Best foot forward: How we’re helping shape the childcare standards in Australia

At Child’s Play, we’re putting our best foot forward in shaping childcare standards across our centres in Torquay, Tarneit, Tarneit West, Wyndham Vale and Point Cook! These standards ensure that your little one only ever receives the best care while they’re at kindergarten, so they’re really important details to look out for when choosing a centre for your child. Our vision at Child’s Play is to excel at every one of them and to provide every child and family with an inclusive and engaging environment that they love coming to. So, let’s take a look at the current state of childcare in Australia and what we’re doing to make positive changes!

Childcare standards in Australia

Childcare presents many challenges in Australia, which we believe actually creates opportunities. These challenges originate from the cost of childcare, access to childcare, parent’s eligibility for childcare subsidies and the working conditions for childhood educators. Fortunately, the Albanese Government has been working to develop a ten-year roadmap strategy to ensure Australian kids ‘have the best start at life in their critical early years of development’. 

Areas for improvement in childcare

Because we understand the challenges so well, we’re doing everything we can to help by applying an early learning approach that has more emphasis on children’s development, being more accessible through more centres, and creating work environments for our educators that are enjoyable and fulfilling. This includes professional development opportunities that enable our educators to give our children the best possible education and care, so that they thrive. It’s a win-win for the educators and for the children and their families. So, let’s look at exactly how we’re doing that –

Access to childcare  

Our childcare facilities are located in Torquay, Tarneit, Tarneit West, Wyndham Vale and Point Cook. By constantly expanding our operations in Victoria, we’re working towards a big-picture goal of making exceptional childcare more accessible – to more families. 

The cost of childcare

At Child’s Play ELC, we do our best to make our costs affordable for our families whilst not sacrificing the needed income to maintain our high-quality childcare standards. We also try to offer teachers great salaries as well, to reward them for going the extra mile, as well as to retain and attract the best teachers for your little ones! 

Working conditions for educators 

We believe that childcare is a rewarding career. So, we offer pathways into the industry through traineeships at our childcare centres, as well as offering employees professional development to expand their knowledge in the field and achieve best practices across our childcare centres. The Child’s Play leadership team do everything we can to support our staff members, create an enjoyable working environment for them and help them thrive in their roles in every way possible.  

Implementing childcare standards

Childcare standards exist to support each child’s individual development and ensure an environment where they can become kind, compassionate and resilient members of society. We implement the standards through our education process, curriculum and learning environments. On top of that, we constantly reflect on our practices and processes, which helps us continuously learn, embrace new ideas and work more collaboratively. 

At Child’s Play, we have the highest quality of educators who’ve undertaken a Certificate III or Diploma in Early Childhood Education and Care or a Bachelor of Education. Alongside our leadership guidance, they implement the childcare standards on a daily basis through their deep understanding of what’s required to help children develop their skills and become independent thinkers.

How to support the cognitive development in toddlers

Shaping childcare standards

The current landscape of childcare in Australia presents various challenges, around accessibility, affordability, and working conditions. We’re proud to say that we’re not only identifying these areas for improvement, but we’re actively addressing them to set a good example for other centres in Australia. We think big about how to positively influence childcare standards across Australia, with carefully considered educational strategies that are supported by our highly trained educators. 

With an expanding presence in Victoria, we’re committed to fostering an inclusive and engaging environment for every child and their family. Visit your nearest Child’s Play early learning centre or book a tour to experience our exceptional childcare standard for yourself.