On Thursday 27th October we held our Annual General Meeting at the Fairmont Resort, Leura.
We celebrated another successful year and farewelled and thanked long term board member Ruth Newman. We are pleased to announce Amy Shine has been appointed new Chair of the CCSA Board, and Cathryn Albert has been appointed Treasurer. Jan Langtry, Swee Goh, Allison McCartney, Pauline Iacono and Janelle Burke remain with us as board members.
We also had the great pleasure of celebrating one of our long standing staff members Kathy Whalan; recognising that she has been with CCSA for over 20 years. Kathy is part of the Member Support team and over the years has provided our Members with highly valued knowledge and support.
You can read information on CCSA’s administration, performance and activities for 2021/2022 in our Annual Report online here.
CCSA 2022 AGM
Ruth Newman
Kathy Whalan and Meg Mendham
On October 12, Meg Mendham CEO, was invited to represent our Membership at a meeting in Melbourne lead by Early Childhood Australia CEO Sam Page and the Australian United Workers Union. Key stakeholders and representatives from across the early childhood sector gathered to focus directly on workforce issues and solutions.
This meeting unanimously agreed that we are facing an enormous workforce crisis that needs urgent action. Early childhood education and care has been undervalued and low wages are a major contributor to the current workforce crisis - it is long past time for action. After robust discussions, we committed to work together to develop sustainable solutions that respect and value early educators and drive up their wages.
CCSA is thinking of all of our members and communities who continue to experience the impacts of flooding across eastern Australia. Flood support has been extended to more LGAs in NSW and Victoria. See the full list of affected LGAs here.
For current information visit our Flood Support webpage. Please contact member support on 1800 991 602 option 2, should you have any queries or just need to talk. We are here for you.
Now Available! Committee Induction Self-paced Learning Package
Specifically designed for committee members managing Early Childhood services across Australia, this self-paced learning package provides an introduction to the key areas of governance and management in the early childhood sector. Complete the modules in your own time, at your own pace and from anywhere that suits you!
Start Strong Program Guidelines for Community Preschools and Long Day Care services for 2023 are now available on the NSW Department of Education website. Implementation support will also be available for services to access in the coming months, with further information to come on this.
Applications are now open for the NSW Department of Education's Quality and Participation Grants program. This grant is available for early childhood education and care services across NSW looking to improve their service and encourage more vulnerable children to attend.
Eligible services can apply for a share of $21 million dollars in funding to assist with increasing access and the participation of children from low-income families, Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse children. Applications close 14 November.
Employees appointed as the Educational Leader as per Regulation 118 and employed under the Children’s Services Award 2010 need to be paid the Educational Leader Allowance from the first full pay period on or after 1 November 2022. Employees under the Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 should have been paid this allowance from the first full pay period on or after 1 January 2022.
Please see here for more information:
Children’s Services Award 2010 July 2022 pay rates
Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 July 2022 pay rates – Preschool
Educational Services (Teachers) Award 2020 July 2022 pay rates – Long Day Care
Round 1 of the Major Capital Fund of the 2022 Start Strong Capital Works Grants Program is now open for community preschools. The Major Capital Fund aims to support the creation of additional preschool places in areas of need and demand across NSW through new builds, extensions and renovations.
CCSA has been engaged by the Department of Education to provide eligible preschools with application support for Major and Crisis Capital Works grants.
The NSW Teacher Accreditation Manual (TA Manual) combines new teacher accreditation reforms and will replace all existing teacher accreditation policies. CCSA encourages our members to read the manual and share with employees.
2023 Administrator Network Forum - Registrations Open
A new year with all new content! This is an exciting opportunity for Administrators to grow in their role, demystify some of the myriad regulations that apply to the sector, develop peer to peer connections and learn from experts as well as each other.
Special Offer until 23 November 2022: $799 for 1 participant $1,100 for 2 participants from the same service
The NSW Office of the Children's Guardian has developed posters you can edit and display in your organisation to help children, young people and the adults who work or care for them, know who to report to if they feel unsafe, worried, sad or angry.
Are your plans in place for a stress-free holiday period?
At this busy time of the year, it is easy to forget how close Christmas is. The best time to get your service ready for the Christmas holiday period is now, and this means having a plan.
Download the Christmas Payroll Calculation calendar here.
Register for one of our FREE one hour webinars held in November, based on the CCSA 2022 Christmas Pay Guide. These are especially tailored to your service type and will provide a more in-depth understanding of your payment obligations over the Christmas period.
Wellbeing Initiatives for Early Childhood Professionals
CCSA is excited to launch a new section of our website dedicated to the wellbeing of everyone working in the early childhood education and care sector.
Together with Early Childhood Educator’s Well-being Project (ECEWP) we have created the Wellbeing Initiatives for Early Childhood Professionals. This initiative will allow services to share valuable ideas on wellbeing strategies that have been successfully, or unsuccessfully, implemented within their service.
Strategic and business planning are intentional and deliberate management activities that integrate environmental scanning, visioning and forecasting. The process of planning culminates in a framework that guides a business in achieving corporate and business goals.
Strategic and Business plans are living documents that need to do more than gather dust after all the effort has been made to create them. They should guide service development and delivery and be part of the governing body’s regular review of operational performance.
Find out more about the planning cycle on Page 6 of the 2022/23 Governance and Management Snapshot.
The Fair Work Amendment (Paid Family and Domestic Violence Leave) Bill 2022 passed through both houses of Federal Parliament on 27 October 2022.
This amends the National Employment Standards to replace the five days unpaid Family and Domestic Violence Leave with 10 days of paid leave in each 12 month period. This will come into effect from 1 February 2023 for all employers other than small businesses and 1 August 2023 for small business employers. We will be updating our website to reflect this change, and further information will be available soon.
From 14 October 2022, it will no longer be mandatory to self-isolate at home if someone tests positive to COVID-19. What does this mean for early childhood services?
COVID-19 and Vaccinations Guide - a Risk Based Approach
CCSA has developed a printable guide to assist our members to make informed decisions about the management of COVID-19 within their services, including what to consider such as staff, policies and risk assessments.
For the latest COVID information go to our COVID Updates Page. 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.