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| home> newsletter archive > January 2010 |
| under5s - January 2010 |
| The Under5s Newsletter
www.under5s.co.uk A round up of news, views and changes to early years education over the last 4 weeks. Please feel free to send this newsletter to colleagues and friends who are interested in early years or print it out and pass it on to parents and students or post it on a notice board ! Contents 1.Did You Know ?
A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF OUR SUBSCRIBERS 1.DID YOU KNOW ? We have given under5s a new image, well a colour scheme at least. We have also changed the focus of the site to concentrate more on helping you to deliver the Early Years Foundation Stage. Why not take a look ? We hope you will agree that it is a lot less cluttered. Finally this newsletter is moving to a new monthly slot, so don't worry if you do not receive it as frequently as before. You can still find the very best in early years education news on the website. http://www.under5s.co.uk/newsindexmaster.html RESEARCH PUBLICATIONS EARLY CHILDHOOD IN FOCUS - BERNARD VAN LEER FOUNDATION Published in collaboration with the Open University, Early Childhood in Focus offers accessible and clear reviews of the best and most recent available research, information and analysis on key policy issues, offering clear messages on core policy topics and questions. This publication, the fourth in the series, looks at the policy issues surrounding the early childhood education and care programmes: there is compelling scientific evidence showing improved long-term outcomes for disadvantaged children who participate in a high-quality programme, but realising this potential through policies and programmes is far from straightforward. It tackles the issue in three parts: The
case for early childhood programmes; Evidence for early childhood programme
effectiveness; and Challenges for early childhood programmes.
http://www.bernardvanleer.org/publication_store/publication_store_publications/
THE PROVISION OF CHILDCARE SERVICES: A COMPARATIVE REVIEW OF 30 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES In recent decades, childcare services have become a matter of serious public concern. Affordable and good-quality childcare services may improve the reconciliation of work and family life and thus foster labour market participation and gender equality. Childcare facilities may also provide an important answer to declining fertility rates, by lowering the cost of childbearing in terms of labour market and career opportunities. Finally there is a growing tendency to see childcare services from a social pedagogical perspective. In this perspective the main policy rationale is no longer the reconciliation of work and care, but rather the contribution of childcare services to child development and socioeconomic integration. The importance of providing childcare services has also been recognised at the EU level. At the Barcelona Summit in 2002, some explicit conclusions and targets were defined with regard to the provision of childcare services. Confirming the goal of full employment, the European Council agreed that Member States should remove disincentives to female participation in the labour market and strive to provide childcare by 2010 to at least 90 % of children between 3 years old and the mandatory school age and at least 33 % of children under 3 years of age. Taking into account EU-SILC data on the provision of childcare services, this report provides an analysis of both the quantitative and qualitative provision of childcare services for 27 EU Member States and three European Economic Area (EEA) countries, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway. It discusses the extent to which the demand for childcare is covered, the importance attached to childcare services within the national context, and the policies developed at the national level to improve the provision of childcare facilities. The report is organised as follows. Chapter 1 deals with the importance of childcare services within the context of labour force participation, gender equality, the fertility rate and social integration. Chapter 2 evaluates the availability, quality, and affordability of childcare services. Chapter 3 presents the recent policies developed at the national level with regard to the provision of childcare services. Finally, Chapter 4 provides a short summary and the main conclusions. http://ec.europa.eu/social/BlobServlet?docId=2803&langId=en
2.DATES FOR YOUR DIARY JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2010 NATIONAL STORYTELLING WEEK 2010 10th Annual National Storytelling Week 30th January - 6th February 2010 For an event near you
3.UNDER5S EARLY YEARS RESOURCES Have you visited the Under5s Download Centre recently ? Save time with our resources that you can buy, pay download and use today. All our resources are compatible with the Early Years Foundation Stage. Including the Under5s Early Years Foundation Stage Planning Pack "Very helpful- worth the money." " These plans are great. Thank you for
