Australian early education institutions are praising the new funding of the federal budget for this sector.
In addition to its previous $ 1.7 million commitment to child care subsidies, the federal government announced last night that it would invest another $ 2 billion in early childhood education over the next four years. This ensures that all children receive at least 15 hours of early education per week. Learn the year before school.
“This latest announcement provides the long-awaited certainty for many service providers offering Australian families and preschool programs,” Paulmond, president of the Australian Child Care Alliance (ACA), said Wednesday. I mentioned in.
” Economic analysis For every $ 1 invested in early learning the year before school, Australia receives $ 2 for the life of the child, and children, families, businesses and governments all benefit from investing in quality early learning. It shows that we are, “says Mondo.
In addition to funding, treasurer Josh Frydenberg also announced that the government will extend the JobTrainer program to provide 450,000-funded training locations, especially for young people.
“There is a serious labor shortage in the early learning sector, so it is very important to take action based on the existing supply of qualified educators,” said Mondo. “We believe that efforts to increase the available training locations will be a strong start to tackle the problem.”
Early Childhood Australia (ECA) has invested $ 17.9 million in children with disabilities or developmental concerns, $ 100.8 million in mental health funding to support parents and early intervention, and Aboriginal and Torres. Reflected ACA’s praise for the federal budget welcoming the establishment of the Strait. Islander Advisory Board.
However, the organization said more work needed to be done urgently.
“We believe investing in a $ 1.7 billion promised childcare subsidy over five years is a modest investment,” ECA CEO Samantha Page said in a statement Tuesday. “It benefits less than a quarter of the approximately 1 million Australian families using early childhood education and will not begin until July 2022.”
The organization also expressed concern about measuring children’s readiness for school.
“The ability of a child to coordinate emotions, collaborate with peers, and be confident in learning is far more important than a simple measurement of number and letter recognition,” Page said.
“The government truly believes that’early education’is an integral part of child development, and we need to look at more investment in early education and care to prepare for future educational journeys. “The CEO concluded.