Child care is vital to post-virus recovery
The Canberra Times - Katrina Curtis - AAP - March 31, 2020
Whether Australia's economy bounces back as quickly as politicians hope once the coronavirus crisis is over could come down to one thing: child care. Centres around the country are teetering on the brink of closure as parents pull their kids out in droves, whether because...
What is the Government doing to help childcare providers and parents during the coronavirus pandemic?
ABC News - Conor Duffy - March 31, 2020
Parents across Australia face a troubling dilemma as they weigh up job losses and health concerns, about whether to abandon a hard-won childcare place. Mums and dads have been urged by state premiers to keep their children home from school, and many have applied the same...
Childcare centres teetering on brink of closure plead with the government to keep paying fee subsidies as parents pull their kids out of class
Daily Mail Australia - AAP - March 31, 2020
Centres around the country are teetering on the brink of closure as parents pull their kids out in droves, whether because they can no longer afford the fees or have health fears. The sector is warning unless urgent steps are taken, the crucial care that allows the parents of more than...
COVID-19: Star and Gold Coast childcare giant G8 Education to delay dividend payments
Gold Coast Bulletin - Alister Thomson - March 31, 2020
Childcare giant G8 Education and casino operator Star Group will both delay dividend payments as they grapple to conserve cash during the COVID-19 pandemic. In an announcement to the ASX this morning G8, which has more than 400 childcare centres in Australia, said the...
Why the G8 Education share price rocketed 13% higher today
The Motley Fool - James Mickleboro - March 31, 2020
The G8 Education Ltd (ASX: GEM) share price has been a very strong performer on the S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO) on Tuesday. In morning trade the childcare centre operator’s shares are up 13% to 79 cents. This morning G8 Education released an update on the Federal...
Bendigo early learning services urgently need more help during coronavirus pandemic
Bendigo Advertiser - March 31, 2020
The early learning sector could soon collapse and urgently needs the government to step in, two Bendigo-based providers have warned. Goodstart Early Learning has seen one in three children pulled during the coronavirus pandemic and Jenny's Early Learning has warned it cannot stay open without federal government intervention. "Currently, we would be more financially viable to be forced to close...
Childcare centres on the Coast won't last the week, childcare workers warn
The Advocate - Meg Powell - March 31, 2020
Childcare centres across the Coast are unlikely to survive the week as numbers plummet below the point of sustainability, industry voices have warned. The situation was highlight by record lows in attendance at the Milpara Learning Centre on Monday, despite its proximity to...
Four pre-schoolers among new Victorian coronavirus cases, bringing state total to five
Nine.com.au - Chanel Zagon - March 31, 2020
Four pre-schoolers are among Victoria's 96 new confirmed cases of COVID-19, bringing the state's total to five young children infected. Victorian Health Minister Jenny Mikakos today revealed three cases were babies aged under one year, as well as a one-year-old. One of the babies...
Blacktown coronavirus cases on the rise, latest health data shows
The Daily Telegraph - Kate Lockley, Blacktown Advocate - March 31, 2020
As of 8pm on Monday night, NSW Health confirmed the Blacktown Local Government Area had 67 cases of COVID-19, with six linked to a Blacktown school and childcare centre. The Rose of Sharon Childcare Centre in Blacktown also has three confirmed cases of the virus after a ...
National Cabinet to discuss arrangements for ECEC at next meeting as sector awaits more direct support
The Sector - Jason Roberts - March 31, 2020
The National Cabinet, which is made up of Australia’s first ministers – The Prime minister, premiers and territory leaders – has confirmed that early childhood education and care (ECEC) will be included in the agenda for their next meeting on Friday 3rd April 2020. Formed at the ...
COVID-19 – Implications for Employers series – Part Two – Leave Entitlements
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 31, 2020
Over the coming days The Sector will be bringing you an informative series, designed to explore the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic for employers. Covering issues such as employee safety, workplace obligations, leave entitlements and managing business continuity...
Wage Subsidy and Postponement of Final Dividend - GEM - G8 EDUCATION LIMITED
Financial Review - March 31, 2020
G8 Education Limited (the “Group” or “G8“, ASX: GEM) provides the following update in relation to the
Federal Government’s wage subsidy package and postponement of the Group’s H2 fully franked dividend. In response to the COVID‐19 pandemic, the Federal Government announced...
Childcare sector says collapse averted for now
Australian Financial Review - Robert Bolton - March 30, 2020
A childcare sector that was on the verge of mass stand downs says the prime minister's job keeper package will help businesses keep their staff even as attendance falls close to zero. The industry employs more than 180,000 staff but has suffered a collapse in attendance...
If coronavirus forces childcare services to close for good, parents will be left stranded
The Guardian - Lisa Bryant - March 30, 2020
When health workers can’t turn up to their jobs because they have no one to look after their children there will be an uproar – but it’ll be too late. Parents are withdrawing their children from education and care in droves. They are doing it because they are concerned for their children ...
Tasmanian childcare centres are on the brink of collapse because of plummeting attendance and no support
The Examiner - Sue Bailey - March 30, 2020
Tasmania's childcare sector is on the brink of collapse because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Discovery Early Learning Centres chief executive Jo Walsh said the situation was "dire" as attendance at childcare centres had plummeted. "Parents are staying at home and keeping their children...