easing my work load. It gives me back my weekends"
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4.EARLY YEARS NEWS START4LIFE'S CHILDHOOD OBESITY PREDICTION HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENT NEED TO INVEST IN EARLY YEARS NUTRITION PROGRAMMES The Pre-school Learning Alliance has responded to the NHS Start4Life campaign's announcement that over 300 of the 1,500 babies born on New Year's Day could be overweight or obese by the time they start school unless action is taken. Neil Leitch, Director of the charity's Feeding Young Imaginations campaign, which seeks to address the lack of information and support for good early years nutrition, said: 'This grim prediction really hits home how vital it is for the government to commit investment and resources to encouraging healthy eating habits in our very youngest children. Early childhood is the point where children are first developing attitudes to food that directly affect their health, fitness and life chances in the future. 'Now is the time to act if we want to protect the long-term health of the nation and avoid condemning future generations to a lifetime of obesity and all its accompanying health problems.' WE SAY "This is not just a problem here in the UK" PREVENTING OBESITY IN THE CHILD CARE SETTING: EVALUATING STATE REGULATIONS Over the past few decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has risen dramatically in the US. Today, 24.4% of children ages two through five years are classified as either overweight or obese. The preschool period is a critical time for growth and development. Establishing healthy eating habits and encouraging daily active play early in childhood can help prevent obesity and cultivate lifelong healthy behaviors. In the US, nearly 74% of children ages three to six are in some form of non-parental care and just over half are in center-based child care. With such large numbers of children in child care, child care providers are in a unique position to support and facilitate healthful eating and promote physical activity among young children. State regulations help promote the health of children in child care and have the potential to help prevent obesity, yet regulations for child care facilities vary considerably by state. We examined state child care regulations from the fifty US States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Department of Defense and found: · Most states had few regulations related to obesity for child care centers and family child care homes, leaving much room for improvement. · Compared to model regulations for healthy eating and physical activity that were developed to help prevent obesity in young children, states had an average of only about three of 20 regulations. · Georgia and Nevada ranked highest for the total number of healthy eating and physical activity regulations; South Dakota, Puerto Rico, and Idaho ranked lowest. For more information
AUSTRALIAN PRESCHOOLERS GET FATTER The number of overweight and obese Australian preschoolers increased by more than 8000 between 2004 and 2008 as children spent more time watching television and less time being physically active, new research shows. The Murdoch Childrens Research Institute studied two groups of 5000 children aged four and five who were taking part in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. It found that 20.6 per cent were overweight or obese in 2004. By 2008, the figure rose to 23.8 per cent - representing an estimated 8000 extra preschoolers in Australia. The percentage of children who watched more than three hours of television a day increased from 22 to 32 per cent (weekends) and from 20 to 24 per cent (weekdays) during the same period. Meanwhile, 28 per cent of children chose inactive over active pastimes in 2008, compared with 26 per cent four years earlier. Lead researcher Professor Melissa Wake said the figures highlighted the need for more research funding and improved government policies to combat the childhood obesity epidemic. "There are many government initiatives in place to address childhood obesity, but unfortunately, these are not strongly based on research evidence and don't appear to be making a difference," Professor Wake said. "What we urgently need is more investment into research specifically aiming to determine what really does and doesn't work for childhood obesity." The study found the number of mums who were overweight and obese also increased from 43 to 46 per cent between 2004-2008. On a brighter note, by 2008 more parents reported giving their children a healthier diet including more fruits and vegetables and less sugary and high fat foods and drinks. However, the study did not look at whether children were eating the correct portion sizes. The study recommends the establishment of a national monitoring program to track childrens' obesity, fitness and diet across Australia. The results will be presented at the Australian Institute of Family Studies' second Longitudinal Study of Australian Children Conference in Melbourne ONE IN SIX CHILDREN HAVE DIFFICULTY LEARNING TO TALK Boys nearly twice as likely to struggle
