E AR L Y
words Vol. 7 No. 1
In this edition
April 2012
The newsletter for the Early Childhood Education sector
New C&K Agreement Approved Includes 3% wage increase, promise to match state sector wages Kindergartens operated by C&K, including centres situated on state school grounds, now have a new collective agreement in place. This agreement has a nominal expiry date of 31 December 2014 and contains many important provisions for staff including a commitment to match wage increases for teachers in the state sector.
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New C&K Agreement Cash Incentive for Remote Kindy Teachers ECE Needs More Government Support Small Funding Boost for Rural Kindys
Hours of duty were a particular concern for members during negotiations given the recent implementation of the Federal Government’s “15 hour” universal access program. Under this new agreement full time teachers will work, when averaged across a year, no more than 27.5 contact hours per week, and ten hours of non-contact time. Hours of duty provisions for teachers in this agreement aim to provide similarity to the conditions received by colleagues in other sectors. The weekly hours of assistants and all other staff are not to exceed 38 hours. The agreement also outlines that all staff who work at least five hours in one day are entitled to a paid half hour meal break. Whilst there is flexibility around this provision, it may be taken at the end of the day.
Under this new agreement, an initial three per cent wage increase will apply from July 1 2012. A binding commitment is contained in the Agreement that wage increases will be the same as the wage increases for teachers in the state sector. The wage increases will be applied on July 1 2013 and July 1 2014, and will equal the increase received by teachers in the state sector. However, the agreement does take into account that state sector negotiations are ongoing. Should the 2012 wage increase in the state sector be less than three per cent, this difference will be subtracted from the 2013 increase awarded to C&K employees. If you have any queries about this, or other, agreements, please contact our union.
Cash Incentives Offered in Bid to Lure Teachers to Remote Kindergartens Up to $12,000 in financial incentives are available to encourage early childhood teachers to move to outer regional, rural, and remote Queensland communities under a new government scheme. The Kindy Rural and Remote Teacher Incentive Scheme is being coordinated by the Department of Education and Training in a bid to attract and retain early childhood teachers to long day care and kindergarten providers in remote areas.
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Transitioning to NQF
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Being an Active Member
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Member Profile, Sheree Shannon
The scheme offers 100 incentive grants (each valued up to $12,000), with three payments being provided over two years. An initial payment of up to $4,000 is offered followed by up to $3,000 after twelve months of service and up to $5,000 upon the completion of 24 months of service. In addition to cash incentives associated with undertaking teaching in rural/remote areas, teachers have the opportunity to share their knowledge and experience with colleagues, assist in implementing new kindergarten curriculum, establish a network across Queensland, and become an engaged member of a new community. Interested teachers considering applying for the scheme should visit the department’s website at www.education.qld.gov.au for information about eligibility and lodging an application. Specific enquiries can also be directed to kindyteacherincentive@ deta.qld.gov.au or (07) 3225 2214.
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ECE Sector Needs More Support From QLD Government The Queensland Government, by its own admission, has recognised the inadequacy of funding to kindergartens in our state.
kindergarten programs in long day care services and from $1,179 to up to $2,600 for families accessing a kindergarten service in 2012.
Our union welcomes this recognition; however, the announced increase to kindergarten funding is still insufficient to ensure that a quality kindergarten program is offered to all children in Queensland.
In addition, the government is providing more funding to kindergarten services that operate in disadvantaged areas in the hope that more families will be able to afford kindergarten programs.
The recently announced funding increase will only cover about a quarter of the shortfall which will be experienced by community kindergartens.
More than one third of Queensland’s kindy-aged children live in low socio-economic areas. The Queensland Government hopes extra funding will reduce parents’ expenses by up to $11 a day.
An additional $6.5 million will be provided to increasing the per child subsidy for services by $100. However, this increase will be ineffective in assisting kindergartens to attract and retain qualified and experienced staff. The previous KFS was inadequate with community kindergartens generally facing a shortfall in funding equal to $400 per child per year. Any increase in fees to cover this inadequacy would be beyond the financial means of some families. While the new subsidy will alleviate the burden for families by $100 per year, additional funds should be considered to further reduce the funding shortfall for each community kindergartens. The government has also committed to increasing subsidies for low income families to reduce the cost barrier to accessing kindergarten programs by increasing the Health Care Card subsidy for the most needy families. Payments will increase from $402 to $1,042 for families accessing
Further increases in funding are necessary if the Government is to meet its target of increasing kindergarten participation to 86 per cent. The total increase of $23 million in kindergarten funding is part of a joint Australian and Queensland government investment of $900 million over five years to make kindy more affordable.
