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Inaugural National Convenor of NACBCS/ACCS Receives Queens Birthday Honour

By Home

Professor Deborah Brennan was named a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for significant service to social policy research, to gender equality and to tertiary education.
Professor Brennan is one of Australia’s leading researchers in comparative welfare, family policy and gender and politics. She is the author of The Politics of Australian Child Care and has advised the Australian and UK governments on the development of policies for families and children.

Dr Brennan has been professor emerita at UNSW’s Social Policy Research Centre since 2019, where she worked in the department for 15 years. She was the Inaugural Convenor of the National Association of Community Based Children’s Services (NABCBS) and is a former President of the Australian Political Science Association.

Other recipients in 2022 Queen’s Birthday Honour List for service to early and middle childhood services are Ms Robyn Monro Miller, current President of the International Play Association and a long time advocate for outside school hours care (OSHC), Professor Leslie Loble, Co-Chair of the Council on Early Childhood Development and Judith Atkinson, the current vice president and past president of the Australian Childcare Alliance.

Mrs Elaine Duyvestyn, Ms Leanne Mits and Dr Sally Murphy also received a Medal of the Order of Australia (AM) for their contribution to early childhood education in their communities.

Source: The Sector newsletter, Thursday June 16 2022

ACCS Launches TICCS In Context report

By Home, TICCSS Report

Australian Community Children’s Services is proud to launch our report TICCSS In Context revealing on how the experiences of the community sector influenced public debate during a significant period of positive change for children and families across Australia.

The Trends In Community Children’s Services Survey (TICCSS) is our ground-breaking longitudinal study of how children’s services stepped up to the challenge of each step in the improvement of minimum quality standards in child care and pre-school/kindergarten from 2012 to 2020.

TICCSS In Context sets the findings of this research in the context of the lively debate leading up to and during this seminal reform.

It examines how this research contributed to crucial policy discussions especially in defence of the reforms in the context of doubts about affordability, the administrative burden and the availability of an appropriately skilled workforce. Our research was influential in demonstrating that the new quality standards were achievable without causing services to become unaffordable for families and that it is possible to build the workforce by starting with upskilling existing educators.

It includes forewords from the Members of Parliament who drove the quality reform process and from Professor Deborah Brennan, author of The Politics of Australian Child Care: from philanthropy to feminism and beyond.

The reports on the six waves of the survey research and this contextual report will stand as a testament to the resilience of the community ECEC sector, showing leadership in times of positive change and speaking out about the impacts of calamitous events like fires and pandemics as well as the everyday vulnerabilities experienced by children and families.

ACCS Releases its Policy Platform for the next Federal Election

By Home, Position Papers

ACCS is once again bringing the voice of the community children’s services sector to policy makers in the major political parties to inform the policies they take to the next federal election, due late this year or early next year. It proposes the four headline issues that need to be addressed in this election:

  • Building a skilled and professional early and middle childhood workforce – pay equity for educators; subsidised fees for upskilling to diploma and degree early childhood qualifications; stronger controls for early childhood courses and quality assurance of providers
  • Confirm on-going commitment to the National Quality Framework to continue building quality standards beyond 2020
  • All children, including those of non-working parents, are eligible for subsidised high quality early childhood education and care for at least 2 days per week
  • Children and families experiencing vulnerability, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, are eligible for at least two days of fully subsidised access per week without going through the Additional Child Care Subsidy processes

Trends In Community Children’s Services Survey Wave 6 Report Showcases the Strengths of the Non-profit Sector

By TICCSS Report

The final survey in the longitudinal study of implementation of the National Quality Framework is now completed and the report is available on this website.

The report highlights the leadership of the community children’s services sector in implementing the quality reforms and achieving ratings of Exceeding the standards and of Excellent service.

Services are exceeding the mandatory staff to child ratios and employing more qualified educators and teachers. They support their Educational Leaders and support increasing numbers of children and families experiencing vulnerability – all while limiting fee increases.