Nearly one child in six (17%), and nearly one quarter of boys experience some difficulties learning to talk according to a YouGov poll of 1,015 parents (of children aged between one and seven) in England published by Jean Gross, England's first Communication Champion for Children, as she begins her new job. Boys are more likely than girls to experience difficulties with talking and understanding speech (22% compared with 13%) and are twice to have significant problems (5% against 2%). There were no marked differences according to the child's social background but parents of nearly one child in four in the South West reported difficulties as compared to 10% in the East Midlands. The survey, carried out last month, also found that only 54% of the children who had difficulties received help from a speech and language therapist. Others received help from nursery or playgroup staff/helpers but nearly a quarter (23%) did not get any help at all. Jean Gross said: "Our ability to communicate is fundamental and underpins everything else. Learning to talk is one of the most important skills a child can master in the 21st century. The proportion of children who have difficulty learning to talk and understand speech is high, particularly among boys. "It is essential that all children get the help they need from skilled professionals as early as possible. The lack of this is cause for great concern because the results of this poll shows that parents place learning to talk and listen as a top priority for their children, whatever their social class, and do a great deal to help them learn to communicate." The survey found that just over six in ten parents rated the ability to talk, listen and understand as the most important skill for children to develop in the early years. This priority came way ahead of the ability to interact with others (26%), reading skills (11%), numeracy skills (2%) and writing skills (1%). It showed that parents are generally keen to promote their children's communication skills. All those surveyed reported looking at picture books with their child, telling stories, playing word games and singing nursery rhymes, with boys and girls enjoying these activities equally and at a similar age. The survey showed that the majority of children (51%) did not enjoy looking at picture books with their parents until they were over six months old, but 18% enjoyed this at three months or younger. Children from more affluent families were reported to enjoy looking at picture books, and listening to stories and rhymes, at a younger age than children from less affluent families. Parents were in general well informed about what to do if their child said a word or phrase incorrectly when speaking; nearly eight out of ten said (appropriately) that the best thing to do was to say it back to them in the correct way, but not point out the mistake. Fathers were less likely than mothers to take this approach, however, and more likely to correct the child. Less affluent parents were also more likely to do this than were more affluent families. Parents were less well informed about the best thing to do in families whose first language is not English; 58% thought that the parents should speak to their child mainly in English and encourage the child to do the same, whereas experts say that children with a firm grounding in the home language do best in later life. The most common age for children to say their first word, according to the parents surveyed, was between 10 and 11 months. More girls than boys (34% against 27%) said their first word before they reached nine months. But 4% of children had not said their first word by the age of three. There were no real social class differences in when children said their first word. Surprisingly 95% of parents could remember exactly what was their child's first word. Less surprisingly the most common first word was "Dadda" or "dada" mentioned by 15% (see table below) as opposed to "Mama" or Mamma" (10%). 125 children said "Daddy" as opposed to 75 who said "Mummy" and "Dad" beat "Mum" by 99 first wordsters to 75. When the main parental epithets were discounted, the most common first word was "cat" with 19 cited instances, followed by "car" and "no" with 14 while "dog" and "yes" were cited 13 times and once respectively. Some of the more unusual first words cited were "beer", "gadget", "hoover", "ohdear" and even "titsup". 13-18 months was the most common age for
children to start putting two words together (like 'want drink', 'doggie
gone'), and to understand simple instructions (like 'pick up your teddy',
'throw me the ball'). Girls were on average quicker than boys to put two
words together, with 22% having done this by the time they were one year
old compared to 16% of boys, and 64% having done this by the age of eighteen
months compared to 54% of boys.
