Operators scramble as changes to childcare on-site access come into place
Monday is D-Day for Melbourne’s childcare, with parents and operators scrambling over the weekend to understand rule changes to on-site access. Here’s how it’s set to unfold.
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Monday will be D-Day for childcare, with parents and operators scrambling over the weekend to understand rule changes to on-site access.
An influx of admissions was expected in many centres, as relieved parents, who have only one permitted worker, drop off their children.
Parents can only access centre-based care if they have no one else at home to look after their child, with the government mostly taking the word of parents.
Many parents have told the Herald Sun they have been rushing to get their worker permits signed by their employers over the weekend.
It comes after the state government announced on Sunday all kindergartens in Victoria would be free for term 3.
Also included in the package was $1.6m of grants for kindergartens to help develop and deliver early childhood education at home.
The federal government intervened amid childcare chaos last week, granting all parents not allowed to put their children into care a further 30 absence days.
Education Minister Dan Tehan said the scheme was designed to help the industry stay afloat during the shutdown while allowing parents to hold on to sought-after spots.
A report being released on Monday by the Grattan Institute has found that by pushing $5bn a year into childcare subsidies would create an $11bn-a-year increase in national gross domestic product.
Grattan Institute chief executive and report author Danielle Wood has argued that making childcare cheaper and more accessible would enable more women to rejoin the workforce and accelerate the COVID-19 economic recovery.
“We can hardly be surprised that many mothers conclude that working an extra day for no, or virtually no, take-home pay makes no sense,” Ms Wood said.
The findings come as the cost of childcare in Melbourne soared past $150 a day, above the national average of $111.
Parents who have met the criteria pay $40 less a day, thanks to government rebates, but paying more is no guarantee of quality.
The Learning Sanctuary in East Melbourne charges $154.50 for younger children, but is rated as “working towards” the national standards for an educational program and physical environment.
Similarly, Kew’s Peppercorn Childcare, which charges $157 a day, is only rated as “meeting national quality standards” on a range of measures such as educational quality, physical environment and staffing.
Other centres charging more than $150 a day include Bambini and The Learning Sanctuary in Brighton, but neither has been fully assessed.
A community-run centre in Brighton costs $93 a day and was rated as meeting standards. In most cases, fees included nappies, meals, snacks and excursions.
Some centres are expensive but high quality. Chabad House in Toorak, which charges $166 a day, is rated as exceeding the national standards in every category.
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