Welcome to the September edition of ECMS Engage.
Spring is in the air and with the new season comes change, renewal and much to be optimistic about. The same can be said for our work at the moment.
Last week we saw a new Education and Training Minister, Simon Birmingham, be sworn into Federal Parliament. I am thrilled to see that responsibility for early childhood education and care is now back in the education portfolio. The new Minister has already stated that he wants the proposed increases in childcare spending used to improve early learning outcomes for children. I look forward to working with the new Minister and his Department to highlight the importance of our work and ensure the increased investment provides the best early learning outcomes for all children.
With spring in the air we turn our attention to our plans for the new year ahead. New improved staff to child ratios are coming in January 2016 and are an important step in improving the quality of early learning. Children will have access to more educators more of the time. Our plans for 2016 are well advanced and we are working hard to recruit staff and support teams with the change to the new ratios.
I recently had some promising conversations with the Department of Education and Training (DET) regarding funding for the ratio changes. DET has taken our concerns about the shortfall in funding and the potential impact on families on board. We are working hard to ensure early learning is affordable and accessible. At the same time we will continue to work with the State Government on long term solutions to ensure access and inclusion into quality early learning programs for all, particularly low income and disadvantaged families.
I’m excited to be involved in the conversations about Victoria becoming the Education State. Recently I met with other early learning and care providers to discuss how we can shape an outstanding early childhood education and care system in Victoria. We’ll be putting forward our ideas and making recommendations to State Government about how they should move forward.
I am optimistic about the State Government’s renewed focus on supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged children to access early learning. DET recently announced a pilot program to pre-purchase kindergarten places to support vulnerable and disadvantaged children to access kindergarten. The program will involve the DET purchasing kindergarten places in participating services up front to ensure they are immediately available for a vulnerable or disadvantaged child.
I am pleased to share with you our exciting plans for the future. Our new ECMS 2020 Strategic Plan called “Expect Great Things” is a five year plan which will see ECMS progress to the next level in improving outcomes for Victorian children and families. ECMS has come a long way in its 19 year history and is well placed to grow our impact.
Warm Regards,
Bernie