by Jane Hunt
When we talk about the cost-of-living crisis, we typically talk milk, bread and petrol. But what’s causing much more pain in countless Australian households right now is childcare.
After seven highly productive years, the Front Project’s founding CEO Jane Hunt is stepping down from her role as CEO to embark on a new challenge.
Read the Front Project fact sheet on the Federal Budget 2023-24. The fact sheet breaks down key budget annoncements for the early years system in Australia.
Leading early childhood education and care organisation, The Front Project, has congratulated the the New South Wales Labor Leader Chris Minns on his election victory and encouraged his new government to continue with the ECEC reform agenda in NSW.
Read the Front Project fact sheet on the changes to Paid Parental Leave (PPL), the new legislation is designed to give more families access to the payment, gives parents increased flexibility in how they take leave and encourages parents to share care to promote gender equality.
2022 was a huge year for the early childhood education and care (ECEC) system, not only for the Front Project, but for the amazing teachers, educators and sector professionals who continue to provide Australian children with the opportunity to engage with quality early learning during the earliest stages of their development.
Read the Front Project fact sheet on the changes to the Child Care Subsidy (CCS), the new legislation is designed to make early childhood educationand care (ECEC) more affordable for 96 per cent of families currently using child care, with no families being worse off.
Leading early childhood education and care organisation, The Front Project, has congratulated the Andrews Government on its re-election and noted that the government can now continue its landmark early childhood reforms.
The roots of Australia's ECEC system can be traced back to preschools established to educate children experiencing poverty during the depression of the 1890s.
‘The Apiary is a collective of leaders invested in creating a better future for children and families. We want to hear and amplify voices from the system on what the future of early learning in Australia should look and feel like.’
When the Front Project started 5 years ago, the advocacy intent was to influence the community, business and Government to support and implement 2 years of early learning in the years prior to school. We felt this was one way of tackling the level of developmental vulnerability and disadvantage children experience in Australia.
‘The Apiary’s promise is to walk with you as we lead, innovate, and shape the ECEC system, with your needs and future at its centre.’
For many, 2021 has been a year of unmet expectations. We planned as if lockdowns and border closures were behind us and we would recommence our close connections with all who play a role in our work. Hindsight reveals that this was indeed optimistic thinking.
I am pleased to announce that the Front Project has launched a new Online Community for anyone working with children and their families in early learning across.
I am pleased to share with you our latest research report, Work and play: Understanding how Australian families experience early childhood education and care.
The Australian Government’s announcement of new funding for early childhood education and care (ECEC) is an important win for all Australians.
Our early learning system is poised to improve the lives of every Australian during this year of recovery.
Last week The Front Project team reflected on the year that we are about to leave behind and – this may be surprising to some – we agreed that despite the challenges, 2020 delivered a lot to celebrate for early childhood education and care (ECEC) in Australia.
The gaps in our society have been widened by COVID-19 and early childhood education can help bridge them.
I am pleased to share our latest resource aimed at improving wellbeing for children and their families by optimising the child care subsidy (CCS).
We have now published findings from our survey of teachers and educators during COVID-19 in our new paper 'Early Learning and COVID-19 - Experiences of Teachers and Educators at the Start of the Pandemic'.
This week we released findings from a survey of over 1000 parents and carers of young children who shared their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) during COVID-19.
The critical role of early childhood education in supporting young children‘s learning and development and supporting families to work has never been more evident than during the response to COVID-19.
Over the past week we have released two major pieces of work as part of our renewed focus to support the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector through COVID-19:
A message on important lessons about early childhood education from our CEO, Jane Hunt.
For a generation of Australians, Gough Whitlam’s decision to abolish tuition fees for students at universities and technical colleges was life changing. It unleased the potential of a group of Australians who, for too long, had been shut out of tertiary opportunities.
Australian families weighing up household spending might consider the cost of early childhood education and care (ECEC) is not worth it.
But data collected by the Australian government tells us that around 60,000 children are assessed as developmentally vulnerable when they start school every year.
Australian families are at the centre of our early childhood education and care (ECEC) system.
Who had money on early childhood education and care (ECEC) creating the biggest pre-Budget buzz this year?
Despite latest claims by some loud voices, our early childhood education and care (ECEC) system is remarkably robust, with a story of constant improvement and unlimited potential to deliver for families and our broader economy.
In April this year, Prime Minister Scott Morrison and the Minister for Education Dan Tehan announced an Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) Relief Package to help families through what many hoped at that time would be a short-lived period of financial instability.
This year we have stayed home and learned what matters most to us and what we cannot live without. It has become clear that one of these things is our early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector.
New data reveals that early childhood education and care (ECEC) is having an enormous impact on Australian families during COVID-19.
Following the government’s recent emergency early learning funding announcement, The Front Project CEO, Jane Hunt, and Research Manager, Dr Stacey Fox, explain how the COVID-19 crisis has highlighted the importance of early childhood education to the economy and exposed systemic problems with Australia’s policy approach.
The industries that all Australians are relying on during the COVID-19 pandemic can only operate at their best with support from early childhood education services.
Families, business and government all benefit.
Early education builds the skills that support national prosperity.
The Front Project, with The Apiary Fellowship, are bringing the voices of children and families to the centre of conversations about the future of early learning. From October for several months, we will be facilitating a series of conversations with children, families and communities across Australia to enable their contribution to dialogue on transformative visions for children’s early years futures.
Our recent webinar 'The Future Is Bright: Leaders Collaborating To Transform Early Learning' saw our CEO Jane Hunt, Kerry Graham of Collaboration for Impact, Associate Professor Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett of UOW Early Start, and Dr Fiona McKenzie of Orange Compass engage in a discussion on how a systems based approach and innovative thinking can enhance the experiences of children, families and teachers and educators, particularly in the pandemic.