On the Delivery of Preschool Services to Children and Their Families in Victoria

REVIEW OF THE ISSUES THAT IMPACT ON THE DELIVERY OF PRESCHOOL SERVICES TO CHILDREN AND THEIR FAMILIES IN VICTORIA PETER KIRBY SUE HARPER Contents Page 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Review Process 4 2. Context 7 2.1 Development of Preschool Services 7 2.2 Recent Developments 9 3. Importance of The Early Years 12 3.1 CESCEO Report 12 3.2 Canadian Early Years Study 13 3.3 Conclusions from the Research 15 4. Central Issues 16 4.1 Funding System 17 4.2 Committees of Management 19 4.3 Terms and Conditions for Employment of Staff 23 4.4 Long Service Leave 28 5. Local Government and Planning of Provision 30 5.1 Local Government 30 5.2 Planning 31 5.3 Capital Facilities 36 6. Other Providers 37 6.1 Long Day Care 37 6.2 Independent Schools 40 6.3 Mobile Preschool Services 42 7. Regulations 43 8. Children with Additional Needs 44 8.1 Children with a Disability 45 Page 8.2 Children from non-English Speaking Backgrounds 46 8.3 Koori Early Childhood Education 47 8.4 Second Year of Preschool 48 9. Advice and Support Services 50 10. Quality Issues 53 10.1 Curriculum Framework 55 10.2 Training of Preschool Teachers 56 10.3 Professional Development 58 10.4 Master Teacher Classification 60 10.5 Preschool Teacher Registration 61 11. Administration 62 11.1 Integration of Early Childhood Services 64 12. Conclusion and Summary of Recommendations 65 Glossary 73 References 74 Appendices 1. Terms of Reference 2. Written Submissions to the Panel 3. Consultations with Individuals and Organisations REVIEW OF PRESCHOOL SERVICES IN VICTORIA 1. Introduction From a position of international leadership in the provision of high quality, accessible programs, there is now growing discontent, staff shortages, falling quality of services and inadequate leadership, despite the efforts of many well qualified, experienced and devoted teachers and the extraordinary voluntary work of parent committees. There will need to be substantial reform if the current decline in Victoria’s preschool education services is to be arrested and it will take considerable time, resources and effort for those services to be restored to their former strength. However, the issue of early childhood development policy and services extends beyond preschool education and must embrace family support, maternal and child health, child care services, child safety and early years of schooling as well as preschool education. Such a holistic approach requires consistent and complementary Federal and State approaches and therefore lies beyond the power of the State alone. The State Government can however promote a framework that brings services for early childhood development together, making clear its commitment, aims and objectives. Preschools, sometimes referred to as kindergartens, deliver individually planned programs to enhance the development of all children as well as providing the opportunity for families to develop links with their communities and to become more aware of the range of supports that are available. In Victoria, preschool education programs are provided in a number of settings including stand- alone preschool centres, in centres providing a range of maternal and child health services, in long day child care centres, in universities, TAFE institutes and workplaces. Not all these locations qualify for or seek the per capita grants provided by the State Government for the provision of preschool education to four year olds. According to the Department of Human Services’ preliminary data for February 2001, there were 61,467 four year olds enrolled in 1,667 funded preschool locations. There is some doubt about the precise number of enrolments, since the estimate of Victoria’s total four year old population in 2001 (based on the 1996 census data) is slightly lower than the estimated enrolment figure. The enrolment figure would not include an unknown number of four year olds in those independent schools and long day care centres who are not eligible for funding, or in respect of whom funding is not sought. There is also a problem in estimating the number of preschool teachers in funded centres. While every funded centre must employ at least one qualified preschool teacher in order to be eligible for government support, it is not known how many of the preschool teachers (almost 70 per cent of whom work part-time) are employed in more that one funded centre. Community based, stand alone preschool centres, which are the focus of this review, usually provide their programs on a sessional basis. Typically, children attend for a two-and-a-half hour session (morning or afternoon) on four days of the week, a total of ten hours per week. This is the yardstick for the government’s commitment to providing one year of preschool education to all Victoria’s four year olds. In rural areas and some non-rural, disadvantaged areas where the number of four year olds is small or there are barriers to access, attendance may be limited to only one half day session each week. In more remote areas with very small populations, preschool services are delivered by mobile services, which use any suitable facility to provide a few hours of preschool education, sometimes in combination with child care, on one day each week. The links between preschool education and child care have become increasingly important in the past twenty-five years, as women’s involvement in paid employment has grown. With that growth has come increased demand for long day care services for children. In the past ten years, this demand for longer and more flexible hours of child care services has intensified, as casual, part-time, shift and other non-standard work arrangements have become more common. Nearly half of all mothers with children under four years of age are now in paid employment. Over the next few years, two-thirds of the growth in the labour force is likely to be accounted for by women. There are now many families with both parents in the workforce, and a significant number of families with no adult in paid employment. These changes in the working patterns of both women and men have been accompanied not only by growth in long day care services, but the development of a range of other child care services, including: family day care, providing care for children in private homes; occasional care, offered for short periods in a range of settings from neighbourhood houses to leisure centres; and before and after school hours care, usually provided for primary school children at their school. This care may extend to school holidays. While the provision of preschool education has maintained its popularity, changes in the workforce have given rise to greater demand for extended hours of care. Parents expect that care to go beyond supervising and feeding their children, to encompass learning and developmentally appropriate activities and programs. Other features of particularly appropriate note in Victoria’s preschool education services are the growth of preschool centres in schools (both State and independent), the extensive involvement of local government, despite an overall decline since the mid-1990s, and the significant involvement in the provision of preschool services by the Uniting Church, including mobile services in rural areas. 1.1 The Review Process This review of Victoria’s preschool education has not been without difficulties. Following industrial action and a public campaign by preschool teachers in mid 2000, the State Government decided to appoint a panel to review preschool education services. Mr Bill Pimm (chair) and Ms Sue Harper were appointed by the Minister for Community Services, the Hon Christine Campbell MP, to conduct the review, which was intended to be undertaken in two stages. The first stage, dealing with the salary and conditions of preschool teachers, was to be completed by December 2000 and the second stage, dealing with other issues, was to be completed by the end of March 2001. The Terms of Reference for the review are set out in Appendix 1 to this report. In summary, they required the panel to investigate the issues that impact on the delivery of preschool services to children and their families in Victoria. In the course of the review, the panel was directed to consider the available research, to consult stakeholders and to report on: the needs of children and their families for preschool education services; trends in the provision of such services; the place of these services in early childhood development; and the training, development and employment conditions of staff providing these services. Submissions were called for by the panel in two stages, corresponding to the two stages of the review. By December, 2000 submissions had been received in respect of both stages of the review. A number of organisations made submissions at both stages. The review also engaged Mercer Cullen Egan Dell to undertake an examination of the pay and conditions of preschool teachers in each of the States and Territories. This report was delivered to the panel in November 2000. Prior to November 2000, the panel met with the Australian Education Union (AEU) and Kindergarten Parents Victoria (KPV) and visited three metropolitan preschool centres. Unfortunately, Mr Pimm had to resign from the panel before the first stage could be completed and the work was interrupted until the end of January 2001, when the panel was reconstituted with the appointment of Mr Peter Kirby (chair) and the reappointment of Ms Harper. The reconstituted panel began its work with an analysis of the submissions. Over 370 written submissions were received, from preschool teachers, parents, preschool centre management committee members, trade unions, employer organisations, local government, university staff, child care organisations, schools, early childhood health and development professionals and others with an interest in preschool education.

Load more