Key points
- A report from The Centre for Policy Development has laid out what governments should do to improve the childcare sector in the next 12 months.
- The report identified workforce shortages as one of the main issues to be addressed, if improvements are to be made.
- There are about 6500 job vacancies across childcare now – more than double the usual in pre-pandemic times.
Advocacy groups say dire workforce shortages in childcare need to be overcome if state and federal governments are to achieve their goal of improving outcomes in the sector.
With about 6500 job vacancies across early education, experts are also urging governments to seize on the momentum for change created by the federal election and state promises, and set the country up to become the best place in the world to raise a child.
Early childhood educators Sumi Chowdhury, Ptiyanka Chopra and Nidhi Katyal with the children they teach at Goodstart Early Learning in Flemington.Credit:Chris Hopkins
Centre for Policy Development’s early childhood development council co-chair Leslie Loble says early childhood education and care is on the agenda for politicians around the country, and that should be used as a launch pad for other policies to help children.
The centre on Sunday released a new road map, Starting Now, laying out what governments should do in the next 12 months.
“What we have now is this great opportunity, a once-in-a-generation opportunity really, to propel that agenda forward and to give children the great launch pad for life,” Loble said.
“There are urgent priorities to solve now, but we can’t lose sight of the next step, which is to really make that commitment to a national early childhood system.”
One of federal Labor’s signature election policies was to increase the childcare subsidy rates and expand it to more families, with the eventual aim of offering universal childcare. The NSW and Victorian governments have also made a series of announcements about improving access to childcare and preschool, including universal pre-kindergarten.
However, the sector and advocates warn workforce shortages will have to be addressed to successfully expand the system.
Head of advocacy group Early Childhood Australia Samantha Page said the increase to subsidies for parents should be “fairly straightforward” but there are more complicated issues than funding alone.
“The commitment to a universal system that is affordable for everyone is fantastic, that’s a great aspiration. But how we actually deliver that is going to take a bit of working through,” she said.
“At the moment, [workforce shortages are] a massive brake on the system … We’ve got services, closing rooms, capping numbers, not being able to give families extra days because they simply don’t have the workforce to deliver the amount of services that they’re already licensed to deliver.”
There are about 6500 job vacancies across childcare now – more than double the usual in pre-pandemic times. The crisis is showing up in an increase in the number of centres with waivers because they don’t have enough qualified teachers.
Childcare workers across the country are planning to strike in September over pay and conditions.
John Cherry, advocacy manager for Goodstart, the largest non-profit childcare provider, said many educators leaving the sector were citing burnout, along with the need for better pay and professional recognition.
“At the moment, it’s being exacerbated by workforce shortages, which means that people are working really hard, often they’re not getting the time off the floor they need to recharge, do the programming, all those sorts of things because the backfill just isn’t available,” he said.
Loble says the three prongs of affordability for parents, increasing supply and workforce must be addressed together. But she also says none of these are insurmountable.
Starting Now offers solutions; including bringing forward the subsidy boost to early 2023, getting the consumer watchdog to start monitoring fees, prioritising early childhood educators for free TAFE courses, and prioritising ways to lift pay in the sector as part of the upcoming jobs and skills summit.
Page wants to see the capped hourly rate, on which fee subsidies are based, lifted significantly with the condition the increase flows into wages. She points out the plan to increase the proportion of fees the government subsidises will make care cheaper for parents but not lead to any more money going to providers.
Cherry made a similar suggestion, saying while Goodstart has improved the wages and conditions it offers, there’s a limit to how much extra parents can pay to cover this.
“What we need, is more government investment in the sector so that we can match the government-funded wages in the public school system,” he said.
Early Childhood Education Minister Anne Aly said the government was committed to addressing the issues.
Work is already under way to task the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission to examine fees in the sector, the workforce issues would be a focus at the jobs summit, and early childhood qualifications would be part of free TAFE offerings and expanded university places, she said.
“Our early childhood educators deserve to be recognised and valued consistent with their critical role,” Aly said.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.
Most Viewed in Politics
From our partners
Source: Read Full Article