10 most common first words
1. Dada/Dadda 152 15%
RESEARCH FINDS NO ADVANTAGE IN LEARNING
TO READ FROM AGE FIVE
A University of Otago researcher has uncovered for the first time quantitative evidence that teaching children to read from age five is not likely to make that child any more successful at reading than a child who learns reading later, from age seven. The ground-breaking Psychology PhD research, conducted by Dr Sebastian Suggate, has been placed on the University's "distinguished list" of doctoral theses for 2009. Dr Suggate has also been awarded a prestigious Postdoctoral Research Fellowship from the Humboldt Association in Germany to the University of Wurzburg in Bavaria to further his studies into childhood education. Starting in 2007, Dr Suggate conducted one international and two New Zealand studies, each one backing up the conclusions of the other; that there is no difference between the reading ability of early (from age five) and late (from age seven) readers by the time those children reach their last year at Primary School by age 11. Comparing children from Rudolf Steiner schools, who usually start learning to read from age seven, and children in state-run schools, who start learning to read at five, he found that the later learners caught up and matched the reading abilities of their earlier-reading counterparts by the time they were 11, or by Year 7. Therefore, the previously unscientifically tested and widely held view that children in New Zealand should learn to read from age five, now appears contestable; Dr Suggate, in three years of studies, involving regular surveys of around 400 New Zealand children, found no statistical evidence of an advantage in reading from the earlier age of five. He decided to study childhood reading because he could not find any quantitative controlled study within the English-speaking world to ascertain whether later starting readers were at an advantage or disadvantage. He found only one methodologically weak study conducted in 1974, but nothing since that time. Yet people regularly insist that early reading is integral to a child's later achievement and success. He admits to being surprised, therefore, by his own findings that this is not the case. "One theory for the finding that an earlier beginning does not lead to a later advantage is that the most important early factors for later reading achievement, for most children, are language and learning experiences that are gained without formal reading instruction," says Dr Suggate. "Because later starters at reading are still learning through play, language, and interactions with adults, their long-term learning is not disadvantaged. Instead, these activities prepare the soil well for later development of reading." "This research then raises the question; if there aren't advantages to learning to read from the age of five, could there be disadvantages to starting teaching children to read earlier (at age 5). In other words, we could be putting them off," he says. Dr Suggate conducted three studies over three years to obtain his data. First, he re-analysed data collected as part of the 2006 Programme for International Student Assessment (known as the PISA Study) across 54 countries and found that by the age of 15, there was no advantage in learning to read early from age 5. This first study has recently been published in the International Journal of Educational Research. He then conducted two studies based on research in New Zealand only. The first compared the reading ability of 54 children who had attended Rudolf Steiner Schools (who begin learning reading from age 7) with another 50 children who had attended primary schools. Children were tested at the age of 12, at state-run intermediate schools in Dunedin, Christchurch and Hastings. The study controlled for their home literacy environments, the economic situation of their parents, parental education, school decile rating, their vocabulary development (called receptive vocabulary), ethnicity and sex. Their reading fluency and comprehension were then measured and he found there was "no difference" by age 12 in the reading ability between the early and later starters. Dr Suggate's third and final study was a longitudinal one to look at reading from day one to the end of primary school, and to see whether differences in school experiences and the primary curriculum at the two different types of schools would have accounted for the ability of Rudolf Steiner children to reach the same reading level as their state counterparts by age 12. As well as controlling for the same variables such as economic situation of families, education of parents, sex, ethnicity and home literacy environments, this study also looked at second language ability, and found out how the teachers taught reading in their classes using questionnaires. This also looked at the amount of time teachers spend on oral language activities versus reading activities to help rule out, or control for, any differences in teaching methods that might account for the results. "At the end of the study, the data was analysed using Hierarchical Linear Modelling, which is commonly used in longitudinal studies, and a particularly robust way to analyse data, and estimated the point at which the early starters and later starters of learning to read met - and it came up with 10.89 years - between 10 and 11 years of age," he says. "It was very exciting and unexpected - one of those science moments. The results concurred with the results of the other two studies and there were no differences in the abilities of the early and later readers by 11." In this last study, the groups were also divided into three quartiles based on reading ability. By the age of eight or nine, the earlier lower performing readers had caught up with the earlier high performing readers. "Many families have children who do not achieve well in reading at the beginning of school, so this will be quite comforting to them," says Dr Suggate. The last two studies are currently in preparation for submission to publications, although he understands his findings are controversial as this study is the first of its kind to look quantitatively and statistically at this area of childhood learning. "This research emphasises to me the importance of early language and learning, while de-emphasising the importance of early reading," he says. "In fact, language development is, in many
cases, a better predictor of later reading, than early reading is. Secondly,
this research should prompt educationalists, teachers and parents to reconsider
what is important for children at age six or seven to learn, and third,
it may give heart to parents whose children have initial difficulty learning
to read. The picture is more complicated than simply early mastery of reading
skills."
