Childcare is so much more than ‘babysitting’!

Did you know that early learning centres across Australia are typically required to have:
✔ 1-2 Bachelor-qualified Early Childhood Teachers
✔ 50% of all staff must have a Diploma in Early Childhood Education (or equivalent)
✔ 50% of all staff must have a Certificate III in Early Childhood Education (or equivalent).

This is along with specific child-to-educator ratios, which mandate how many educators are required per room, per age group.

While these increases in qualification requirements and ratios over the past 10 years were long overdue and have helped to shift the dial on quality early learning, they’ve also come with challenges – particularly in regional communities who struggle to attract and retain the required qualified professionals.

Some of the reasons include:
❌ Early childhood teachers in school settings are typically paid more with better conditions – up to 30% more pay than in a childcare centre
❌ Wages for early childhood educators don’t stack up against work in other industries – even though educators are required to have qualifications, many are only being paid just above the minimum wage of $24 an hour.

Children in country communities deserve to have equitable access to quality early learning. But without help from governments, business and community, these communities will continue to struggle to attract and retain the qualified early learning professionals they desperately need.

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