Care for Kids CEO says educators need more pay, calling for shake up

Australia needs to invest in obtaining and retaining passionate educators, and the Child Care Subsidy (CCS) system needs to be simplified and modernised, according to Care for Kids CEO Ash Sachdev.

Mr Sachdev’s comments were made in an opinion piece published by The Herald Sun, in which he said Australia’s early childhood education and care (ECEC) system was like Medicare in that “it’s good, but not great, with a greater divide between public and private”.

“My political interest lies with whoever can take the pressure off a bit,” he continued, calling for a balanced system that supports affordability, high outcomes for children, and an opportunity for service owners to “make a return on the equity they have risked”.

“We need a greater understanding that early childhood education and care educators are some of the hardest working people in Australia and they’re not getting the recognition or the remuneration they deserve,” he continued. 

This, he believes, is best achieved by increasing the award payments educators receive, and by increasing the amount of CCS received by families to compensate for the increased costs of care that will come with a spike in award wages. 

“There is always hope and with the right direction and our investments into the sector, there’s no reason why early childhood education can’t thrive like the children that attend it,” he said in closing.

Ash Sachdev is CEO of careforkids.com.au and toddle.com.au. Access his opinion piece here.