• Submission September 2009 - Consultation Regulation Impact Statement for Early Childhood Education & Quality Reforms [PDF 100 KB]

SNAICC has prepared a submission to the National Early Childhood Education & Care Quality Reforms consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). SNAICC’s submission was prepared in collaboration with the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Training Network. 

While the National Quality Agenda is initially focusing on long day care, family day care, outside-school-hours care and preschools it will eventually include all service types including Indigenous specific ‘budget-based’ services including: flexible/innovative services, mobile child care services, MACS (Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s Services) and crèches, including JET crèches. The deadline for submissions was 31 August 2009.

Some of the key points made by SNAICC in our submission were:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families use both mainstream and ‘non-mainstream’, Indigenous-specific services. Some of the Indigenous specific services(such as Aboriginal preschools) are captured in this RIS, but most, such as the budget based services are not. The emphasis of the SNAICC submission is on the services captured by this RIS, but SNAICC also addresses points that are particularly relevant to Indigenous specific, budget based services. Acknowledging that the government is planning to do further work on how a majority of Indigenous specific services will be incorporated in the National Quality Agenda, SNAICC will provide more detail on these services at a later date.
• SNAICC supports the proposed ratios, but notes that the implementation time frames must incorporate adjusted government funding to support the changes. We are concerned that the improvements will raise gap fees and exclude many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families.
• Increasing levels of participation in preschool and child care by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children requires services to be affordable, accessible and appropriate. Culture is integral to a child’s wellbeing and development; services must therefore be culturally appropriate.
• Cultural training and awareness programs for preschool and child care management committees and staff should be funded and developed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander researchers, early childhood educators and service providers.
• A service that achieves a ‘National Quality Standard’ would need to demonstrate that it is culturally appropriate and provides culturally appropriate programs for all the children, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.
• Services that do not demonstrate progress towards development of increased Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultural competence should not be able to claim any excellence rating.

Submission September 2009 - Consultation Regulation Impact Statement for Early Childhood Education & Quality Reforms [PDF 100 KB]

Contact

Julie Higgins - julie@snaicc.asn.au

Ph. (03) 9489 8099