National reforms to child safety in early learning: A message from Minister Jess Walsh

Minister for Early Childhood Education Jess Walsh has shared the following exclusive piece with The Sector, coinciding with the Australian Government’s rollout of a $189 million reform package to strengthen child safety in early learning. In her message, Minister Walsh speaks directly to the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector about why these reforms matter, and the vital role the workforce plays in ensuring every child experiences safe, high-quality education and care.

 

As I walked into the Education Ministers Meeting on child safety on Friday, the stories of two strong women came with me.

 

First, the mother of a child abused in early learning who continues to carry the trauma she felt when first notified of the abuse. A mother who channels that trauma into the courage to advocate for children to be safe in early learning everywhere.

 

Her strength is both inspiring and devastating, because no mother should have to experience what she has, and every parent deserves to know their child is safe every day in early learning.

 

And I thought of a young educator I met in my first week as Minister three months ago, a passionate, dedicated educator committed to the children in her care.

 

She sees a future in early education, because she is supported and encouraged in her role, and because the Government’s 15 per cent pay rise is letting her see a future in the sector that she loves.

 

I am determined to deliver safe, quality early learning for our children. 

 

Early learning parents have confidence in.

 

Early learning that attracts and retains our workforce of dedicated educators. They are our nation’s greatest asset in keeping children safe.

 

Our task is to continue to back those educators who are there for the right reasons, doing incredible work, while closing the door on those who seek to do harm.

 

And our task is to support those providers who are there for the right reasons, and hold those operators who aren’t up to scratch to account.

 

That is what our $189 million package of reforms will do.

 

We are investing in strong oversight of who works in early education, where they are working, and how they work with children and families.

 

The first-ever nationwide register of early educators will allow regulators to see, for the first time, who is working in early education across the country.

 

It will allow regulators to identify patterns of behaviour, raise red flags, and share information about educator conduct across borders.

 

Child safety training will be mandatory, and managers will be required to take it alongside educators.

 

Child-safe culture comes from the top, and managers have a responsibility to ensure their educators are supported to actively raise and report issues of concern.

 

Personal mobile devices are banned in services from 1 September, with the States and Territories responsible for implementation. When educators are working with children, they cannot have their devices with them. Only service-issued devices can be used for taking approved images of children.

 

A rapid assessment of staff supervision arrangements by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA) will report back to ministers by the end of the year. The National Quality Framework sets the existing ratios that providers must follow at all times. We’ve heard too many reports about failure to follow staff-to-child ratios, and failure to provide active supervision of children. That needs to change.

 

CCTV is being used across many services now, and it’s time to assess its merits for keeping children safe, and the guardrails required for effective use. Our nationwide CCTV assessment program will do just that.

 

Providing parents with better information about standards in their services is critical too. It’s why we’ll fund ACECQA to improve the Starting Blocks website, so parents can see information such as the date a centre last had a regulatory visit, any conditions of approval, and compliance breaches. This will empower parents to make informed decisions about their child’s early learning.

 

Regulator visits to services will increase with greater investment from both the Commonwealth and the States and Territories. We will provide a $93 million investment in more spot checks and joint compliance work. The states have also committed more than $130 million to increase resources for their regulators – for more officers and more compliance checks.

 

In making these changes, we are standing shoulder to shoulder with the States and Territories and with the sector. Everyone is stepping up.

 

All of this work will help keep children safe in early learning.

 

And our agreement to make the rights and best interests of children the paramount consideration across the sector will reinforce that.

 

Together, these reforms mean that parents can have confidence in their child’s early learning centre and the people who care for them.

 

And children can get the lifelong benefits of safe, quality early learning.

 

Authorised by the Hon. Jess Walsh, Minister for Early Childhood Education.