Federal Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, has confirmed a series of new initiatives focussed on supporting both the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector and those families with children enrolled in ECEC services that have been adversely impacted by the bushfire crisis.

The Mparntwe Declaration was released at the end of last year.  I do not use the official full title of the document on purpose.  I do this as a final hurrah to 2019, the Year of Indigenous Languages and I do this because, as was pointed out, this was the first time a national education declaration has included Indigenous language in its title. I do this to emphasise that we are on Aboriginal lands first and foremost. 

Childhood trauma – experiencing an event or series of events which are emotionally painful or distressing – can take on many forms. It may occur when a child witnesses or experiences overwhelming negative situations, and may be interpersonal (abuse, violence, neglect) or a traumatic event, such as an accident, natural disaster, war and civil unrest, or medical procedures.

Representatives from the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector met yesterday with Federal Education Minister Dan Tehan seeking clearer guidelines on when to send children home during future bushfires, asking for emergency concessions to allow fire-affected children to continue to access childcare, The Sydney Morning Herald has reported.

UNICEF Australia has announced a series of partnerships signalling a ‘major step-up’ in its response to the bushfire crisis, made possible via a $1.2 million donation from Carnival Corporation Chairman Micky Arison through his family foundation .