The Minister for Early Childhood Education Kate Ellis today welcomed the release of an independent expert report - Child Care and Early Education in Australia.
“The findings of the child development experts who’ve authored this report back the historic action we’re taking under the National Quality Framework,” Ms Ellis said.
The research released today shows that we’re on the right track in our comprehensive strategy to create a world-class early childhood education and care system for Australian children.
The report draws on data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children, which tracked almost 10 000 children and their families over two years from 2004, to find out detailed information about their lives and experiences.
Child Care and Early Education in Australia finds that:
- children who attended an early childhood program had better language skills than those who did not
- high quality care is associated with gains in language and cognitive outcomes in toddlers and preschoolers
- in groups where teachers were university qualified and more teacher-supported small-group activities were offered, children had higher pro-social behaviour and less problem behaviours
- current regulations and processes are multi-layered and complex.
The National Quality Framework builds on the positive findings of the report and directly tackles the problems identified in the report.
“Lower staff-to-child ratios will mean each staff member can give more care and attention to each child, and higher staff qualifications will enable staff to guide each child’s individual learning,” Ms Ellis said.
“A transparent quality ratings system will allow parents to make an informed choice about their child’s care and we’re cutting red tape with streamlined regulatory arrangements and a national body to oversee the new standards.”
The Australian Government is providing about $61 million to the States and Territories to support the National Quality Framework, which will be phased in from July.
The report was commissioned by the Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs and was written by a group of academics from Charles Sturt University, Macquarie University, Curtin University and the Telethon Institute for Child Health Research.
Child Care and Early Education in Australia is available from www.fahcsia.gov.au (named Social Policy Research Paper 40).
For more on the National Quality Framework visit www.mychild.gov.au or call 1300 363 079.