Small Funding Injection for Rural Kindergartens The Queensland Government has taken an important step in improving conditions in our state’s small rural kindergartens with an increase in funding for 44 centres as part of an annual top-up to the real funding guarantee. The $179,000 funding increase will support the viability of these services with low enrolments, ensuring they receive a higher minimum level of funding than what they did under the previous scheme. Those services with higher enrolments and eligible for more funding under the Queensland Kindergarten Funding Scheme will receive a higher amount. As these small centres are usually the only early childhood education and care providers in their rural communities, services will be encouraged to change their operating practices to better suit the needs of local families. This includes enrolling younger children to create multi-age services and offering occasional care and casual enrolments. While this funding increase is an important step in improving small, rural centres, significant issues remain with kindergarten funding levels. Our union will continue to advocate for increased funding for all kindergartens.
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For more information about how this funding affects your centre, contact our union at enquiries@qieu.asn.au or 1800 177 938.
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NQF - New Responsibilities on Directors The implementation of the National Quality Framework (NQF) from 1 January 2012 will mean significant changes in the ECE sector.
Education and Care to again raise concerns regarding obligations imposed on ‘nominated supervisors’.
The new legislation introduces new nomenclature regarding positions in kindergartens. The position of ‘nominated supervisor’ is an example.
The reply from the Office stated: “The Nominated Supervisor, together with the Approved Provider, has a range of obligations under the legislation. Many of these obligations are similar to those responsibilities of a Director under the Child Care Act 2002.
The nominated supervisor has many new responsibilities in the day to day running of a kindergarten, with several of these specific responsibilities being problematic for employees and committees. Committees must, inlight of the new responsibilities, put necessary indemnity insurance provisions in place to protect their employees who are acting as nominated supervisors. The role of nominated supervisor now includes responsibility for many operational requirements, with failure to comply carrying the risk of fines and prosecution. Examples of these responsibilities include accountability for: the proper hygiene practices and food preparation methods of all staff, a menu of food and beverages that is designed based on the developmental requirements of all children, sleep and rest requirements for children that are based on developmental stages and individual needs, any medication that needs to be administered, and risk assessments to be carried out before receiving regulatory approval to conduct an excursion. Our union has recommended to committees that it is essential that all nominated supervisors are given additional release time to compensate for the considerable increase in administration tasks associated with the regulation requirements. In evidence given to a Parliamentary Committee late last year IEUA Senior Industrial Officer John Spriggs identified the unreasonable requirements imposed on the nominated supervisor. In November 2011 our union also contacted the Office of Early Childhood
Some of these obligations in the Law and Regulations list a penalty if the Nominated Supervisor or Approved Provider fail to comply. Ultimately, the Approved Provider is responsible for ensuring that the service operates in accordance with all the requirements of the National Law and National Regulations. I assure you that the Department intends to continue to work collaboratively with approved providers and their staff to ensure compliance with the National Law and Regulations. Where compliance action is required, Regulatory Authorities have a range of compliance tools that may be used to achieve compliance, for example, compliance directions and compliance notices, with only very serious contraventions likely to result in use of serious sanctions such as suspensions, cancellations, prohibitions or prosecutions. National policy discussions are occurring to clarify and document this intended approach.” The onus is now clearly on employers to ensure that necessary indemnity insurance provisions are in place to protect employees acting as nominated supervisors. Additionally release time should also be provided to nominated supervisors to mitigate new administration requirements. Members are asked to call upon their committees to ensure that an adequate level of legal protection and release time for nominated supervisors is in place. The appropriate indemnity insurance should be put in place to protect those who are acting as nominated supervisor. Please contact our union if you need support.
The Importance of Being an Active Member The ECE sector faces numerous challenges with new reforms taking effect and an array of unresolved professional issues besetting employees. Workload considerations stemming from the NQF is a key example.