Schools Secretary Ed Balls and money expert
Martin Lewis have stressed the importance of children learning about money
matters so that they learn the best way to save money and how to pick financial
products like mortgages and pensions.
As part of the new compulsory PSHE curriculum, all pupils from the age of 5 to 16 will be taught about handling money, savings and the financial skills they need as adults. Starting at primary school through to secondary school, pupils will learn age appropriate information: . 5 -7 year olds could be taught how to
identify different notes and coins, and how to save money for example in
a piggybank
Also later this year, new standards for those working with children in residential care and fostering are due to come into force, which will further strengthen the importance of giving information and support young people need to manage money and plan finances so they may reach their potential and achieve economic wellbeing later in life. Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families, Ed Balls, said: "It's vital that all young people leave school with a basic understanding of how to manage their money sensibly. So it's really important that we teach our children about money matters like pensions, responsible saving and effective money management. "That's why I've announced Personal, Social, Health and Economic education, which includes economic wellbeing and financial capability, will be compulsory for all children from September 2011. We need to make sure all young people have the information they need to prepare them for the complexities of today's modern world so that they can give security to their families and prepare for the future." More than five million Child Trust Funds vouchers - which help children learn about savings and bank accounts - have now been issued. Martin Lewis, creator of MoneySavingExpert.com, said: "Finally we're getting somewhere. Like many nations we educate our youth into debt when they go to university, but the disgrace is we've never educated them about debt - no surprise that over the last 20 years we've dug a hell hole of personal borrowing problems. This is a welcome first step, we must ensure no child leaves school without knowing that a company's job is to make money and sell to them; how debt works and when and how to do it safely, and that we live in a competitive economy and by knowing how your cash works you can lead a better life." The programmes of study, which outlines the broad topics children will be taught in the new financial education curriculum, will be consulted on later this year. It will build on the My Money programme
- a £10m financial education programme in schools, which is a key
part of the Financial Capability Action Plan launched by HM Treasury and
the Financial Services Authority (FSA) in July 2008 to help people manage
their money effectively. My Money is the first project to provide an integrated
approach to personal finance education from when a child first starts school
through to the end of secondary school. The programme will run for three
years from 2008 until 2011.
£12.5 MILLION EXTRA HELP FOR CHILDCARE
FOR DISABLED CHILDREN
Parents with disabled children will now
get better support to help with childcare following a £12.5 million
cash boost from the Government, Ed Balls and Children's Minister Dawn Primarolo
announced as they also called on local authorities to do more to
help disabled children access childcare.
The cash injection will fund the national roll out of the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Programme, following ten successful pilots across the country. The programme will help parents of disabled children, who are understandably cautious about using childcare, benefit from expert advice and support when choosing services for their child. As part of the programme, 'Parent Champions', who are parents in the local area who have experience of using childcare for their own disabled children, could help other parents understand the services and support available to them. The champions would be recruited by local authorities across the country to promote the new services to other parents. They will give parents greater confidence in making the most of the services available, and ensure they have someone to turn to discuss any concerns they may have. The £12.5 million fund is being allocated across the country, with the remaining 142 local authorities who were not part of the pilot each receiving at least £59,000. Local authorities will have flexibility to use the funds to meet local needs, choosing from a range of options developed by the ten pathfinders. These include creating the 'Parent Champions' as well as providing specialist training for childminders and staff so that they have the skills they need to work with disabled children. It could also be used to produce better information for parents of disabled children so they are more aware of the options available to them. Ed Balls, Secretary of State for Children, said: "We want every child to have the opportunity to be happy