tag:theconversation.com,2011:/uk/topics/early-learning-and-care-104285/articlesearly learning and care – The Conversation2023-02-16T19:05:00Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1998642023-02-16T19:05:00Z2023-02-16T19:05:00ZBetter, cheaper childcare is on the horizon in Australia, but 4 key challenges remain<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/510443/original/file-20230215-28-k247ci.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=21%2C0%2C4859%2C3254&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">
</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Paul Hanaoka/Unsplash</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>About 100 early childhood experts are meeting in Canberra today for a <a href="https://ministers.dss.gov.au/media-releases/9711">national summit</a> on children who are five and under.</p>
<p>This is part of the Albanese government’s work to develop an early years strategy to ensure Australian kids “have the best start at life in their critical early years of development”. It is also the latest in a flurry of activity around early childhood education and care.</p>
<p>The federal government has just set up two major inquiries. Last week it established a <a href="https://ministers.treasury.gov.au/ministers/jim-chalmers-2022/media-releases/productivity-commission-inquiry-consider-universal-early">Productivity Commission inquiry</a> into early childhood education. The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission began its <a href="https://www.accc.gov.au/focus-areas/inquiries-ongoing/childcare-inquiry">inquiry</a> into the cost of childcare last month. </p>
<p>Meanwhile, states are also making massive commitments. The <a href="https://www.vic.gov.au/give-your-child-the-best-start-in-life">Victorian</a> and <a href="https://education.nsw.gov.au/early-childhood-education/early-years-commitment/about-the-early-years-commitment">New South Wales</a> governments have made multibillion-dollar promises to expand preschool for three- and four-year-olds. Former prime minister Julia Gillard is leading a <a href="https://www.royalcommissionecec.sa.gov.au/">royal commission</a> into early education and care in South Australia, with an interim report due in August. </p>
<p>Universal, affordable and high-quality early education for Australian families is on the horizon. But four key challenges remain. </p>
<h2>1. We still have ‘childcare deserts’</h2>
<p>Access to early childhood education and care is not equal in Australia, and depends on where families live. </p>
<p>Regional and rural families are more likely to have poorer access, and many live in “<a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/mitchell-institute/early-learning/childcare-deserts-oases-how-accessible-is-childcare-in-australia">childcare deserts</a>”. In these areas, more than three children vie for every childcare place. About one million Australians live in an area with no access to childcare at all. </p>
<p>It is easier to get a childcare place in high socioeconomic and metropolitan areas, suggesting access is not equitable. We need to address this, as research in <a href="https://ijccep.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s40723-015-0012-0">Australia</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731515578882">overseas</a> highlights the importance of early education and care for children’s social and cognitive development, especially for children from <a href="https://caepr.cass.anu.edu.au/research/publications/relationship-between-early-childhood-education-and-care-ecec-and-outcomes">disadvantaged backgrounds</a>. </p>
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<h2>2. Childcare is really expensive</h2>
<p>In recent years, the <a href="https://apo.org.au/node/321382?utm_source=APO+Subscribers&utm_campaign=f9ee7e4111-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_02_08_10_09&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-f9ee7e4111-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D&mc_cid=f9ee7e4111&mc_eid=a3a7c3ecef">Coalition government</a> injected significant funds into childcare subsidies. But the cost of early childhood services <a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/mitchell-institute/early-learning/assessing-childcare-affordability-in-australia">remains a key issue</a> for many families.</p>
<p>The Albanese government will <a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/changes-if-you-get-family-payments?context=41186">increase the subsidy again</a>, as of July 2023. This will ease some of the financial strain. </p>
<p>However, subsidy changes provide only temporary relief, as childcare costs often rise again. The Labor government has also said it will investigate the <a href="https://www.cela.org.au/publications/amplify!-blog/nov-2022/new-federal-government-budget-2022-ecec">feasibility</a> of a 90% subsidy regardless of income, although it is not clear how this will occur or how it will be funded.</p>
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<h2>3. Work requirements are not working</h2>
<p>A 2022 <a href="https://www.impacteconomics.com.au/home/education">Impact Economics</a> report showed how the government’s “<a href="https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/activity-level-and-subsidised-care-for-child-care-subsidy?context=41186">activity test</a>” is a major barrier to parents working. </p>
<p>Under the current test, families need to do certain amounts of paid work, such as study, training, volunteering or care, to receive certain hours of childcare subsidies. For example, parents doing less than eight hours of work a fortnight only get 24 hours of subsidised care for the same period. Those doing 48 hours of work get 100 hours of subsidised care. </p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/the-2018-childcare-package-was-partly-designed-to-help-families-work-more-but-the-benefits-were-too-modest-to-matter-179934">The 2018 childcare package was partly designed to help families work more. But the benefits were too modest to matter</a>
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<p>If there are two parents in a family, the activity test is based on the parent who works the least.</p>
<p>Impact Economics found the activity test was not encouraging people to work. Rather, it found low-income families were less likely to use childcare because of the restriction to hours of care. So the activity test can lock children from disadvantaged backgrounds out of early learning, despite being the group that would <a href="https://data.unicef.org/resources/a-world-ready-to-learn-report/">benefit the most</a>. </p>
<h2>4. Early childhood educators are overworked and not paid enough</h2>
<p>There are also major challenges around retention, pay and professional work conditions for the early education sector.</p>
<p>A 2021 <a href="https://www.voced.edu.au/content/ngv%3A91207">survey</a> by the United Workers Union showed that 73% of educators envisaged leaving the early childhood sector by 2024. Excessive workloads and low pay were the two main reasons cited by more than 4,000 current and former educators who participated in the research.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/how-a-canadian-program-that-helps-educators-thrive-not-just-survive-could-help-address-australias-childcare-staff-shortage-193954">How a Canadian program that helps educators 'thrive' not just 'survive' could help address Australia's childcare staff shortage</a>
