Calls for all sides of politics to commit to new ECEC fund to better meet regional needs 

The National Farmers Federation (NFF) has implored all sides of politics to value early childhood education and care and to commit to the proposed $1 billion Building Early Education Fund ahead of the as yet to be called election.

 

The Building Early Education Fund was recently announced by the Federal Government, and should it be implemented will bankroll the creation of more than 160 new early learning settings in areas of most need.

 

Regional families, the NFF said, are missing out, and businesses are struggling, because of a lack of early childhood education and care (ECEC) options in rural and regional communities. 

 

NFF President David Jochinke urged all political parties to back the fund, to show they value the work and lives of rural, regional and remote Australians.

 

“Access to early learning and childcare is a necessity for farming families,” he said.

 

“Without it, rural parents sacrifice their farm’s productivity, their family’s financial security, and their own career progression. I’ve seen this struggle firsthand. Last year in my local community of Horsham, there were only 13 childcare spots available for every 100 children.”

 

“It’s no exaggeration to say a lack of childcare is holding entire communities back.”

 

The NFF is calling on all political parties to voice their support for the fund ahead of the election. 

 

Mr Jochinke acknowledged that while building services alone won’t fix the issue, it would be a major shift in the right direction for regional families. 

 

ICPA (Aust) weighs in 

 

His perspectives and positions were supported by Isolated Children’s Parents’ Association (ICPA)  Vice President and Early Learning Portfolio Leader Julia Broad who spoke out on behalf of member families who reside and work in rural and remote Australia. 

 

Members often live great distances from services required to support the education of their children and therefore need specifically designed rural and remote programs that allow these children to learn, develop and thrive, she said.

 

As well as the proposed creation of new services, Ms Broad would like to see changes to the In Home Care program, Family Day Care and to Mobile Early Learning Programs, noting that in remote locations across Australia, early childhood education services are very limited, with often the only available option for subsidised care being the In Home Care (IHC) program.

 

The lack of flexibility of the current A New Tax System (Family Assistance) Act 1999 (FA Act) – 85BA Eligibility for Child Care Subsidy (CCS), she said, make the IHC program unsuitable for geographically isolated families and, in fact, accentuates the difficulties associated with accessing an equitable level of early childhood education and care in rural and remote areas. 

 

“Many geographically isolated families cannot use the IHC program in its current form due to the inflexibility of the FA Act,” she said. 

 

“In order for the three-day guarantee to be available to these families, changes to the FA Act are needed to allow the IHC program to specifically meet the unique needs of geographically isolated families.”

 

ICPA (Aust) would instead like to see a separate geographically isolated IHC Program to cater for geographically isolated families’ needs.

 

Family Day Care in rural and remote communities

 

Small towns, she continued, often cannot attract approved providers to offer centre based long day care as the demand profile makes it unviable. 

 

As such, ICPA (Aust) is seeking a small inclusion into the current legislation to enable more than one approved family day care educator to care for children in an approved family day care ‘in- venue’ location. This, the organisation believes, would provide a cost-effective solution to the government to cover demand for early learning in small disadvantaged rural communities where no appropriate care exists.

 

This change could potentially provide essential and effective support to address the additional early childhood education challenges by rural and remote communities.

 

Mobile Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Services in rural and remote communities

 

Mobile early learning services could also play a vital role in offering educational development opportunities for children and interactions with parents in small rural communities and outlying, often very isolated areas, ICPA (Aust) said. 

 

In many cases, these services would provide the only face- to-face interaction for children of similar ages. Unfortunately, in recent years, the availability of these services for disadvantaged, geographically isolated children has severely dwindled due to inadequate and uncertain funding under current funding models which abrogates security and longevity for early childhood services. 

 

The Report into Education in Remote and Complex Environments recommended that the Commonwealth modify funding arrangements for mobile early childhood education to provide flexibility and surety of funding for these services in the 2021 Budget. Unfortunately, this did not occur.

 

Insufficient funding of remote and very remote Early Childhood Services

 

Services providing Childcare Subsidy Model care are currently capped at the maximum amount of Community Child Care Funding (CCCF) Sustainability funding they are able to apply for ($200,000 pa), despite the operational gap they are able to demonstrate, which is often significantly larger, Ms Broad continued. 

 

Remote and very remote services often have to meet significantly higher staffing and operational costs – such as providing housing for teachers and meeting the pay package parity gap necessary to attract and retain adequately qualified teachers.

 

“The long-running lack of vision to deliver specific rural and remote ECEC services to rural and remote families has significantly hindered the opportunities for educational development available to children living in these areas,” she added. 

 

“It also stifles the growth and sustainability of communities and industries to which these families belong. With limited to no access to suitable ECEC services in many rural and remote communities and surrounding areas of Australia, parents and women especially are unable to participate in the workforce, inhibiting their capacity for growth, independence and the ability to gain their living by work.”