Watch out for publication of a paper documenting the findings of the TICCSS studies in the context of the policy and advocacy debates during the eight year period of phased implementation of the National Quality Framework.

Trends In Community Children’s Services 2019 Survey report released

By TICCSS Report

The report on the 2019 TICCS Survey is now available. This important research demonstrates that:

  • More not-for-profit childcare services are high quality and fewer are poorer quality compared to services run for profit
  • Not-for-profit services maintain or improve on their already high quality ratings
  • Not-for-profit services have higher numbers of educators and teachers than they are legally required to
  • Not-for-profit services have the major structural requirements needed to be nurturing early education environments.

ACCS Responds to Senate Inquiry into Government Response to COVID-19 Pandemic

By Submissions

ACCS has alerted the Senate to the strengths of the community early childhood sector that have sustained it through the pandemic when combined with the government business continuity payments. We also advised on the challenges alerted to us by our members and the significant variations across jurisdictions. We outlined the dangers of immediately returning to the previous funding arrangements and supported the transitional proposals developed by ECA in collaboration with ACCS and other national peak bodies.

ACCS Federal Election Scorecard

By Position Papers

Read how the early childhood policies of the major parties match up with the policies that ACCS is promoting to the next Australian Government to deliver benefits to children, their families and the communities in which they live, as well as wider national benefits from social capital gains such as enhanced life course trajectories and health outcomes; and from economic gains in the short, medium and longer-term.

Also click here  to read the scorecard produced in collaboration between ACCS, the Early Learning And Care Council of Australia and the Australian Childcare Alliance.

TICCSS Fifth Wave Open – Add your voice + go into the draw to win!

By Uncategorised

Our fifth Trends In Community Children’s Services Survey has launched this week.. With a review of the NQF and an election looming, there’s never been a more crucial time to take the survey.

With your help, ACCS will put our sector’s biggest issues on the agenda in the lead up to the federal election.

Will you add your voice on the big issues in our sector + go into the draw to win a $100 Educational Experience voucher? With a $100 voucher you could upgrade your service’s equipment, resources and supplies!

ACCS Releases its Policy Platform for the Federal Election

By Position Papers

ACCS is putting all political parties on notice to show Australian families that they will protect and enhance quality in early childhood education and care if they win the next election.

The ACCS policy platform that calls for three crucial commitments from the next federal government:

• to commit to the National Partnership for the National Quality Framework in Early Childhood
• to build the skills of the educators in early and middle childhood services
• to ensure access and affordability of two full day per week of quality early childhood education and care for the children and families who have most to gain – those who are experiencing vulnerability

ACCS is also advocating for investment in the learning and development of children in the first three years of life, extending funding to three year old preschool programs in all settings, keeping children and families out of detention, protecting access for families experiencing vulnerability, continuation of the National Quality Framework and reintroduction of planning controls to prevent oversupply.

ACCS Supports the Call for Equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in the Early Years

By ACCS In Action

All children should be empowered to realise their potential and determine their own futures.

ACCS stands alongside over 40 leading child welfare, education and research organisations in endorsing the new position paper released by Early Childhood Australia and SNAICC–National Voice for our Children Working Together to Ensure Equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children in the Early Years.

We are passionate about ensuring that every Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander child can access culturally appropriate early childhood education and that families are empowered to access the support services they need so that their children can thrive.

We must work together to ensure equality for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children in the early years.

ACCS Trends in Community Children’s Services Survey 2017

By TICCSS Report

ACCS Nationwide Research shows Community children’s services are delivering some of the highest quality services in Australia.
The 4th wave of the ACCS Trends in Community Children’s Services is now available. It shows that community services are leading the way in:
• providing quality education and care services for children and families
• demonstrating a commitment to continuous quality improvement and strong support for the National Quality Framework
• providing wages and conditions above award
The research showed that community children’s services are working more closely with the wider community and have noticed an increase in the number of children attending services who are in vulnerable circumstances.
Community children’s services are concerned that children who will most benefit from ECEC will have reduced access to ECEC as a result of the reduction in eligible subsidised hours for children of families who don’t meet the Child Care Subsidy activity test. The research showed that community children’s services believe that access to ECEC can be supported through the provision of fee relief, financial support and even free ECEC services.
Community children’s services are prioritising structural aspects of quality, providing services with higher than prescribed ratios of children to educators and employing educators with higher than prescribed qualifications.