and do well, no matter what their background is or the challenges that they face. I know from talking to parents of disabled children how important short breaks can be, both for the children and their families, and this funding backs up our commitment. Every child matters and that means every disabled child matters too." Children's Minister, Dawn Primarolo said: "Understandably, some parents of disabled children are apprehensive about using childcare because of the unique and special requirements that their child has. That's why I want to make sure that all families have access to high quality support which is most suitable for them. I'm delighted that we are rolling out the Disabled Children's Access to Childcare Programme nationally following the successful pilots, helping to improve the lives and outcomes for disabled children. It will give parents the information and choice they need and staff the specialist training they require to make a real difference. "We have already seen from the ten pilot areas the benefits that this programme brings, with more disabled children having access to childcare. I'm keen to promote the Parent Champions who can speak with fellow parents in similar situations, explain all the options available and help them to know what to ask or look out for. As a result, we expect parents to gain confidence and enable their children and their families to take full advantage of what is on offer." To help local authorities use the funding to maximum effect, the Department for Children, Schools and Families will be holding a National Take-Up Conference in February, featuring workshops run by representatives from the current pilots to promote good practice. The Department will also be producing a report on the experiences and findings from the pilots; showing new local authorities how they can best use their funding by highlighting the activities that the original pilots found most effective. CWDC TAKES ON PARENTING PROGRAMME WORK FROM NATIONAL ACADEMY FOR PARENTING PRACTITIONERS The Children's Workforce Development Council (CWDC) has announced it will create a new programme to develop the parenting workforce. It will take on responsibilities for training the parenting workforce previously held by the parenting academy. Discussions are already underway between CWDC, the parenting academy and DCSF to ensure the work is transferred by March 20, 2010. Jane Haywood, Chief Executive at CWDC, said: We are delighted to be given the opportunity to build on the parenting academy's work in ensuring there is strong evidence behind the programmes which are increasingly used to support parents and families. This area of work is hugely significant in creating better life opportunities for children and their families. We will now be able to strengthen the links between this work and training and development of the whole workforce. We are looking forward to working together with partners to make sure children, young people and their families continue to benefit from the very best support. The parenting academy's work will be established as a new programme within CWDC. Key aspects will include support to local authorities and to the third sector to ensure work with parents is informed by evidence. It will also involve working with King's College, London, to continue to provide and develop the 'Commissioning Toolkit', helping Children's Trusts to have effective parenting strategies, as well as delivering training. CWDC will keep up the momentum parenting academy-funded training has built up, while increasing evidence-based practice across the whole parenting workforce. Children and Young People's Minister, Dawn Primarolo, said: Making high quality support available for parents and families when they need it is vital and I am grateful to the National Academy of Parenting Practitioners for their hard work in strengthening the skills of the workforce to better support families. I am confident that CWDC is in a strong position to help us continue this work and to drive forward our 'Think Family' agenda, ensuring services and organisations consider the needs of the whole family rather than focusing on individuals. Angela Sibson, Chief Executive at the National Academy for Parenting Practitioners, said: The work of the parenting academy has succeeded in changing the culture of parenting practice in England so that parents and practitioners can be confident that advice and support is evidence based; grounded in knowledge of what has been shown to work best. The transfer of part of the work programme
to CWDC marks the mainstreaming of this approach into the development of
the workforce and we look forward to a continuing emphasis on improving
outcomes for children and parents through evidence based practice
CHIEF ADVISER PUBLISHES REPORT ON GOVERNMENT'S VETTING AND BARRING SCHEME Sir Roger Singleton has made a series of
recommendations on how best to change the rules governing the Government's
Vetting and Barring scheme to ensure it strikes the right balance between
offering protection without being overly burdensome.