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<p>Job vacancy rates are at <a href="https://www.nationalskillscommission.gov.au/reports/2022-skills-priority-list-key-findings-report">historically high levels</a> and the lack of qualified staff is a major restraint on increasing access to childcare services. To enhance efforts to attract and retain staff, educators are calling for a <a href="https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/your-job/early-childhood#:%7E:text=Pay%20rise%20for%20Preschool%20Field,replaced%20by%20a%20simpler%20process">pay increase</a> of between 13% and 30% over the next four years. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.aeuvic.asn.au/your-job/early-childhood#:%7E:text=Pay%20rise%20for%20Preschool%20Field,replaced%20by%20a%20simpler%20process">Australian Education Union</a> is also negotiating for other changes to the early childhood profession, such as increased participation in professional development and changes to the structure of education and training. </p>
<h2>The good news … and the reality check</h2>
<p>A noticeable feature of the Albanese government’s approach to early learning is a greater emphasis on children’s development and wellbeing.</p>
<p>The summit has an explicit focus on making sure children are “thriving”. Social Services Minister Amanda Rishworth has stressed how the most significant stages of brain development happen before children turn five. </p>
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<p>By getting it right in the early years of a child’s life, we can help set the foundations for a happy, healthy, and successful future.</p>
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<p>This marks a shift in government language, which previously talked about childcare in terms of <a href="https://ministers.dese.gov.au/tudge/increased-child-care-support-brought-forward">boosting female workforce participation</a>. </p>
<p>Nevertheless, huge challenges remain in the sector. Addressing them will be a major task for the government if is going to progress beyond summits and strategies to deliver real change.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/199864/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Melissa Tham works for the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University who receive funding from Minderoo's Thrive by Five initiative to undertake research into early childhood education and care.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Cynthia Leung is affiliated with Parenting and Family Research Alliance. She is an adjunct professor at the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University who receive funding from Minderoo's Thrive by Five initiative to undertake research into early childhood education and care. She received consultancy fees for evaluation of a parent training program from Tung Wah Group of Hospitals, Hong Kong.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hurley works for the Mitchell Institute at Victoria University who receive funding from Minderoo's Thrive by Five initiative to undertake research into early childhood education and care. </span></em></p>About 100 early childhood experts are meeting in Canberra today for a national summit on children who are five and under.Melissa Tham, Research fellow, Victoria UniversityCynthia Leung, Adjunct Professor, Victoria UniversityPeter Hurley, Director, Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1806592022-06-30T18:44:48Z2022-06-30T18:44:48ZLow-income families should not lose child-care subsidies while on parental leave<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468811/original/file-20220614-8082-exzajv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C7%2C4767%2C2930&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Child-care policy needs to be designed to ensure children have stable access to high-quality care. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://images.all4ed.org/license/">(Allison Shelley/The Verbatim Agency for EDUimages)</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>High-quality early childhood education and care services provide children with warm and nurturing interactions and ample opportunities for <a href="https://doi.org/10.1257/jep.15.2.213">children to play, foster their intellectual and emotional growth</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01227.x">develop important social skills</a>.</p>
<p>The constraints faced by disadvantaged families may reduce parents’ abilities to provide similar opportunities for growth at home, so it is not surprising that early childhood education and care has been shown to have the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12551">most positive impact for at-risk families</a>. </p>
<p>Research has shown that unstable child care (for instance, children who shift from one care provider to another in a short period of time or who experience multiple arrangements simultaneously) is associated with negative outcomes, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.09.001">poor mental health and higher rates of aggression for children</a>. </p>
<p>Our own research has found that a history of stable early childhood education and care may have buffered <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.12.004">the negative mental health effects of the pandemic for some children</a>. </p>
<p>A shift must be made in our society to prioritize giving all children, and especially children from low-income families, access to stable and high-quality early learning and care where they are able to flourish and grow. Yet Ontario’s subsidy policy for child care right now doesn’t prioritize stability of care for low-income families.</p>
<h2>Mental health effects of the pandemic</h2>
<p>We conducted <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2021.12.004">a longitutinal study</a> (of people over time) of 183 low-income mothers and their young children from Toronto. We examined children’s mental health changes from about two years before the pandemic and at the start of the pandemic, during its first eight or so months, beginning in spring 2020. </p>
<p>We wanted to try to understand why some kids were doing better than others early in the pandemic. At this point, children who were part of the study were in junior kindergarten to Grade 1.</p>
<p>In both phases of the study, parents reported on their children’s mental health using <a href="https://www.sdqinfo.org/a0.html">a mental health measure for children</a>. With this data, we were able to create profiles of changes to mental health in response to COVID-19. </p>
<p>We found that 38 per cent of children experienced improvements in mental health after the onset of the pandemic. We found, after examining the data to eliminate other potential influencing factors, that this group of children were more likely to have a history of stable early learning and child care prior to the pandemic.</p>
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<img alt="A young child is seen wearing a face mask at a playground." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468820/original/file-20220614-18-dteg2p.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Some children were doing better than others early on during the pandemic.</span>
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<h2>Some implications of our study</h2>
<p>Our study adds evidence to existing research that demonstrates the important positive effects of stable learning and care for young children, and how this can serve as a protective factor in the face of major life stressors.</p>
<p>Current policies <a href="https://efis.fma.csc.gov.on.ca/faab/Memos/CC2019/EYCC05_Guideline_EN.pdf">for early learning and child-care subsidies</a> in Ontario increase the likelihood of education and care instability, and can have detrimental consequences for children.</p>
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<a href="https://theconversation.com/ontarios-child-care-agreement-is-poised-to-fail-low-income-children-and-families-185113">Ontario's child-care agreement is poised to fail low-income children and families</a>
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<p>Ontario’s subsidy system pays the difference between the total price of child-care services and parents’ contribution, as determined by a provincially <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/child-care-subsidies#section-0">established formula</a>. </p>