Submission: Red Tape Senate Inquiry March 2018

By Submissions

ACCS submitted to the Senate Inquiry into the impact of red tape on child care services stressing that the focus on compliance linked to quality ensures safety and well-being for children and safeguards against the use of Government funds to subsidise poor quality and unsafe services that would have potential to harm children.  Community children’s services remain very supportive of the National Quality Framework and associated law and regulations.

Opportunites for Data Collection on the Impact of the Jobs for Families Child Care Package Aug 2017

By Submissions

ACCS presented ideas to the Australian Government Department of Education and Training on ways to gather clear evidence of the impact of the new Child Care support system on:

  • women’s workforce participation
  • the participation of families experiencing vulnerability
  • sustainability of the service system in communities where many families do not meet the new Activity Test.

ACCS Response to ACCC Issues Paper on Proposed Merger between Camp Australia and Junior Adventures Group

By Submissions

25 August 2017

ACCS has provided advice to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on the potential establishment of a very large private provider in the Outside School Hours Services sector. We have drawn on the knowledge of our members and our observations about the dangerous impact of large corporations operating in the long day care sector.

Have Your Say! ACCS Trends in Community Children’s Services Survey (TICCSS) is Here!

By Uncategorised

Australian Community Children’s Services (ACCS) invites you to complete the Trends in Community Children’s Services Survey (TICCSS), and to share your views and experiences of delivering not-for-profit children’s services at this time.

Your views and experiences are a vital ingredient for effective advocacy for community children’s services around Australia. In this 4th wave we would like to hear about your service’s experiences with the national quality framework, recruitment and retention of staff, ratios, waiting lists, fees and fee increases, and vulnerabilities in your community.

ACCS is pleased to have received funding from the Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council to conduct another three waves of TICCSS, from 2017 to 2020. This research has ethical approval through the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Human Research Ethics Committee (HREC), approval number 1700000692.

For more information, please follow this link to the Participant Information Sheet.

To start the survey, please click here.

Response to Draft Guidelines for Community Child Care Fund

By Submissions

ACCS is particularly pleased with the eligibility criteria requiring not-for-profit status for the recipient agencies. However, we believe that the goals of the Community Child Care Fund would be better served if the Guidelines recognised that some services will not be able to transition to a model of operation that is self-sustaining. Entrenched poverty, long-term unemployment and disadvantage make sustainability without additional government funding impossible in many communities.

ACCS CALLS FOR ACTION TO CLOSE POOR QUALITY REGISTERED TRAINING ORGANISATIONS

By Submissions

ACCS rejects a proposal from the Commonwealth Education Department to set up a Preferred Provider Scheme as a strategy to improve the quality of training in the Early Childhood Education and Care sector.
We believe that resources are more effectively directed to strengthening the capacity of the regulator ASQA to regulate RTOs.
Our submission sets out ten actions that government and the regulator can take to put poor quality RTOs out of action.

COALITION POLICY MISSES MOST OF ACCS ELECTION PLATFORM

By Media Releases

29.6.16

The Coalition has replied to our request for a response to the ACCS Federal Election Platform. In it, they formally acknowledge their appreciation of ACCS’s contribution to the development of policy on child care. In particular they acknowledge our participation in the Productivity Commission Inquiry, the Regulatory Impact Statement and other consultations and say that ‘we are grateful for your ongoing insights and input.’

‘It has been particularly worthwhile having Prue Warrilow represent ACCS on the Ministerial Advisory Council…’

Click on the link below to read the full response and see the match to our policy proposal to maintain the minimum two days per week of subsidised care for non-working families and a partial response to our call for building of a skilled and professional early childhood workforce.

https://ausccs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Coalition-response-to-ACCS-platform.pdf

DO THE MAJOR PARTIES DELIVER GOOD POLICY FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD?