He is the Government's Chief Adviser on the Safety of Children and Chair of the Independent Safeguarding Authority and was asked to undertake his check of the scheme by Children's Secretary Ed Balls in September. Specifically he was asked to consider whether the line had been drawn in the right place with regard to the frequency of contact with children that should trigger an obligation to register with the ISA. In his report, 'Drawing the Line,' Sir Roger confirms that the scheme is right not to intervene in private arrangements made between parents and friends. But where organisations make decisions on which adults should work with their children, the requirement to register should apply if the contact is sufficient to allow a relationship of trust. This view is backed up by a National Confederation of Parent Teacher Associations survey which found that 76 per cent of parents agreed that when parents were unable to select personally those caring for their children those adults should be required to register. Sir Roger goes on to make a series of recommendations on how to adjust the rules setting out when a worker will have to register to best ensure the scheme is appropriate, balanced and proportionate. Specific recommendations include that: . individuals should register with the
scheme if their work with children takes place once a week or more, rather
than once a month, or on 4 or more days a month,
Sir Roger Singleton said: "The normal, everyday practical arrangements which parents make with other parents, family members and friends to care informally for their children such as sharing the school run, arranging sleepovers and generally helping each other out are wholly unaffected by the scheme. "It is when parents hand over to schools, clubs and organisations the responsibility for deciding exactly who should provide the teaching, transport or care that the requirement to register clicks in. Most parents want to be sure that there are no grounds for believing that the adults involved may be a risk to their children. "However, there has been a great deal of discussion and comment as to who should have to register over the last few months. I believe that once adjustments to the rules have been made, this scheme will provide a good balance between ensuring the need to protect children without being an unnecessary burden. "I also urge Government to undertake a
robust communications exercise to improve the general public's understanding
of the nuts and bolts of the scheme, as well as its intrinsic value in
protecting the members of our society who are the most vulnerable and deserve
our action to ensure they are kept safe.
NACCRRA SUPPORTS LEGISLATION THAT WILL
REQUIRE COMPREHENSIVE BACKGROUND CHECKS OF CHILD CARE PROVIDERS
The National Association of Child Care
Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA) announced its support for legislation
introduced by U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) entitled the "Child Care
Protection Act of 2009." This bill requires a comprehensive background
check (state and federal fingerprint check, sex offender registry check,
and check of the child abuse and neglect registry) for all licensed, regulated
or registered child care providers. Under the bill, any provider
who refuses to consent to a criminal background check, makes false statements
on a background check, is a registered sex offender, or has been convicted
of a violent crime will be unable to work for or operate a child care program
or receive child care subsidies.
"Parents want their children in safe child
care," said Linda K. Smith, Executive Director of NACCRRA. "One way
to help ensure children's safety is to require a comprehensive background
check of child care providers. We commend Senator Burr for his commitment
to children and making their safety a top priority through the introduction
of the 'Child Care Protection Act of 2009'."
NACCRRA has released several reports that
examine state laws and regulations with regard to child care. Among
the safety standards examined in these reports is whether or not states
require a comprehensive background check of child care providers.
Based on the results, NACCRRA found that only 10 states require a comprehensive
background check. Only 15 states require a check of the sex offender registry.
And only 25 states conduct a state and federal fingerprint check.
"Our national parent surveys show that
more than 80 percent of parents assume all child care providers have had
a background check," said Smith. "But, the reality is that most states
do not conduct a comprehensive background check. One way to ensure
that children are safe in child care is to weed out individuals with a
history of violent convictions. That can only be done by a fingerprint
check and a check against existing registries of individuals with a violent
past. Otherwise, parents don't know for sure and children are at risk."
Today, more than 11 million children under
age 5 are in some type of child care arrangement every week. On average,
children of working mothers spend 36 hours every week in child care.
Studies repeatedly have shown that high-quality child care - care that
provides a loving, safe, stable and age-appropriate environment - helps
children enter school ready to learn. Yet, less than 10 percent of the
nation's child care is of high-quality.
To help ensure children's safety and improve the quality of child care, NACCRRA recommends that Congress require all paid child care providers who regularly care for unrelated children to undergo a comprehensive background check and have at least 40 hours of pre-service training and 24 hours of ongoing training. NACCRRA also recommends Congress establish minimum health and safety regulations and enforce them through quarterly inspections. Should states fail to set minimum protections for children and conduct regular inspections, NACCRRA recommends that Congress authorize the Department of Health and Human Services to withhold funds from these states. USA REPORT: FORTY-TWO STATES HAVE CUT PROGRAMS
FOR CHILDREN
According to a report released by the National
Association of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), Voices
for America's Children and Every Child Matters Education Fund, at least
42 states have cut programs affecting America's children as a result of
the recession. The report entitled, State Budget Cuts: America's
Kids Pay the Price, lists state-by-state the cuts to programs affecting
children including cuts to public health, programs for children with disabilities,
K-12 and early education (such as child care), and higher education.