<p>In Ontario, unlike some provinces, this is not a fixed percentage or a fixed amount. The absence of a cap on the maximum subsidy allows parents to choose high-quality early learning and care, regardless of the actual cost of care. However, access to a subsidized space is not a guaranteed right for Ontario families because of funding limits and space shortages. </p>
<h2>Subsidies penalize changes in families</h2>
<p>In Ontario, funding for subsidies is transferred from the province to the municipalities who oversee local service delivery. </p>
<p>The criteria for subsidy eligibility vary somewhat by municipality. <a href="https://www.toronto.ca/community-people/employment-social-support/child-family-support/child-care-support/paying-your-fees-to-the-child-care-program">In Toronto</a>, for example, to receive early learning and care subsidies, parents must work full time, go to school full time or have a child considered to have “special needs” as outlined in the <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/earlyyears/licensing-standards.html">Child Care and Early Years Act</a>.</p>
<p>Parents can lose their subsidy for any number of reasons unrelated to their need for one, for example, if they lose their job, go on parental leave because they have had another child, or quit their job to care for other family members. </p>
<p>For low-income families, the loss of a subsidy means the loss of the child-care space, which in Ontario costs on average <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories/ontario-canada-wide-2021.html">$14,000 for a preschool child, and up to $19,100 for a child below 18 months of age</a>.</p>
<p>For families, losing a subsidy creates instability in care for children, which means the loss of friends, routines and educators with whom they formed bonds, and causes drastic disruptions to young children’s lives. </p>
<p>These losses are especially difficult for children from poorly resourced families whose parents may be dealing with stressors like a job loss or the birth of another child.</p>
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<img alt="A young child is shown kissing his baby sibling." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/468817/original/file-20220614-11-emw3xz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Parents can lose a child-care subsidy if they go on parental leave because they have another child.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Keira Burton)</span></span>
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<h2>New agreement hasn’t fixed problem</h2>
<p>The new Canada-Ontario early years and early learning and child-care agreement, <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/canada-ontario-early-years-and-child-care-agreement">for the $12-a-day price, does not alleviate the problem outlined above</a>. </p>
<p>Low-income families who cannot afford the reduced fees will be subjected to punitive restrictions imposed by the existing subsidy rules. This is not only grossly unfair, but also counterproductive given the benefits of stable, high-quality care for children from disadvantaged families. </p>
<p>Policies around subsidies must adopt this perspective and not penalize families for circumstances that are often outside of their control.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180659/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Samantha Burns receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michal Perlman receives funding from Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council and the City of Toronto. </span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Calpanaa Jegatheeswaran, Petr Varmuza, and Sumayya Saleem do not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and have disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Stable child care can protect kids in the face of major life stressors — so should subsidy policies.Samantha Burns, Ph.D. Student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoCalpanaa Jegatheeswaran, Doctoral Student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoMichal Perlman, Professor of Applied Psychology and Human Development, University of TorontoPetr Varmuza, Assistant researcher, Perlman Lab, Ontario Institute for the Studies of Education, University of TorontoSumayya Saleem, PhD Student, Developmental Psychology and Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1836172022-05-30T20:32:14Z2022-05-30T20:32:14ZHigh childcare fees, low pay for staff and a lack of places pose a huge policy challenge<p><a href="https://www.alp.org.au/policies/cheaper-child-care">Cheaper childcare</a> was Labor’s largest single election promise, at an estimated cost of A$5.4 billion a year. Anthony Albanese went so far as to outline <a href="https://www.canberratimes.com.au/story/7725480/albanese-seeks-legacy-through-child-care">universal childcare</a> as one of his new government’s three main policies for economic reform.</p>
<p>While the cost of childcare for families is a major concern, many other issues confront the sector. Foremost among these is a <a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-1-million-australians-have-no-access-to-childcare-in-their-area-179557">lack of childcare places</a> in many parts of Australia and <a href="https://au.indeed.com/career-advice/finding-a-job/lowest-paid-jobs-in-australia">low pay</a> for childcare workers, who are increasingly <a href="https://thesector.com.au/2021/07/13/child-care-flagged-as-occupation-in-national-shortage-with-strong-future-demand-in-latest-nsc-skills-priority-list/">in short supply</a>.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/more-than-1-million-australians-have-no-access-to-childcare-in-their-area-179557">More than 1 million Australians have no access to childcare in their area</a>
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<p>With the election now behind us, how do the new government’s promised polices compare to the challenges the early learning sector is facing?</p>
<h2>What was promised?</h2>
<p>Labor has committed to increasing the subsidy to up to 90% for the first child in childcare from July 2023. There will also be higher subsidies for families with more than one child in childcare, including school-age children in care outside school hours.</p>
<p>Labor predicts 96% of families who use childcare will be better off under the new policy. </p>
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<p>Labor has also promised to task the Productivity Commission and the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) with ensuring further reform.</p>
<p>The ACCC will be directed to develop a mechanism to regulate the cost of childcare, with the aim of making it more affordable.</p>
<p>The Productivity Commission will be tasked with a review of the early childhood system, with a view to supporting a universal 90% childcare subsidy for all families. But it is not clear exactly what the review will examine. The terms of reference are not yet known.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/covid-chaos-has-shed-light-on-many-issues-in-the-australian-childcare-sector-here-are-4-of-them-174404">COVID chaos has shed light on many issues in the Australian childcare sector. Here are 4 of them</a>
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<h2>What are the other problems?</h2>
<p>There are many other issues in the sector. One of the biggest is access. Many families struggle to find the care they need.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.vu.edu.au/mitchell-institute/early-learning/childcare-deserts-oases-how-accessible-is-childcare-in-australia">Our research</a> shows around 35% of Australians live in regions classified as a “childcare desert”. This is where more than three children aged four and under are vying for every available childcare spot.</p>
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<p>Rural and regional areas have the worst problems with finding childcare places.