By Media Releases

27.6.16
ACCS has assessed the policies of the major parties against the ACCS platform for the federal election.

Our scorecard shows that once again the Greens are well ahead of the ALP and the Coalition trails behind. But none of the parties fully delivers what we believe is good policy for Australia’s children.

So there is more work to be done after the election by those who believe in the right of Australia’s children to access quality, not for profit, community children’s services.

The full scorecard can be viewed here: https://ausccs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016electionscorecard-1.pdf

ALP POLICY MISSES MOST OF ACCS ELECTION PLATFORM

By Media Releases

24.6.16

The ALP has replied to our request for a response to the ACCS Federal Election Platform. Click on the link below to read the response and see the match to our policy proposal to maintain the minimum two days per week of subsidised care for non-working families and a partial response to our call for building of a skilled and professional early childhood workforce.

https://ausccs.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/2016ALPresponse.pdf

GREENS POLICY A CLOSE MATCH TO ACCS ELECTION PLATFORM

By Media Releases

22.6.16

The Greens Party has replied immediately to our request for a response to the ACCS Federal Election Platform.

Click on the link below to see the close match to our policy proposals that benefit children and their families.

ACCS calls on its members across Australia to distribute the response from the Greens to families in their communities – to inform their vote on 2 July.

A full score card, assessing the policies of all the major parties against the ACCS election policies will be published when all responses are received.

ACCS Election Platform 2016

By Position Papers

As the peak body advocating nationally for the right of Australia’s children to access quality, not for profit, community children’s services, ACCS calls on the major parties contesting the federal election to respond to our headline issues:

  • Increase the fee subsidy to 90 per cent of the full costs of early childhood education and care (ECEC) for low income families and 100 per cent of the full costs for children who are experiencing vulnerability or who are at risk
  • All children, including those of non-working parents, are eligible for subsidised ECEC for at least 2 days per week  – from a minimum of 18 hours up to 24 hours per week reflecting the operating hours of the service
  • Build a skilled and professional early childhood workforce – no HECS, free TAFE
  • No children and their families in detention in Australia or off-shore

Response to Early Childhood Development Workforce Productivity Commission Draft Research Report, June 2011

By Submissions

ACCS is excited about this timely review by the Productivity Commission. There are significant changes occurring in the early childhood sector through the Council of Australia Governments (COAG) process and the early childhood reforms it is implementing. These changes will impact on the quality assurance frameworks applied to children’s services, the regulations that underpin this frameworks and the early childhood sector workforce that will be implementing these changes…

Response to Commonwealth Commissioner for Children and Young People Bill (2010)

By Submissions

The Bill provides the opportunity to entrench the intent of key principles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCROC) into a separate statutory office which values children as citizens and holders of rights.

ACCS welcomes the Bill’s intent for the Commissioner to coordinate policies, programs and funding across Australia which impact on children and young people (Bill 2010 3.3.c; p3). Such an approach is long overdue and will overarch the current fragmented approach to policy as it relates to children, young people and the families and communities that surround them.

Response to Family Assistance Legislation Amendment (Child Care Budget Measures) Bill 2010

By Submissions

ACCS has always argued that the CCR is a flawed mechanism and calls on the Government to abandon the rebate and roll the funds into increasing CCB fee subsidies for low and middle income families. High income families on $100,000 a year or more receive double the rebate of families on low incomes of under $30,000. Child Care Benefit is a progressive system of support
for families, offering the highest assistance where it is most needed. The rebate undoes all of the good work of CCB…

Submission to Australian Treasury Inquiry into Creeping Acquisitions – The Way Forward, 2009

By Submissions

ACCS believes that government must use both regulatory and public policy levers to ensure that what remains of ABC Learning does not grow again and that no future child care operator can grow to be such a monolith in the children’s services sector.

The government must maintain control in children’s services as the market does not deliver consumer power for families…