"Although children did not cause the recession,
this report clearly demonstrates that children are feeling the effects
of it," said Linda K. Smith, Executive Director of NACCRRA. "Children are
our most vulnerable citizens, yet states have cut some of the most basic
services and programs needed to ensure their healthy development and well
being. As President Obama's next budget is drafted and the FY2011
budget is debated in Congress, it is essential that we make investments
in children's programs a priority to ensure that children's programs and
services are not gutted as a result of the recession."
To help protect children's interests, while
boosting the economy at the same time, NACCRRA suggests that the federal
government look to expand some programs that will create new jobs while
providing long-term benefits for children and the economy. One such
program NACCRRA recommends expanding is child care assistance.
"Parents of young children cannot work without child care," said Smith. As the economy starts to recover, parents need help affording child care in order to get and keep a job. What we are seeing is that parents are shifting their children from organized programs to more informal arrangements as they try to make ends meet in this tough economy. And, that's for parents who aren't regularly considered as low income." "Informal care may be fine," continued
Smith. "On the other hand, we just don't know. There are no background
checks on providers, no health and safety standards, no developmental activities,
just the television in many cases. Hopefully, children are safe,
but child care assistance could really make a difference for these families."
"For low- income families, who in less
dire times would have qualified for a child care subsidy, states are reducing
eligibility for child care assistance and creating waiting lists. But,
it is children who will pay in the long term. It's just not right.
And it is inconsistent with the general remarks of many policymakers who
say they want more children to enter school ready to succeed. If
that's the goal, then families need access to quality child care.
The TV on all day is no substitute for quality care that promotes healthy
development," added Smith.
The State Budget Cuts: America's Kids Pay
the Price report was developed through a survey of Child Care Resource
and Referral agencies throughout the country who reported on budget cuts
within their states affecting families with children. The stories throughout
the report came from families who are members of NACCRRA's Child Care Aware®
Parent Network, members of Every Child Matters, and members of Voices for
America's Children. To download a full copy, please visit http://www.naccrra.org/policy/economic-stimulus-briefing-room/.
AUSTRALIA MORE STILL NEEDED IN OVERHAUL OF EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION The radical overhaul of Australia's preschool sector will require better legislating for the sector and increasing the number of early childhood education teachers, according to a policy paper released by the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER). The policy brief, Preschool Education in Australia, summarises the current structure of preschool in Australian in contemplation of major policy shifts announced by the Commonwealth. It follows a Council of Australian Governments (COAG) commitment last year to a "radical makeover" of the preschool sector. COAG promised that by 2013 all preschool children would have access to high quality education programs delivered by degree-qualified early childhood teachers. "COAG's welcome commitment to universal access illustrates a government awareness of the long shadow cast by early learning experiences," said ACER's chief executive Professor Geoff Masters. "But implementing this commitment will require significant cooperation between the Commonwealth and the States to ensure that preschools do reflect our society's professed care for its youngest participants." The policy brief highlights a need for more nationally consistent and comparable preschool data. Information about the preschool sector is currently 15 to 20 years behind what is available about schools. Inconsistencies are also noted in how early childhood education is regulated across Australian states. Stark differences can be found in the qualifications and salary of staff employed in 'stand alone' preschools and Long Day Care settings. "Professional opinion often favours long day care and changing workforce needs demand it," Professor Masters said. "Yet teachers in long day care work longer, appear to be paid less and often are unable to register as teachers in their home state." Professor Masters said a quick and dramatic increase in the number of early childhood teachers was needed before universal preschool education could be implemented. "The importance of preschool education for an individual's future life opportunities demanded a more rigorous and committed approach." The policy paper, Preschool Education in
Australia, was prepared by ACER Principal Research Fellow Dr Andrew Dowling
and Research Fellow Kate O'Malley. It is available from the ACER website
at http://www.acer.edu.au/publications/policy-briefs.html
The Under5s Team
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