Of the 1.1 million Australians with no access to centre-based day care within a 20-minute drive, almost all are outside major cities.</p>
<p>Areas with the highest fees generally have the highest childcare availability. This better access suggests providers establish services not only where there is demand, but where they are likely to make greater profits.</p>
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<p>When it comes to work, mothers with a child aged under five years who live in a childcare desert have lower levels of workforce participation.</p>
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Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/if-governments-were-really-concerned-about-tax-and-the-cost-of-living-they-would-cut-the-cost-of-childcare-182669">If governments were really concerned about tax and the cost of living they would cut the cost of childcare</a>
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<p>As for workers within the early learning system, there are widespread problems with low pay and retention. Attracting staff is becoming increasingly difficult. The <a href="https://lmip.gov.au/default.aspx?LMIP/GainInsights/VacancyReport">latest employment data</a> show vacancies in childcare occupations are at a record high.</p>
<p>A <a href="https://bigsteps.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Exhausted-undervalued-and-leaving.pdf">2021 survey</a> of almost 4,000 early childhood educators showed 37% do not intend to stay in the sector long-term. Of this group, 74% intend to leave within the next three years and 26% within the year. </p>
<p>Pay and conditions as well as professional recognition and professional learning opportunities all influence the attraction and retention of early educators. Regional, remote and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander workforces are the <a href="https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-10/ShapingOurFutureChildrensEducationandCareNationalWorkforceStrategy-September2021.pdf">worst affected</a> by these issues. </p>
<p><iframe id="aM6ng" class="tc-infographic-datawrapper" src="https://datawrapper.dwcdn.net/aM6ng/3/" height="400px" width="100%" style="border: none" frameborder="0"></iframe></p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/early-childhood-educators-are-leaving-in-droves-here-are-3-ways-to-keep-them-and-attract-more-153187">Early childhood educators are leaving in droves. Here are 3 ways to keep them, and attract more</a>
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<h2>How do the promises stack up against all these problems?</h2>
<p>While Labor has committed to making childcare more affordable, the other systemic issues that riddle the sector have been neglected. </p>
<p>Early learning has an important role to play in overcoming disadvantage. But it is the most disadvantaged communities that have the least access – focusing on cost alone will not improve access for those in childcare deserts. There is not yet enough information about the scope of Productivity Commission review to determine whether these issues will be identified and rectified. </p>
<p>If Labor is serious about moving towards universal childcare, access will be an important barrier to overcome.</p>
<p>Also unclear at this stage is whether the review will look at alternative methods of funding childcare. Australia’s childcare system is funded using a parent-subsidy-based model. Governments pay part of the cost of childcare through a means-tested subsidy.</p>
<p>There is some evidence that direct funding of services can improve early childhood services. This is where governments fund providers directly for each child, as happens for preschools and schools. According to <a href="https://www.oecd.org/education/school/startingstrongiiearlychildhoodeducationandcare.htm">the OECD</a>, direct public funding models can bring “more effective governmental steering of early childhood services, advantages of scale, better national quality, more effective training for educators and a higher degree of equity in access compared with parent subsidy models”. </p>
<p>The issues of attracting and retaining staff in the early learning workforce are complex. Increased pay and better conditions must be front of mind for any real progress, accompanied by career pathways and support for professional learning, regardless of location. </p>
<p>The new government has an opportunity to take a strong stance on early learning and deliver a system that works for children, families, educators and the economy. It won’t be easy, but meaningful action for long-term change will deliver benefits for everyone.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/183617/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Hannah Matthews works for the Mitchell Institute who receive funding from Minderoo and the Thrive by Five campaign to undertake research on Australia's early learning sector.</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Hurley works for the Mitchell Institute who receive funding from Minderoo and the Thrive by Five campaign to undertake research on Australia's early learning sector.</span></em></p>Cutting the cost of childcare for families won’t help them if there are no places available at local childcare centres or people to staff them.Hannah Matthews, Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityPeter Hurley, Policy Fellow, Mitchell Institute, Victoria UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1802392022-04-05T15:37:42Z2022-04-05T15:37:42ZWhat Ontario parents really need to know about the new early learning and child care agreement<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455907/original/file-20220402-11-g5o7oi.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=0%2C311%2C4957%2C3309&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ontario is creating far below the 200,000 to 300,000 early learning and care spaces needed to address the demand that will arise as parent fees decline. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Benson Low/Unsplash)</span></span></figcaption></figure><iframe style="width: 100%; height: 100px; border: none; position: relative; z-index: 1;" allowtransparency="" allow="clipboard-read; clipboard-write" src="https://narrations.ad-auris.com/widget/the-conversation-canada/what-ontario-parents-really-need-to-know-about-the-new-early-learning-and-child-care-agreement" width="100%" height="400"></iframe>
<p>Last to the party among <a href="https://toronto.citynews.ca/2022/03/28/ontario-child-care-deal-federal-government/">all provinces and territories</a>, Ontario announced that it signed onto the <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/release/1001868/132-billion-child-care-deal-will-lower-fees-for-families">Canada Wide Early Learning and Child Care Agreement</a> last week, on March 28.</p>
<p>Despite <a href="https://www.thestar.com/opinion/editorials/2021/08/10/ontario-should-sign-on-to-ottawas-10-a-day-child-care-plan.html">the long wait</a> and <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/childcare-ontario-liberals-1.6207667">suggestions by Doug Ford’s government that the province would negotiate a unique deal</a>, Queen’s Park received no special treatment. </p>
<p>The <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/8715126/ontario-child-care-deal-federal-government/">$13.2 billion announced</a> will be distributed over six years — instead of five — in the same proportion as allocated to other jurisdictions. Meanwhile, as the province held out for more, <a href="https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2022/03/07/with-deadline-looming-why-hasnt-ontario-signed-a-child-care-deal-yet.html">Ontario parents missed out</a> on substantial child care fee savings.</p>
