A Strategic Assessment of the Children's Services Industry

More documents

Recommendations

Info

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES INDUSTRYeducation and care of their children, in ways consistent with other obligations such as paidwork and other personal responsibilities.Particular attention needs to be given to the parents of disadvantaged children and those withspecial needs since research clearly shows the positive benefits of a real partnership betweenservices and their families.1.7 A special focus on Indigenous childrenThe Australian government has indicated its commitment to tackling Indigenous disadvantageand to closing the gap between the life chances of Indigenous and other Australians. ECECservices have a crucial role to play in meeting these goals. Policies surrounding IndigenousECEC must recognise that such services play a broad role in supporting Indigenous familiesand promoting health and development. The workforce development and training needs ofthe Indigenous child care sector require specific attention, including the employment ofIndigenous staff.1.8 Measures to support parents as ‘consumers’International research suggests that parents are more generous in their assessments of ECECservice quality than are professionals. To put this in another way, few parents have the toolsto identify high quality care. Once services achieve a modest level of quality, parents tend torate them highly. This feature of ECEC, together with the lack of services in many areas,limits the effectiveness of traditional market mechanisms. If parents cannot choose betweenservices either because they lack available alternatives or because they lack the tools to makeinformed choices, most will choose on the basis of either price or convenience. Ratingssystems which provide information about the quality of services, combined with generalinformation/education about quality in ECEC, could help to make parents more effective‘consumers’ of ECEC. (Children, of course, are the real ‘consumers’ of ECEC, which is thefundamental reason why governments have an interest in promoting quality.)Closely related to quality is the issue of cost. In other areas of social provision wheregovernments rely on private providers (e.g. aged care and general practice medicine),measures have been introduced to keep fees to a reasonable level and/or to limit the profitsthat can be made from taxpayer subsidised services. One of the most widely supportedsuggestions in ECEC is the idea of a ‘schedule of fees’ (ACOSS 2006). This would not setthe fees, but would act as a guide, informing parents about the costs of care at given levels ofquality. If parents were to be provided with such information (updated on a regular basis) inaddition to quality ratings for services, they would be in a far stronger position to makeinformed choices. In particular, they would be able to make their own decisions about tradeoffsbetween costs and quality.1.9 Workforce developmentThe proposed expansion of Australian ECEC will depend upon deepening and extending theexpertise of people in a range of positions related to children and families, from frontline staffto programme managers, policy makers and researchers. The OECD’s Starting Strong notesthat “Quality ECEC depends on strong staff training and fair working conditions across thesector. Initial and in-service training might be broadened to take into account the growingeducational and social responsibilities of the profession. There is a critical need to developstrategies to recruit and retain a qualified and diverse, mixed-gender workforce and to ensurethat a career in ECEC is satisfying, respected and financially viable.”vii
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES INDUSTRYAn ECEC strategy for Australia will need to include recruitment and retention strategies toaddress the high turnover of staff through improved wages and working conditions, additionalpre-service and in-service training and enhanced professional status. The Commonwealth andStates/Territories will also need policy makers knowledgeable in ECEC and with the skills towork with local communities on needs assessment and local implementation plans.Countries such as New Zealand, Sweden and Denmark require all staff in ECEC settings tohave relevant qualifications. The emerging agenda in early childhood education and carerequires fundamental re-thinking of the workforce. (In the case of New Zealand, this is atarget to be met by 2013.) Similarly, Australia will need ambitious new strategies to enhancequalification, deliver appropriate recognition and remuneration, extend career paths andprotect industrial rights.1.10 Research, monitoring and data collectionStrengthening the information base for ECEC will contribute to effective planning,development and monitoring of services. At present, there is no national mapping of ECECservices and limited data on which to make decisions. The Productivity Commission haspointed to the paucity of information about cost-effectiveness of different types of services,the lack of robust quantitative information, and the relatively few indicators of quality that arecurrently available. Information on the availability and characteristics of ECEC programmes,patterns of supply, demand and patterns of utilisation is essential for planning and policymaking. Systematic attention should be given to monitoring the impact of public and privateexpenditure against agreed outcomes.viii
Page 1 and 2: A StrategicAssessment of theChildre
Page 3 and 4: AcknowledgementsThe paper was commi
Page 5 and 6: STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDRE
Page 9: STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDRE
Page 61 and 62:
STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDRE
Page 63 and 64:
Page 65 and 66:
Page 67 and 68:
Page 69 and 70:
Page 71 and 72:
Page 73 and 74:
Page 75 and 76:
Page 77 and 78:
Page 79 and 80:
Page 81 and 82:
Page 83 and 84:
Page 85 and 86:
Page 87 and 88:
Page 89 and 90:
Page 91 and 92:
Page 93 and 94:
Page 95 and 96:
Page 97 and 98:
show all

A Strategic Assessment of the Children's Services Industry

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?