Look out for chapter briefings and other updates about how you can get more involved with your fellow union members this year. Events updates are also posted on our website at www.qieu.asn.au
There has never been a more important time to take an active interest in our union. With your help, our union can continue to advocate for, and make improvements to, workplace conditions across the ECE sector. ECE members regularly have access to network meetings held throughout the state. These forums are opportunities to discuss professional issues and receive updates from members’ first-hand experiences. Our union will seek to engage with members from the ECE sector this year, as issues stemming from the NQF continue to arise. ECE members from Cairns, pictured with IEUA-QNT Senior Industrial Officer John Spriggs, actively engaged with our union by attending a network meeting last year to discuss key issues affecting the sector
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Member Snapshot I have become an advocate for what we at Emily Foord feel is best practice for children. We have had many meeting and made numerous submissions to Ministers regarding the Prep year, school starting age, funding for community centres, Additional Needs funding, Early Learning Years Framework (EYLF) and the introduction of the 15 hours week for four year olds. I still believe that the Early Childhood sector needs to stand up and be heard. We have some amazing people with great talents who are now far too busy to take on the advocacy role. This lack of a voice due to an incredible workload and expansion of our job description will become a major deficit for the sector, staff and families in time. As a teacher I celebrate the changes as well as the basics which still inform our curriculum. These changes with the introduction of the EYLF were one of the reasons we at Emily Foord changed our CGB in 2011 to The Gowrie where we feel staff and their views are respected, and we are able to maintain our individual sense of community. As a centre we have been well supported by John Spriggs for whom no concern is too small or too large; John gave us crucial support during the negotiation of our new Workplace Agreement. Our union has opened up new initiatives and given me access to a voice with like minded people. Early childhood staff often work in fairly isolated environments so I feel it’s important for myself and others to belong to a variety of educational groups in order to reflect, network and explore current and past practices.
Sheree Shannon,
Emily Foord Memorial Kindergarten & Preschool
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I entered teaching at Brisbane Kindergarten Teachers’ College straight from boarding school. I had wanted to study Social Work but due to the floods and living in the west offers were delayed and I was accepted into teaching, my second option. I haven’t had any regrets. Although teaching wasn’t a burning desire at the time, I enjoyed the training and friendships I made during this time. My first position was as Director of a single unit centre at Tingalpa where I felt somewhat out of my depth having taken over from a long term teacher. Those first days and weeks have always led me to believe that new teachers need far more support than they receive; I think this is one of the reasons why retention of staff is so difficult in teaching. I spent three years at Tingalpa and began to feel that there was more to teaching than the children. I hadn’t factored in parents and regulators and advisors. When the travelling time to Tingalpa became too much, I moved to a teachers position at Emily Foord Memorial Kindergarten at Stafford in Brisbane where I still work. It was such a change to have a mentor in this position; Ailsa Martin the Director taught me so many things I wish I’d known when I began teaching. I took over the position there as Director in 1990 and still retain that position. I hope that I have supported my staff as well as she did with me. It was during my early days at Emily Foord that I realised I needed more skills and enrolled in a Grad Diploma of Counselling; the knowledge I took away from this qualification has become an integral part of my teaching. I have toyed with moving into the counselling field but always come back to teaching.
It is with the commitment of our union that we have been able to maintain parity with other education sectors, though we still strive to do better for all early childhood staff in this current climate. I would urge all early childhood teachers to hold onto their belief in children and families as we navigate a year like no other, hopefully the grass will be greener next year. Also it is important to advocate for change as we are a lonely voice in the education sector - don’t be daunted you can make a difference.
Professional Development Opportunity - June 23, 2012 The upcoming Early Childhood Teacher’s Association Conference will feature a mix of ‘Masterclasses’ and workshops that aim to inspire early childhood educators to reflect on their practice. The conference will also be an opportunity to network with colleagues and build collaborative relationships. Interested members should visit www.ecta.org.au for further information and registration details. ISSN 1446-8972 early words was prepared by Elise Cuthbertson and John Spriggs Editor: Mr Terry Burke, Branch Secretary IEUA-QNT PO BOX 418, FORTITUDE VALLEY QLD 4006 PH: (07) 3839 7020 FX: (07) 3839 7021 Email: enquiries@qieu.asn.au Website: www.qieu.asn.au ABN: 74 662 601 045
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