<p>The Canada-Ontario agreement promises to bring parent fees down to an average of $10 a day over the life of the agreement, while increasing child care access. <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/canada-ontario-early-years-and-child-care-agreement">Federal funding promises to add 71,000 spaces to the 15,000</a> that Ontario recently developed.</p>
<p>When added to the existing <a href="https://ecereport.ca/media/uploads/2021-profiles-en/ontario_profile_2020.pdf">285,962 spaces</a> serving the under six-year-old population, there will only be sufficient coverage for 43 per cent of children. Experts say that number is far below the <a href="https://childcarepolicy.net/author/gordon/">200,000 to 300,000 spaces needed to address the demand</a> that will be created as parent fees decline. </p>
<p>Yet even the province’s modest expansion goals will be curtailed by a <a href="https://theconversation.com/new-cross-canada-research-highlights-an-early-childhood-educator-recruitment-crisis-160968">shortage of early childhood educators (ECEs)</a>. Low wages and poor working conditions, further strained by the pandemic, create problems finding and retaining qualified staff. This could leave newly built classrooms sitting empty.</p>
<h2>Long wait for a deal</h2>
<p>Child care falls under provincial or territorial jurisdiction. Until now, Canada lacked a national early learning and care strategy. </p>
<p>The federal government’s 2021 historic <a href="https://pm.gc.ca/en/news/news-releases/2022/03/28/10-day-child-care-families-ontario">$27 billion investment in early learning and child care</a>, and the subsequent associated agreements marked a shift. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated government and public appreciation <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/7757249/ontario-free-child-care-eligible-front-line-workers-elementary-covid/">for the critical role of child care</a>.</p>
<p>But Ontario’s deal insufficiently recognizes the integral role of educators. Ontario pledged to increase the portion of <a href="https://www.college-ece.ca/public/about-reces/">qualified early childhood educators</a> working in child care centres to 60 per cent. A minimum wage of $18 an hour has been established for trained staff, rising by $1 each year to an hourly maximum of $22 by 2026, and $25 per hour for centre supervisors.</p>
<p>This rate is below the current <a href="https://www.jobbank.gc.ca/marketreport/wages-occupation/5188/ca;jsessionid=D4D6EBD68206C044980703FC1E22D151.jobsearch75">$20 hourly median</a> for ECEs and assistants across Canada. Over 75 per cent of Ontario’s child care workers will receive no benefit from the change. </p>
<h2>Among lowest-paid sectors</h2>
<p>The early learning and care workforce <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2021001/article/00005-eng.htm">is female dominated</a> <a href="https://doi.org/10.18357/jcs00202119594">and racialized</a>. It’s among the lowest-paid sectors even <a href="https://ecereport.ca/en/resources/charts-graphs/workforce-report/ece-salaries-compared-other-female/">compared to other female-dominated jobs</a> requiring similar education and experience. </p>
<p><a href="https://ecereport.ca/en/resources/charts-graphs/workforce-report/ece-salaries-compared-other-male/">When compared to male professions</a> with similar education and training requirements, the wage gap is even more staggering, and shows how
our society’s devaluation of labour related to educating and caring for young children is deeply gendered.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A woman is seen holding a book reading to a group of young children." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/455902/original/file-20220402-82159-sdwdam.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Child-care centres will have trouble operating if they can’t retain staff.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Yan Krukov)</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Low and stagnant wages leave centres with difficulties maintaining staff. In Ontario, only <a href="https://www.college-ece.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Licensed_Child_Care_2021.pdf">55 per cent</a> of ECEs registered with the <a href="https://www.college-ece.ca/">College of Early Childhood Educators</a> work in child care. </p>
<p>These challenges predate COVID-19 but were accelerated by it. <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2021001/article/00005-eng.htm">Employment in child care dropped 21 per cent</a> during the pandemic compared to three per cent among all other workers.</p>
<p>When COVID-19 struck, ECEs were called to the front lines to provide round-the-clock care <a href="https://news.ontario.ca/en/backgrounder/61162/ontario-provides-emergency-child-care-for-critical-frontline-workers">for the children of emergency workers</a>. Yet support for them was slow to come. They were among the last on the priority list for <a href="https://www.ontario.ca/page/eligible-workplaces-and-workers-pandemic-pay#section-1">pandemic bonuses</a>, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/emmanuel-at-brighton-child-care-prioritize-ece-vaccine-1.5993021">protective equipment or vaccinations</a>. </p>
<h2>Other provinces: Wage grids, benefits, pensions</h2>
<p>There is much written <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/article-on-call-and-unmoored-what-it-feels-like-to-be-a-health-care-worker-in/">about the exhausted health-care worker</a>, yet scant attention is afforded the demoralized early childhood educator. </p>
<p>Since Ontario’s deal was announced, many early childhood educators have <a href="https://twitter.com/KaraPihlak/status/1508809076821614604">questioned why</a>, despite the federal windfall, the deal contains no real recognition of their sacrifice and excludes the majority from any benefit. At an <a href="https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/UserFiles/File/Policy_Monitor/CA_27_03_22_-_Child_Care_Stakeholder_Tech_Briefing_March_27_Final_Approved_Version_9pm.pdf">online briefing</a> the government provided the day after the announcement, educators were incredulous. </p>
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<p>Meanwhile, in other parts of the country, governments are committed to developing <a href="https://ecereport.ca/en/resources/charts-graphs/workforce-report/maximum-hourly-wage-supplement/">wage grids</a> for their child care staff, improving benefits and even <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/early-learning-child-care-agreement-pay-benefits-agreement-1.6360120">offering pensions</a>.</p>
<p>A grid would set a minimum hourly wage for child care staff, and provide annual increases based on qualifications. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/early-learning-child-care-agreement/agreements-provinces-territories/manitoba-canada-wide-2021.html">Manitoba embedded educator compensation</a> in its agreement with Ottawa, offering a minimum wage of $25.89 and starting rate for qualified educators of $27.77. </p>
<p>In April last year, the Yukon raised its <a href="https://deputypm.canada.ca/en/news/news-releases/2021/07/23/canada-and-yukon-announce-major-expansion-10-day-child-care">hourly starting minimum to $30.11</a>. Saskatchewan made a good faith down payment of <a href="https://www.saskatchewan.ca/government/news-and-media/2021/november/03/government-invests-nearly-$10-million-to-increase-early-childhood-educator-wages">$3 an hour</a> for its staff, while educators <a href="https://tj.news/telegraph-journal/101836778?ref=newsletter">in New Brunswick got a $4.42 an hour boost</a>, putting them well ahead of what their Ontario counterparts will earn five years from now. </p>
