EXCERPTS:
Private childcare providers have delivered the government a blueprint for red-tape reform, highlighting the areas where they believe the system is broken.
The areas of contention include forcing centres to spend so much time on proving they have good "sustainability" processes, which they say is "diverting attention away from actually engaging with the children", and washing the hands of kids every time they walk away from the sandpit or play equipment.
Assistant Education Minister Sussan Ley has revealed she thinks a "serious" review is needed and is concerned by some of the terminology used in the assessment system.
She said the latest Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority snapshot suggested the assessment process of childcare centres would not be completed until well beyond the June 2015 deadline. "In fact we're already almost 50 per cent below target," she told The Weekend Australian.
"I'm also concerned by some of the terminology used in the assessment system. For example, a rating such as 'working towards' suggests the required level of quality has not been met, when in fact it has.
"This undermines the confidence of both staff and parents. Given the ratings experience has already proved onerous and unsettling for many providers and educators, the assessment process is in need of a serious review." Ms Ley said she would take up these issues with ACECQA as well as state and territory ministers when they met as a group later this month.
The report, obtained by The Weekend Australian, was presented confidentially to Ms Ley on Thursday and highlights the over-the-top regulations private providers want dumped.
The report also asks the government to change the date when half of all educators in childcare centres must have or be working towards a diploma qualification or higher, while the other half must have or be working towards a certificate III qualification. The current date is January 1.
They say the waivers being offered are not good enough.
In the document they say "connecting" with the community in relation to sustainability is diverting childcare workers' attention away from actually engaging with the children.
"Assessors are rating services low in this area even though services are connecting with recycle agencies," the blueprint for change says. "There are no set benchmarks or stated criteria that educators can draw upon as a basis for this element and this is causing a great deal of angst.
"Services are redirecting a considerable portion of their budget to this area and educator hours are also being directed away from actually engaging with children to researching how they can meet this nebulous element."
Childcare providers say another benchmark - Collaborative Partnerships with Family & Community - has become onerous. The solution providers ask for suggests assessors spend more time on working with the childcare centres "on a plan on how to move forward and supporting them on their path to achieve the highest quality".
They also argue that the requirement for services to follow the recommendations of "staying healthy" is causing "confusion as no regulatory authority will identify what is reasonable".
-reprinted from the Australian