Page 638 - Week 02 - Thursday, 18 February 2016
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In 2010 the commonwealth’s census found that in the ACT 46.8 per cent of primary contact staff had a relevant formal qualification at or above certificate III. In May 2013, only one year into the national quality framework, the commonwealth conducted its second census and found that 50.6 per cent of primary contact staff in the ACT had a relevant formal qualification at or above certificate III. It is important to note that at the time only 64 per cent of the pool of respondents identified by the commonwealth provided data on staffing qualifications. It is also important to note that it is the commonwealth which has set the methodology for collecting this data.
Members of the Assembly may be aware that the recent report on government services for 2015 used this 2013 data to highlight qualifications in child care. The reason the Productivity Commission chose this year to report on old data is that it seems there was no new data.
Between 2010 and 2013 the number of primary contact staff in the ACT grew considerably. Between 2010 and 2013 the number of staff grew by 366, or 21 per cent, which is obviously significant growth for our small jurisdiction. During that time the commonwealth education department’s analysis of the 2013 census found that almost one-third of staff survey respondents nationally were studying in an early childhood-related field and that there was a marked increase in staff studying for a bachelor degree of four years or equivalent.
This shows that in the context of generational reform and significant growth in the sector, the number of qualified educators in the ACT’s long day care, out of school hours care and family day care is growing. At the same time the number of qualified staff in preschools is one of the best in the country. The Productivity Commission observed that in the ACT 60 per cent of preschool program workers have a university qualification. That puts the ACT in the top two jurisdictions in the country and is consistent with the experience of the territory prior to the national quality framework.
At the time of the 2013 census the majority of staff were studying for a relevant qualification and a significant number of staff were choosing to study at university level. All of this was in the context of a rapidly growing staff base. I am advised that the commonwealth will be undertaking another census in May or August this year, with a report on its findings expected in 2017-18.
Another key issue that was identified was the high per-day cost for child care in the territory, highlighting the growing need for childcare spaces. I will not be waiting until 2017 to be able to assure parents and carers that the ACT childcare sector is indeed providing quality, qualified care.
As a result of ROGS highlighting to me some major problems in the commonwealth’s methodology and timeliness of data publication and other associated issues, I have directed the education directorate’s children’s education and care assurance team to form an internal review team to consider these matters and report back to me. I have also asked the review team to consider what roles and levers are at the government’s disposal to support the provision of childcare centres in identified areas of need, in the hope that a better picture of growth areas will support a more coordinated approach.
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