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<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-covid-19-child-care-plan-must-start-with-investing-in-early-childhood-educators-157553">Canada's COVID-19 child-care plan must start with investing in early childhood educators</a>
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<p>We calculate that with the largest share of the country’s youngest children, <a href="https://ecereport.ca/media/uploads/2021-overview/overview2020_final2.pdf">Ontario is creating only one new space for every 12 children</a> under six years old in the province. Except for the territories where building costs are prohibitive, Ontario’s access targets are the least ambitious: Saskatchewan is developing a new space for every three children. In Newfoundland it’s one in four;
in Alberta it’s one in eight and British Columbia it’s one in nine. </p>
<h2>Substantial improvements needed</h2>
<p>Still, the province will need another 9,000 ECEs, plus support workers to staff new classrooms. As the <a href="https://ecereport.ca/en/resources/charts-graphs/workforce-report/maximum-hourly-wage-supplement/">least generous supporter of its workforce</a>, Ontario won’t achieve its goals until it gets serious about compensation.</p>
<p>Much of the conversation about growing the numbers of ECEs relies on adding more seats in college programs. But young workers are in demand everywhere — they won’t choose a career in child care without substantial improvements to salaries and benefits. Increasing college enrolment only adds water to a bucket full of holes.</p>
<p>This government may ignore child care providers, but it pays attention to parents. Parents deserve affordable fees, but also want their children to benefit from the best early education possible. This does not happen without qualified, resourced and valued educators.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/180239/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Emis Akbari receives funding from The Atkinson Foundation, The Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, The Lawson Foundation</span></em></p><p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerry McCuaig receives funding from the Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, the Lawson Foundation, the Atkinson Foundation and Employment and Social Development Canada.</span></em></p>Among provinces, Ontario is the least generous supporter of its childhood educator workforce. Parents pay the price in available child-care spaces if a staffing recruitment crisis does not improve.Emis Akbari, Adjunct Professor, Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at Ontario Institute for the Study of Education (OISE) and Senior Policy Fellow at the Atkinson Centre, University of TorontoKerry McCuaig, Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1635502021-07-18T12:28:06Z2021-07-18T12:28:06ZWhy the outdoors should be an integral part of every early learning and child-care program<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410605/original/file-20210709-19-1emy3o7.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=161%2C1041%2C5829%2C2928&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Beyond the many known benefits of outdoor education, COVID-19 has highlighted the outdoors as an environment which mitigates the risk of spreading airborne viruses. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Pexels/Charles Parker)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Bilateral negotiations are underway to move the historic <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html">federal commitment to a Canada-wide early learning and child-care system</a> from vision to reality. Expanding access for all young children in Canada will require creating and licensing more physical spaces where children learn and are cared for. But what kinds of spaces will these be? </p>
<p>In the face of the growing body of research that reveals how outdoor early learning has significant <a href="https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/outdoor-play/synthesis">developmental benefits for children</a>, early childhood educators across the country are reimagining early learning and care in the outdoors.</p>
<p>Governments need to take note of <a href="https://childnature.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Infographic-final-version.pdf">this burgeoning grassroots movement</a> because there are implications for capital infrastructure, regulations and early childhood educator training.</p>
<h2>Optimal conditions for learning</h2>
<p>In the outdoors children can <a href="https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/position-statement-on-active-outdoor-play">move freely, follow their interests, take risks and test their limits</a>. This translates into children who are happier, more active, curious, confident and collaborative. High-quality outdoor environments create <a href="https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/outdoor-play/according-experts/young-childrens-outdoor-play-based-learning">optimal conditions for learning</a>. </p>
<p>In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the <a href="https://www.lawson.ca/op-elcc-covid19.pdf">outdoors as a health-promoting environment that mitigates the risk of spreading airborne viruses</a> — something we can continue to benefit from in the future.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/from-obesity-to-allergies-outdoor-play-is-the-best-medicine-for-children-118031">From obesity to allergies, outdoor play is the best medicine for children</a>
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<p>My doctoral research is about the philosophy, practice and policy of outdoor early learning in Ontario. I have become convinced that high-quality outdoor learning should be a significant part of every early learning and child-care program. </p>
<p>Here’s what governments should be contemplating as we begin to build a Canada-wide system that embraces and enables outdoor learning.</p>
<h2>Infrastructure must include outdoor spaces</h2>
<p>When we think of capital infrastructure costs for early learning and care, we tend to think about buildings, but we need to think carefully about outdoor spaces and reframe them as outdoor learning environments. Regulations across <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5292-1">the country currently do not require more than seven sq. m per child of outdoor space</a>. That is just <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526402028">half the size of a parking space!</a></p>
<p>Fortunately <a href="https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/portfolio_page/seven-cs-an-informational-guide-to-young-childrens-outdoor-play-spaces">evidence-based design guidelines</a> already exist for planning high-quality outdoor learning environments. Criteria for early learning and care infrastructure funds to create new spaces should require high-quality outdoor learning environments as part of any new construction or renovation.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A natural playground built of logs." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410840/original/file-20210712-71119-vx17y2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Deciding how to invest in new infrastructure for early learning and care means considering how outdoor environments will be part of children’s learning.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Schools, local green spaces</h2>
