Our childcare system is broken but regulators won’t admit it – instead using misleading language to conceal failings | Darcy Fitzgerald
As a new dad, I’m appalled at the weasel words used by Australia’s childcare watchdogs to conceal the extent of the sector’s failures, writes Darcy Fitzgerald.
As a new father considering care options for my baby daughter, I’m left with little confidence in Australia’s broken childcare system – and even less in its supposed watchdogs.
Parents and families hear about shocking failures in the sector every day.
Failures of safety, supervision, quality and care can happen at any of Australia’s 18,000 childcare services – but the misleading language used by the toothless regulators tasked with protecting our children does not reflect the seriousness of these lapses.
They take a ‘tread softly’ approach to policing the system and sugar-coat the truth.
When your local childcare centre fails to meet the National Quality Standards (NQS), it’s classified as ‘working towards’ the NQS.
There are 1500 services nationally that are ‘working towards’ the basic standard of care you expect as a parent.
The NQS covers seven quality areas, 18 standards and 58 elements, including specifics such as child protection, dignity and rights of children, and safety.
Failing to uphold children’s dignity and safety is a serious shortcoming, not something centres should ‘work towards’.
Four per cent of services assessed in the latest Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) report are ‘working towards’ the child safety standard – that’s a failure, not a euphemism.
I sincerely hope your child does not attend one of the 11 centres nationally rated ‘significant improvement required’ (if so, I suggest taking them out immediately).
ACECQA describes these services as harbouring a “significant risk of the safety, health and wellbeing of children” – but again, no mention of failure.
It’s time to talk tough on childcare centres and services that fail our children.
They have failed us and it needs to be called out.
This pussyfooting around language is part of a broader issue in society.
I spent five years teaching secondary school in the Northern Territory and saw first-hand the shift away from a simple and meaningful A to E grade scale.
Instead terms such as ‘proficient’ or ‘developing’ replaced the universal language of As and Ds.
I even taught at schools where we were explicitly told not to fail students.
These issues should be black or white, especially when it comes to issues around children’s safety.
It’s not good enough to beat around the bush.
It’s time we talk tough and call this out for what it is – a broken system failing our most vulnerable children.
This issue hits closer to home now, as a new father.
Before I was reporting on these failures, but now I could possibly live them.
After another week and another round of shocking revelations, my wife and I spoke seriously again about the future of our daughter and care options for her.
Having lifted the veil on the terrifying system, I have little confidence my baby daughter will receive quality care.
If the regulators have teeth and don’t mince words, maybe some of that confidence can be restored.
Have a childcare story that needs to be told? Contact us confidentially at education@news.com.au
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Originally published as Our childcare system is broken but regulators won’t admit it – instead using misleading language to conceal failings | Darcy Fitzgerald
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