P-plates for child centres

All new child-care centres would be put on "P-plates" for up to two years and the number of babies looked after by any one carer may be reduced from five to three under an overhaul of early childhood education being considered by the Federal Government.

The parliamentary secretary for child care, Maxine McKew, says the Government is considering changing its election promise to rank all child-care centres from A to E after hearing "resistance" to the plan from parents and the industry at community forums.

But in an interview with the Herald, she said the Rudd Government would demand more from child-care operators and expect standards to rise without fee increases because taxpayers and parents were "not getting enough" for the billions of dollars poured into the industry.

Ms McKew set out her agenda to give the child-care industry the "same status" as formal school education by having more child-care workers with better qualifications and replacing the eight different state and territory rules with national standards.

"Parents are paying like they have never paid before and we are paying massive subsidies and we're not getting enough for our money. My criticism of the previous government is that they poured billions in and demanded nothing in return. That's over. It's time to be far more demanding."

Ms McKew revealed she had spoken to the Education Minister, Julia Gillard, and the Prime Minister's office about a shift from the promised A to E ranking system.

"Not everyone likes A to E," Ms McKew said. "In my own mind I've never been entirely comfortable with it. So at the consultations I have been saying here's another way to look at this."

Her plan would introduce provisional licensing for all new child-care centres, which would have to prove they were committed to childhood development and show they were able to hire, retain and continue to train staff.

"Any new operator would be on P-plates," she said. "You don't get a full licence. We're raising the bar." Continued...