<p>Of course, access to outdoor space is a challenge in many urban centres. However, accommodations can be made. </p>
<p>First, early childhood education programs can be delivered through schools, which tend to have outdoor space. This would maximize existing assets and benefit all children in a school. The Nova Scotia government has done so with its <a href="https://www.ednet.ns.ca/pre-primary">pre-primary program for four-year-olds</a>. The government recently announced <a href="https://novascotia.ca/news/release/?id=20210413001">a new fund for outdoor learning environments</a> in partnership with the federal government. </p>
<p>Second, partnerships with municipalities and parks agencies can support access to local green spaces. Partnerships can help ensure access to infrastructure such as bathrooms and running water.</p>
<p>Investing in high-quality natural play spaces <a href="https://www.evergreen.ca/our-projects/school-board-collaborations-services/">in school yards</a> and local parks would also leverage benefits for everyone in the local community. This is especially important given that <a href="https://ccpr.parkpeople.ca/2020/themes/growth/stories/towards-equitable-parks">access to green space is not equitable in Canada</a>.</p>
<h2>Forest and nature schools</h2>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="Young children in a colourful autumn leafy forest seen walking up a hill." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=672&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410831/original/file-20210712-19-1u24d1v.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=844&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption">Children seen at Cloudberry Forest School in St. John’s.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Cloudberry Forest School</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>We also need to enable early learning programs in which children spend the majority of their day outdoors, such as <a href="https://childnature.ca/about-forest-and-nature-school/">forest and nature schools</a>.</p>
<p>Currently government regulations for early learning and care in every jurisdiction require an indoor facility in order to obtain a licence to operate. However, such buildings are a poor and unnecessary use of money when programs plan to be mostly outside. Community buildings, cabins and shelters can provide sufficient protective space during inclement weather. </p>
<p>In the U.S., <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/WADEL/bulletins/2d8751e">Washington state recently licensed outdoor preschools</a>. <a href="https://dcyf.wa.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/reports/OutdoorPreschoolPilotFinal2020.pdf">Pilot program budgets</a> demonstrated that outdoor programs require around <a href="https://doi.org/10.24926/ijps.v4i3.181">30 per cent less in operating funds than traditional early learning and care programs</a>. </p>
<p>In St. John’s, N.L., <a href="https://www.obrienfarm.ca/cloudberry-forest-school">Cloudberry Forest School</a> has just started a three-year pilot project <a href="https://gazette.mun.ca/public-engagement/educational-beacon/">to explore the licensing of outdoor early learning and care programs</a>. Other jurisdictions will soon be able to benefit from their learning.</p>
<h2>Educator training</h2>
<p>Quality in early learning and care <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/early-learning-child-care/reports/2019-defining-measuring-quality.html">is influenced by the educational attainment of the staff who work with children</a>. Currently, the majority of post-secondary early childhood education programs across the country <a href="https://cjee.lakeheadu.ca/article/view/1653">do not explicitly prepare educators for outdoor teaching and learning</a>. However, this is changing rapidly.</p>
<p>There are new post-secondary transformations taking place in <a href="https://www.okanagan.bc.ca/news/from-colleges-to-communities-lawson-foundation-supports-early-childhood-education-project-at">Alberta, Saskatchewan and New Brunswick</a>. In Ontario, Humber College is embracing a “Two-Eyed Seeing” approach, <a href="https://theconversation.com/children-make-connections-to-aki-earth-through-anishinaabe-teachings-133669">whereby both Indigenous and non-Indigenous perspectives influence early land-based play and learning</a>. Their work is <a href="https://humber.ca/today/media-releases/humber-launch-land-based-play-and-co-learning-initiative">guided partly by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action</a>. </p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/children-make-connections-to-aki-earth-through-anishinaabe-teachings-133669">Children make connections to Aki (Earth) through Anishinaabe teachings</a>
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<p>Existing evidence-based <a href="https://outdoorplaytraining.com/about-the-project/">professional learning resources</a> and <a href="https://childnature.ca/forest-school-canada/">training programs</a> could be scaled and paired with apprenticeship approaches to educator training to help meet the urgent need for qualified educators.</p>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="Father and child fishing." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=638&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/410604/original/file-20210709-25-o5vtqm.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=801&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">Recruiting for outdoor programs may attract more males to work as early childhood educators.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
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<p>Canada needs an additional <a href="https://centreforfuturework.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/ELCC-Report-Formatted-FINAL-FINAL.pdf">20,000 staff each year to expand the early learning and care system, most of whom need to be educators who will work directly with children</a>. Outdoor early learning is a source of untapped potential for recruitment. </p>
<p>Passionate professionals in parks, conservation and outdoor education might reimagine their careers through early childhood education in outdoor learning environments if supported to make the transition. Recruiting for outdoor programs may also attract <a href="https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2017/03/blueprint-2020-expansion-early-learning-childcare-scotland-2017-18-action/documents/00515637-pdf/00515637-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00515637.pdf">more males to early childhood education</a>. The fact that <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10409289.2020.1822079">educators report their own improved well-being and professional engagement outdoors</a> may help attract and retain more early childhood educators.</p>
<h2>Scotland as an international model</h2>
<p>Scotland recently expanded its early learning and care and <a href="https://www.gov.scot/binaries/content/documents/govscot/publications/strategy-plan/2017/03/blueprint-2020-expansion-early-learning-childcare-scotland-2017-18-action/documents/00515637-pdf/00515637-pdf/govscot%3Adocument/00515637.pdf">emphasized the importance of outdoor play and learning in its policy</a>. <a href="https://theconversation.com/scotlands-outdoor-play-initiative-has-some-lessons-for-the-rest-of-the-world-132429">A grassroots movement led by early adopters, and then supported by champions within government</a>, laid the groundwork. </p>