Coronavirus live updates: $130b announced to save Australian jobs
The Daily Telegraph - Jessica McSweeney and Georgia Clark - March 30, 2020
Workers will be kept in their jobs with fortnightly $1500 government-funded payments in an extraordinary $130 billion bid to keep Australia's economy afloat. Prime Minister Scott Morrison said the new "JobKeeper" payment would support as many as six million Australians over the next ...
Coronavirus Blacktown: Six new cases at school, childcare centre
The Daily Telegraph - Kate Lockley, Blacktown Advocate - March 30, 2020
A school and childcare centre in the Blacktown are the latest to be hit by the coronavirus crisis, with six fresh cases. A childcare centre only 5km away from the school also has three confirmed cases of the virus, with two children and a childcare worker coming down with the virus...
How will the COVID-19 pandemic impact ASX education shares?
The Motley Fool - Nikhil Gangaram - March 30, 2020
The social measures and restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic are poised to change the landscape of Australia’s education sector. G8 is Australia’s largest early childhood education and care provider listed on the ASX. The company operates around 470 centres in Australia and ...
Uncertainty around ECEC support remains despite PM and Council comments
The Sector - Jason Roberts - March 30, 2020
The latest round of high level Government press conferences and meetings, held 27 March, referenced the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector, but yielded no additional support measures, despite rapidly deteriorating operating conditions being experienced across the sector...
Goodstart outlines COVID-19 plan to support families, educators and children
The Sector - Freya Lucas - March 30, 2020
With early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings in all Australian states and territories, many in the sector are watching the responses from Goodstart Early Learning to the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic, seeking guidance about the best way forward in a rapidly changing environment...
SA to close some schools in bid to contain cluster
Nine.com.au - Emily McPherson - March 29, 2020
South Australia will close some schools in the Barossa Valley until further notice in an effort to shut down a cluster of COVID-19 cases. Schools, childcare centres and out-of-school hours services in the affected areas will also be closed from Monday until future notice in an attempt to ...
What Is MindChamps PreSchool's (SGX:CNE) P/E Ratio After Its Share Price Tanked?
Yahoo Finance - Simply Wall St - March 28, 2020
Unfortunately for some shareholders, the MindChamps PreSchool (SGX:CNE) share price has dived 43% in the last thirty days. Given the 63% drop over the last year, some shareholders might be worried that they have become bagholders. What is a bagholder? It is a shareholder...
Childcare centre owners sound alarm as state and federal governments clash over coronavirus bailout
ABC News - Conor Duffy - March 28, 2020
Desperately needed healthcare workers could be forced to stay home to care for children unless immediate action is taken to rescue the childcare sector, according to operators who are warning of an imminent industry collapse. "The industry, the entire sector, the profession, we're in crisis," ...
Coronavirus: Pemulwuy Children’s Centre mum tests positive
The Daily Telegraph - Joanne Vella, Parramatta Advertiser - March 28, 2020
A mother who visited Pemulwuy Children’s Centre twice in the past two weeks has tested positive to coronavirus, potentially infecting scores of families. Cumberland Council has temporarily closed the Newport St centre, where the parent visited while she had COVID-19...
Coronavirus case: Wattle Grove Early Education & Care Centre closed
The Daily Telegraph - Cindy Ngo, Liverpool Leader - March 28, 2020
A council-operated childcare centre in Liverpool has been closed for deep cleaning after a parent was diagnosed with COVID-19, as the number of people testing positive for the virus soars above 100 in the region. Wattle Grove Early Education and Care Centre was closed on Wednesday...
Coronavirus and kids: Separating fact from fiction
7news.com.au - Kelly Burke - March 28, 2020
Super immune or super spreader? Parents navigating the mixed messages surrounding coronavirus and its effect on children have some justification in feeling frustrated and worried. Here is the latest on what we know about kids and COVID-19. The theory that kids are immune...
Childcare, OOSH sectors facing collapse, fear they will never recover
The Sydney Morning Herald - Jordan Baker - March 27, 2020
Four out of five childcare centres are on the brink of collapse and the out of school hours care industry fears it may never recover from the COVID-19 crisis, with both sectors being told they must wait for financial relief until the government orders them to close. The Early Learning...
Ministers consider support for childcare
Nine.com.au - By AAP - March 27, 2020
Education ministers will consider the plight of childcare centres faced with falling numbers of children and the prospect of closure as families heed the message to keep socially distant and slow the spread of coronavirus. Federal minister Dan Tehan says he is aware of the challenges...
Coronavirus: Canberra childcare centres would close without federal government subsidy says YWCA Canberra
The Canberra Times - Lucy Bladen - March 27, 2020
Childcare centres face being made insolvent if the federal government does not issue subsidies to the sector, according to one Canberra provider. YWCA Canberra chief executive Frances Crimmins said the organisation's early learning childcare centres across Canberra had ...
Early Childhood president Ros Cornish says some centres have had half their children withdraw
The Examiner - Sue Bailey - March 26, 2020
Tasmania's 290 child care centres are struggling as parents who have lost their jobs withdraw their children. Early Childhood Australia Tasmanian president Ros Cornish said there had been a massive withdrawal of children from centres in the past two weeks. In some childcare centres ...
