has welcomed the release of the new National Workforce Strategy for the early learning and care sector. ‘After a sustained effort by governments, peak bodies and unions, we now have a document...
Court ruling on Think schemes of arrangement pave way for Busy Bees deal to close as planned
The Sector - Jason Roberts - October 12, 2021
The Federal Court of Australia has now lodged orders approving the Think Childcare and Think Development schemes of arrangement with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) paving the way for the implementation date of the...
Keeping kids well the focus of new national mental health strategy
The Sydney Morning Herald - Rachel Clun - October 11, 2021
Among the recommendations of a new national children’s mental health and wellbeing strategy, which is being launched by the federal government on Tuesday, families, doctors and educators will be given the tools to identify the early signs and symptoms...
Epping house to be child care centre after setting Australian record
The Chronicle - Matt Bell - October 11, 2021
A child care development site in Sydney’s northwest has sold for $5.061 million at auction, setting a new record sale rate per childcare place in Australia. The 1349sqm site at 25 Ray Rd in Epping, which is approved for a 50-place child care centre, was purchased by...
Childcare subsidy changes to benefit 250,000 Australian families
The Australian - Ellen Ransley - October 11, 2021
Under the additional subsidies, families with two more children aged under five in care will have their Child Care Subsidy (CCS) rate increased by 30 percentage points for their second child and younger children, with a maximum rate of 95 per cent...
Cairns best childcare centres revealed: Full list of Far North rankings
Cairns Post - Mark Murray - October 11, 2021
A CAIRNS childcare centre has credited the connection between staff, families and their kids for a brilliant rating from a government agency, making it among the top centres in Queensland. The C and K Edmonton Community Kindergarten was rated as...
Federal government to fast-track Child Care Subsidy increase by four months
ABC News - Stephanie Dalzell - October 10, 2021
The Child Care Subsidy is the federal government's main program to help families with the cost of child care. It is means-tested and is paid directly to providers, which then pass that fee reduction on to families. Currently, if your family's combined income...
Childcare costs cut to help Aussie families save money, get mums back to work
The Daily Telegraph - James Campbell - October 10, 2021
Cuts to the cost of childcare scheduled to kick in next July will be brought forward to March, saving about 250,000 families across Australia an average of $761 this financial year. The move, designed to help get more women back in the workforce as the economy...
Families could pay full childcare fees from mid-October
The Age - By Adam Carey and Anna Prytz - October 8, 2021
Parents in Melbourne could be forced to start paying full childcare fees within weeks despite the state’s lockdown restrictions prohibiting most children from attending. On Friday morning, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly announced a last-minute, one-week extension...
Port Macquarie Community Preschool supports vaccinations for its community
Port Macquarie News - Liz Langdale - October 8, 2021
Childhood educators and anyone else who works at the centre (including maintenance workers) are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 under the current NSW Government guidelines by November 8. However the same rules have not been introduced...
How government assessors rated every South Australian childcare centre
The Advertiser - Emily Jarvis and Tim Williams - October 8, 2021
One in every seven childcare services in South Australia is not meeting national standards, latest figures show – and at least half of those failing to make the grade are out of hours school services. Data from the Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority...
Gold Coast's best childcare centres revealed: Full list of citywide rankings
The Courier Mail - Kyle Wisniewski - October 7, 2021
A GOLD COAST childcare centre has seen a significant jump in its rating from a government agency, making it among the top centres in Queensland. St Kevin’s Kindergarten was rated as “exceeding” national quality standards in the report by the Australian Children’s...
West Wimmera Shire Council ready to take ECEC investigations to the next level
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 7, 2021
Edenhope emerged from the study as being a location with a deep need for additional childcare services, given there is currently only one family day care worker presently providing education and care. The study also examined the range of service model options...
Food bans in schools discouraged in new allergy strategy
The Age - Mary Ward - October 7, 2021
The National Allergy Strategy, a joint initiative of the peak bodies representing people affected by allergies and clinicians, on Thursday released new guidelines for the management of allergies and anaphylaxis in schools and childcare centres...
Daycare centres are exposing children to risky play, and there are unexpected results
ABC News - Kym Agius - October 7, 2021
The diversity creates free-play zones, where children are in charge to take their own risks and set their own goals, whether it is physical, emotional or social. Mr Ritson said they can gravitate towards their needs for that day: Do they need to socialise and ride...
Sydney child care development site sells setting new record
The Market Herald - Rhys Prka - October 6, 2021
A child care development property in Sydney's northwest has sold at auction for $5.061 million, setting a record for the sale price per childcare place in Australia. Healing the World Pty, a local child care operator, paid $101,220 per place for the 1,349sqm...
Rapid tests to be introduced in healthcare settings, schools as Victoria records 1420 new COVID-19 cases, 11 deaths
The Age - Cassandra Morgan - October 6, 2021
Mr Foley said it was expected that children would eventually use the tests in childcare centres and schools. “It will be up to, particularly the private, agencies. But we would want to make sure that rapid antigen testing is as freely and as widely available to different...
Barbara Wallisch recognised in National Family Day Care Awards
The Sector - Freya Lucas - October 6, 2021
Family day care (FDC) Educator Barbara Wallisch, who lives on the Central Coast of New South Wales, has been announced as one of 69 regional educators selected in the 2021 Family Day Care Australia Excellence in Family Day Care Awards...
$170m offer for Allaf childcare portfolio as sector hits new highs
Financial Review - Martin Kelly - October 5, 2021
Surging childcare centre asset sales for 2021 are set to break all previous records with a buyer understood to have entered into a $170 million plus agreement to acquire the 21-asset Allaf Property childcare portfolio. Investors have been charging into the sector...
Centrelink chases Aussie families over $35.3 million in debts
Yahoo Finance - Jessica Yun - October 5, 2021
The Morrison Government is chasing more than 48,000 Australian families to pay back millions in debt in a move that has been blasted as “hypocritical” and “astounding”. Figures from Services Australia reveal hundreds of families in every state are being pursued...
