Peak bodies join in new alliance to drive childcare, early education reform in South Australia

In SA, teachers specialising in kids aged up to five can’t even register to work – just one of the strange quirks a heavyweight group is trying to fix.

In a state-first heavyweights from across all sectors of childcare and early education have formally joined forces to fight for key reforms to “give every child the best possible start in life”.

This includes pushing for changes in teacher qualification and registration processes in South Australia that would allow for educators to be trained and recognised as specialists in the birth-to-five-year-old space, as part of a three-point plan to be released Sunday.

The newly-formed alliance, headed by Thrive by Five, an offshoot of Andrew and Nicola Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation, includes representation from 13 major players in child development and wellbeing, education, university, union, early learning and childcare in SA.

Significantly, both Adelaide Uni and UniSA are backing the approach as are the state’s peak bodies for preschool directors and primary principals, the Education Union, Goodstart Early Learning and Playgroup SA.

Connect Ed's Kerra-Lee Wescombe and her 16-month-old son, Harlem. Picture: Jake Forrester

UniSA early childhood program director Susie Raymond said a “shared vision” was critical.

“I think it is really important we establish a common vision for early childhood in South Australia … to ensure the very best outcomes for young children and their families and carers,” she said.

“The evidence is really quite clear that early childhood is the time in a child’s life when we can a significant impact, it is where they are growing and developing at the fastest rate … the more interventions and services we can put in place to support young children, the greater the longer-term benefit.”

The alliance has prioritised the creation of a new workforce strategy to attract and retain educators, teachers and experts in South Australia.

Dr Raymond said it was vital graduates had the “knowledge, skills and expertise” specific for children aged from birth to five years old.

“At the moment in SA we only have a ‘birth-to-eight years’ degree and most of the content is focused on school-aged children (due to) our accreditation requirements,” she said.

“If we are to ensure that the interventions we put in place for (young) children have the outcomes desired, we have to ensure our teachers are appropriately trained.

“At the moment in SA, birth-to-five teachers are not able to be registered … so it really restricts the mobility of our teachers around Australia and also restricts the sharing of knowledge and expertise across different states. Our desire is for birth-to-five teachers to be registered (here).”

SA Preschool Directors Association president Kate Ryan called for “better wages and conditions for the early years workforce … to attract and retain the best and brightest”.

While Goodstart’s Penny Markham said “childcare deserts” were preventing too many kids from accessing early learning.

“South Australian children are at risk of being left behind unless action is taken now …

this is compounded by the early years workforce crisis which has resulted in one in

five South Australian long-day care services operating under a (staff-to-student) waiver,” she said.

The alliance plans to collectively respond to findings from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood and Education Care now underway in SA.

“(This public inquiry) is a prime opportunity for getting early learning reform right and making this one of the best states for children and parents,” Connect. Ed CEO Kerra-Lee Wescombe said.