In a recent meeting with Assistant Minister for Education, Sussan Ley, the Independent Education Union of Australia encouraged the Federal Government to continue to invest in Quality Early Childhood Education.
“Australia needs to continue to ensure that our children receive the best possible start in life through quality early childhood education” Assistant Secretary Christine Cooper said.
“It is positive that the assistant minister agrees that early childhood education is an investment in society and citizenship, and should not be considered a mere babysitting activity,” said Ms Cooper.
“However, ongoing funding is required to ensure the benefits of early childhood education are not lost,” she said.
“The Federal Government’s support for the National Quality Framework is noteworthy and the Long Day Care Professional Development Program will provide some support to the implementation of the National Quality Framework in Long Day Care, however, it does not address all the key issues within the sector.”
In light of the upcoming review of the National Partnership Agreement for Universal Access for Early Childhood Education, the IEUA has urged the Federal Government to continue to provide funding for universal access to ensure support for the sector in future years.
“What guarantees quality early childhood education is qualified early childhood teachers, supported by qualified early childhood education workers,” Ms Cooper said.
“Attraction and retention of qualified teachers is vital to the delivery of quality early childhood education and to enable this; salaries of teachers working in early childhood education and care centers must be comparable to those teachers’ salaries in schools settings.”
The IEUA looks forward to continued dialogue with the Federal Government regarding the delivery of quality early childhood education.