Recent government approaches to childcare funding have been simple rather than innovative. Improvements in affordability have been short lived, with benefits quickly absorbed through higher costs charged to families. The result is an ongoing game of catch up between government and service providers with families stuck in the middle. Since 2001, the proportion of Australian...

This publication contains statistics of children's enrolment and attendance at preschool programs across Australia in 2012. Key findings: In 2012, there were 7,594 service providers delivering a preschool program in Australia. Delivery models of preschool in Australia were comprised of 'Preschool' service providers and 'Long day care' (LDC) service providers that delivered a preschool program...

The early childhood centre is a meeting place of many different musical threads. Teachers bring with them their own conceptions of music and also have to contend with musical influences from both within and beyond the centre, for example, the children, parents, the community, the curriculum. All of this takes place within the overarching cultural...

This report provides an independent, up-to-date and in-depth analysis of the education, training and work activities of young Australians.

This paper highlights the need for a strengths-based approach to school readiness for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, in order to recognise the skills, cultural knowledge and understandings they already have when they transition to formal learning. This paper provides an overview of the role of ‘resilience’ in an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander...