September & October 2023
Childcare feels like the hottest topic in Australia at the moment. Whether it’s in relation to long wait lists in every town and city, inability for parents to return to work as a result or industry and workplaces up in arms about the lack of staff. There is also an equally if not more important reason childcare is needed in all regions and communities, Child Development.
Childcare isn’t just ‘babysitting’. Childcare is staffed by qualified educators who are nurturing children at the most important stage of life. A time when the brain grows to 90% of its adult size. Childcare is a keystone of the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) system along with kindergarten. For some children ECEC is complementing their growth as a part of a family or single parent household, for some it can be where developmental delays are observed that may have gone unnoticed in a busy household and for some children this is the only place where they feel safe, learn valuable social skills and get to experience the joy of being a child.
The challenge with ECEC is that it is framed in a conversation around economic viability, not equity. ECEC is a universal service that makes a community attractive for families, supports a teacher to return to the local primary school, a great agronomist to continue their career whilst balancing parenthood, provides well-needed respite for a mother struggling with personal challenges, and supports children to thrive – a triple dividend investment.
As well-known Australian of the Year, Professor Fiona Stanley stated in her recent submission to the Commonwealth Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care,
‘There is no redo of the early years, and how those years are invested is critical to every aspect of children’s lives and to our collective future’.
News
Leaders gather for ECEC discussions
In late October, By Five along with our friends at the North Central LLEN, hosted an ECEC for Rural Communities Roundtable in Warracknabeal to discuss the barriers around accessing equitable childcare in small rural communities.
Bringing our Communities Together
We are blown away by the response to the Children’s Week Street Art Gallery across the Wimmera Southern Mallee and we want to thank everyone who got involved for such an important week.
ECEC workforce & transition to school update
Recently, By Five facilitated a Kinder to School transition discussion in Horsham with our local kindergarten and schools and representatives from the Department of Education.
Early Years Awards
By Five are thrilled that their flagship Paediatric Project has been announced as a finalist in the 2023 Victorian Early Years Awards for ‘Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing’.
Improving access to quality maternity care
In August, the Australian College of Midwives and the Rural Doctors Association of Australia coordinated a national forum to drive solutions to improve and sustain access to safe and quality maternity care in rural and remote Australia.
