Excerpts from media release:
The first comprehensive national survey of what parents want from long day care (LDC) was released on May 7, 2008.
The survey found that 90% of children use LDC between 7 and 11 hours per day, a length of time parents say they need to support their workforce participation.
"Caring staff" are the most important criteria for ensuring parents are happy with the childcare.
Quality of education programs is a priority when choosing a LDC centre but parents believe staff are more qualified than they actually are.
Key findings of the parent survey include:
- Parents are very satisfied with LDC, with 85% ranking their satisfaction as 8 out of 10 or higher
- Caring staff are the main reason for parent satisfaction (45%); child loves the LDC (22%); good environment (16%)
- 59% want LDC to focus more on early learning activities for all age groups
- Only 1% think of childcare as "just a babysitting service"
- 90% of respondents' children spend between 7 and 11 hours per day at LDC, with the average being 8 hours
- 71% of parents work more than 21 hours per week; 80% of their partners work more than 36 hours per week
- 32% of parents use other types of care including grandparents in addition to LDC. The main other type of formal childcare used is preschool.
- Parents chose a specific LDC centre for quality of care (68%); close to home (46%); close to work (42%)
- Only 1% of parents are not "at all satisfied" with their LDC (ranked 1 out of 10), the main reasons being poor planning of care and development programmes; lack of qualified staff and high staff turnover
- 35% think childcare is affordable withthe Government childcare rebate
- Most parents over-estimate the qualifications of LDC staff: 62%believe, falsely, that 1 in 4 or more staff at their centre have a university degree; 20% believe, falsely, all childcare workers have a relevant degree or diploma. There are no mandatory national minimum qualifications for childcare workers. Only in Queensland are staff required to hold qualifications to work with children.