Family Day Care Workforce Development - Community Services ...

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Family Day Care Workforce DevelopmentResearch Project Final Report, June 20111. IntroductionThis final research report of the Family Day Care Workforce Development Project provides adetailed overview of the project processes and project outcomes as well as providing an analysisof the data gathered. The research findings have informed the development of recommendationsfor consideration of the project’s Industry Reference Group (IRG) and the broader sector.1.1 BackgroundThe Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council (CS&HISC) was funded by theDepartment of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) to undertake researchinto the Family Day Care (FDC) workforce. This project has occurred against a backdrop of alandmark policy shift where for the first time there is a shared vision of early childhood educationand care across the country. This shift in policy has created a national framework that will guidethe actions of all governments to improve outcomes for children and their families in Australia.This framework is articulated within ‘Investing in the Early Years – A National Early ChildhoodStrategy’ 5 (The Strategy). The Strategy focuses on all aspects of children’s development includinglearning, physical, social, emotional and cultural wellbeing for children from birth to 8 years ofage. The FDC sector is an important stakeholder within this shared vision.The Strategy articulates the benefits of building a more effective and better coordinated nationalearly childhood development system and will guide future responses by the FDC sector to ensurethat all children experience a positive early childhood, from before birth through the first eightyears of life. The Strategy represents a national effort to improve child outcomes and foster thehealth and wellbeing and productivity of our next generation.Throughout the life of the project CS&HISC worked closely with Family Day Care Australia(FDCA) and was guided by a project Industry Reference Group (IRG). For a list of memberson the project IRG see Appendix A .1.2 Key Policy DocumentsThe Early Years Learning FrameworkThe Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is part of the Council of Australian Government’s(COAG) reform agenda for early childhood education and care and is a key component of theAustralian Government’s National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care.It underpins universal access to early childhood education and will be incorporated in theNational Quality Standard in order to ensure the delivery of nationally consistent and quality earlychildhood education across sectors and jurisdictions.The EYLF describes the principles, practices and outcomes essential to support and enhanceyoung children’s learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school.The EYLF has a strong emphasis on play-based learning, as play is the best vehicle for youngchildren’s learning, providing the most appropriate stimulus for brain development. The EYLFalso recognises the importance of communication and language (including early literacy andnumeracy) and social and emotional development.5Council of Australian Governments 2009, Investing in the Early Years – A National Early Childhood DevelopmentStrategy, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council: www.cshisc.com.au1
Family Day Care Workforce DevelopmentResearch Project Final Report, June 2011The National Quality FrameworkThe National Quality Framework (NQF) is an important reform which aims to deliver a higherstandard of care for children in the critical areas of education, health and safety and will provideclearer and comprehensive information for families so they can choose the best services for theirchild.The NQF will establish a new National Quality Standard to ensure high quality and consistent earlychildhood education and care across Australia.These changes will help providers to improve their services in the areas that impact on a child’sdevelopment and empower families to make informed choices about which service is best fortheir child.The National Quality StandardThe National Quality Standard (NQS) comprises guiding principles, quality areas, standardsand elements 6 . There are seven quality areas in the NQS, which capture aspects critical to theprovision of quality early childhood education and care and outside school hours care services,including educational concepts and practice, structural quality, interactions between educatorsand children and targeting services to meet the needs of families and local communities.The introduction of minimum qualification requirements for the FDC sector is of significantimportance to this project. FDC educators will be expected to hold a Certificate III inChildren’s Services and unit coordinators will need to hold a Diploma of Children’s Services.6Council of Australian Governments 2009, National Quality Standard for Early Childhood Education and Care andSchool Age Care, Commonwealth of Australia, Canberra.Community Services and Health Industry Skills Council: www.cshisc.com.au2
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