The year is rapidly ending, and we have only a few short weeks until the end of term. Who would have thought in January that we would have had to continue to negotiate the changing and uncertain environment we thought we had left behind in 2020. Once again the early childhood education and care sector has risen to the challenge to provide quality education to children and support to families all of whom have been impacted by COVID in one way or another.
CCSA has support and information to help manage your response in emergency and natural disaster situations. There are key steps that you need to take, and you can access more information on the CCSA Think Ahead resources. One important step is to notify the Department of closures or changes to your service delivery. The Department of Education website has more information on how early childhood education and care services can respond to emergencies and natural disasters.
If you missed our Start Strong Free Preschool webinar, there is a recording available on our website to view here. This is available for CCSA members and non-members.
Support is available to CCSA members and non-members. Please contact us on 1800 991 602 or freepreschool@ccsa.org.au
This webinar is funded by the Department of Education and brought to you by CCSA as part of the sector support program.
State of the Sector 2021: Early Childhood Education and Care Workforce Insights
To support the sector in its future workforce planning, HESTA conducted primary research to better understand the work experiences, job intentions and industry attitudes of ECEC professionals. The research also considered the effect of COVID-19 on the sector at the time.
SafeWork NSW recently hosted the Health Care and Social Assistance Community of Practice online event. This event focused on the early childhood education and care sector, providing an opportunity to communicate and promote new and innovative resources and information, share ideas, learn from best practice case studies and discuss key issues and challenges from the sector.
There is a range of resources from the event now available on our website.
A printed edition of the 2021 Christmas Payguide is on its way to members. This Guide provides information for employees under the modern awards used in children’s services and also includes information on the Teacher Work Value Case.
The online version of the Christmas Payguide and recordings of the supporting webinars are now available for members to access on our website.
CCSA has developed a free printable guide for our members, to provide services with some guidance on how to manage staff COVID-19 vaccinations and help employers and managers to be ready to engage staff in conversations about vaccination.
Please visit our COVID Updates page for the latest information and advice. COVID related Top Tips and other information can also be found on our News page, and we post latest information to our Facebook page here.
CCSA members can call the CCSA Infoline on (02) 4782 1470 or 1800 991 602 (option 2) for further support and for help with any COVID related questions.
The Fairwork Commission has issued a determination that varies the higher payment provision in the Children's Services Award. The variation to the Award takes effect from the first full pay period that starts on or after 1 January 2022.
Where do you fit in the current snapshot reports from ACECQA?
NQF Snapshots provide an overview of the Australian children’s education and care sector, including the progress and results of quality assessment and rating against the National Quality Standard. Overall early childhood services are meeting or exceeding and the sector is providing good quality education to children.
In NSW, Early Childhood Teachers (ECTs) working in an approved early childhood education and care service must be accredited by the NSW Education Standards Authority. How can we support our teachers to maintain compliant accreditation?