A new Australian recycling program will make all brands of pens and markers 100 per cent recyclable, providing another way for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to meet their sustainability requirements under the National Quality Framework.

Queensland-based approved providers have been reminded of the 31 December expiry date for the current transitional regulation which allows some providers to apply a 1:5 ratio for children aged 15 to 24 months.

The percentage of all services retaining their exceeding rating at reassessment has fallen to a new low according to the Australian Children’s Education and Care Authority’s (ACECQA) latest NQF Snapshot, marking the continuation of a trend that started in earnest in the first quarter of 2018 after the introduction of revised “assessing exceeding centre” guidance.

At a time when sustainability concerns are increasingly front of mind for early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, one centre, in the UK, has launched a free online platform, designed to support other ECEC settings to become more sustainable.

A recent survey conducted with 648 parents by KindyNow found that nearly 50 per cent of those surveyed had little to no awareness of the service ratings under the National Quality Framework.