Victoria’s kinder conundrum:Rocketing enrolments,but who’s paying?

Victoria’s kinder conundrum:Rocketing enrolments,but who’s paying?

Free kindergarten boosted Victorian attendance to above the national average,along with a scramble for early childhood educators. But many centres fear for their future.

  • byMadeleine Heffernan

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Perth family’s story shows how childcare investment can save the NDIS
Opinion
Disability

Perth family’s story shows how childcare investment can save the NDIS

Stories like Alianna’s and Michele’s are the human reality that lies behind the newspaper headlines and pundits’ takes on how much we are paying for the NDIS.

  • byJay Weatherill
Police investigate after egg hurled at councillors mid-meeting

Police investigate after egg hurled at councillors mid-meeting

Three Glen Eira councillors were splattered,with one requiring first aid to remove eggshell from his eye.

  • byAlex Crowe andLachlan Abbott
This subsidy was launched with great fanfare. The response? It’s complicated

This subsidy was launched with great fanfare. The response? It’s complicated

Childcare fees continue to impact the career choices of parents,although costs overall decreased last quarter following subsidy changes.

  • byMary Ward
Glen Eira council to close three childcare centres before Christmas

Glen Eira council to close three childcare centres before Christmas

A council in Melbourne’s south-east is considering closing three childcare centres,leaving dozens of families scrambling to find other vacancies before the new year.

  • byRobyn Grace
Trend of rich parents delaying school slow to catch on in Qld

Trend of rich parents delaying school slow to catch on in Qld

Families in NSW and Victoria are more likely to delay their child’s first year of school,but that says more about those states than anything else,an expert says.

  • byFelicity Caldwell
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Competition watchdog finds childcare less affordable than most OECD countries

Competition watchdog finds childcare less affordable than most OECD countries

The ACCC found families were spending as much as 16 per cent of their income on centre-based full-time daycare,and called on government to consider changes to policies such as the Child Care Subsidy.

  • byLisa Visentin
Single-sex schools have the academic advantage,NAPLAN data reveals

Single-sex schools have the academic advantage,NAPLAN data reveals

A new report reveals single-sex schools across the country perform better academically despite their shrinking proportion of students.

  • byChristopher Harris
Three-year-olds should have access to 30 hours of preschool:Gillard report

Three-year-olds should have access to 30 hours of preschool:Gillard report

No Australian jurisdiction offers 30 hours of preschool a week for three-year-olds. But a royal commission led by Julia Gillard has found all children benefit from two years of high-quality care before they start school.

  • byNatassia Chrysanthos
‘A very Sydney thing’:More parents delaying children from starting school

‘A very Sydney thing’:More parents delaying children from starting school

Age differences in kindergarten classes span up to 19 months in NSW because children can start as old as six or as young as four-and-a-half.

  • byChristopher Harris
Kinder surprise:1100 kids in limbo as council pulls plug on kinder services

Kinder surprise:1100 kids in limbo as council pulls plug on kinder services

A Melbourne council will shut down dozens of kindergartens while another municipality is considering closing its kinder facilities due to cost pressures linked to the state government’s free kinder program.

  • byCara Waters