<p>The Scottish government also developed a robust set of <a href="https://www.careandlearningalliance.co.uk/care-inspectorate-hub-outdoor-learning-guidance-tools/">resources for educator training, play space design and implementation guidelines to support outdoor programming</a>. <a href="https://www.gov.scot/policies/early-education-and-care/outdoor-play-and-learning/">Government, local authorities and non-profits in Scotland worked together</a> to enable early learning and care programs to use local green spaces. This is a model Canada should pay attention to.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/scotlands-outdoor-play-initiative-has-some-lessons-for-the-rest-of-the-world-132429">Scotland’s outdoor play initiative has some lessons for the rest of the world</a>
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<p>The <a href="https://ppforum.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/FromInvestmentToAction-May2021.pdf">Public Policy Forum recently recommended</a> that the federal government invest in an infrastructure fund for early learning and care as well as the expansion of post-secondary programs for early childhood educators. As government and educational plans unfold, children should not have to depend on the goodwill of an educator to access high-quality outdoor learning; good policy and investment are the solution, and all levels of government have roles to play.</p>
<p>Building a new Canada-wide early learning and care system will be one of the most significant social investments in decades. With the goal of serving every young child in Canada, it is incumbent upon us to imagine and build a system that reflects children’s innate needs and desires to learn outdoors in order to enhance child-care quality as well as child and educator well-being.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/163550/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Christine Alden is affiliated with the Lawson Foundation, a funder of The Conversation Canada. </span></em></p>Planning outdoor early learning and child care has implications for training and recruiting educators as well as for planning, developing and funding physical spaces.Christine Alden, PhD Candidate, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1629932021-06-29T20:38:55Z2021-06-29T20:38:55ZOutdoor play in shorter, more frequent windows can boost physical activity in early learning settings<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408762/original/file-20210629-25-wc9oiv.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=163%2C76%2C2371%2C1611&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">A study of children playing outdoors in child care settings found they were most active within the first 10 minutes of outdoor play.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Physical activity is important <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4860-0">for early childhood development</a>. There’s a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F183693911203700111">preconceived notion that children are highly active while in childcare</a> when often, <a href="https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph110201794">they are not</a>. </p>
<p>The good news is that when children are outdoors at childcare, they engage in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2013-0137">10 times as much energetic play</a> (higher-intensity physical activity) compared to when they are indoors! With outdoor environments being preferred to indoor settings as we grapple with COVID-19, it is important to encourage outdoor play — now more than ever.</p>
<p>However, this is more easily said than done. Curriculum objectives in childcare programming focus on <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/13575279.2017.1299111">preparing children for school</a>, and while these objectives can be integrated with outdoor planning and play, how childcare providers do this varies.</p>
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<p>
<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/learning-in-the-snow-how-children-develop-through-all-weather-outdoor-play-110736">Learning in the snow: How children develop through all-weather outdoor play</a>
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<p>In Ontario, childcare centres are required to provide <a href="http://www.edu.gov.on.ca/childcare/pdfs/child-care-licensing-manual-en.pdf">120 minutes of daily outdoor play</a> when children are in child care for six hours or more in a day. In contrast, British Columbia requires that programs provide <a href="https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/health/about-bc-s-health-care-system/child-day-care/active_play_june_2016.pdf">60 minutes of daily outdoor play</a>. Most provinces and territories <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5292-1">do not provide time requirements</a> for outdoor programming. </p>
<h2>Research about activity levels</h2>
<p>With colleagues, I researched how the frequency of outdoor play periods in childcare influenced children’s physical activity levels. We conducted a study in 22 childcare centres in London, Ontario; in half of the centres <a href="https://ijbnpa.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12966-017-0579-7">we shortened the duration of each outdoor play session, but doubled session frequency</a>. </p>
<p>We found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2020-0849">children were most active within the first 10 minutes</a> of outdoor play. In fact, 50 per cent of their first 10 minutes outdoors was spent engaging in higher-intensity physical activity, which then dropped to just 10 per cent during the remaining outdoor playtime! </p>
<p>Additionally, we found that restructuring outdoor play into shorter, more frequent bouts helped maximize children’s physical activity across total outdoor time, while also reducing the time children spent sitting, when compared to the traditional
outdoor play schedule.</p>
<h2>Adapting to weather</h2>
<p>Higher-intensity physical activity has numerous health benefits for young children, including <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2015.07.011">improved cognitive development</a> and <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/h2012-070">bone and skeletal health</a>. </p>
<p>Therefore, if we can maximize energetic play by simply restructuring outdoor play schedules, the benefits are definitely worth it. Breaking up outdoor play sessions can be helpful for early childhood educators who are already taxed with implementing a full curriculum, as they can dedicate the same total time to outdoor play, while maximizing its benefits for their children.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="A child's feet in a rainsuit and rainboots jump in a puddle." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/408763/original/file-20210629-17-1pdsfmd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">More frequent outdoor play periods may allow educators to schedule days around excessive rain, snow or extreme heat.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Shorter, more frequent outdoor play periods can also help educators overcome <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/09575141003667282">barriers such as weather</a> as such windows may lend themselves to more creative scheduling around excessive rain, snow or extreme heat. Typically, if it’s heavily raining for a couple of hours in the afternoon, it is <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.2013-0266">common to cancel outdoor play</a> altogether. </p>
<p>However, scheduling 20-minute outdoor play periods on either end of the rain can help educators work around long periods of rain during their typically scheduled outdoor time. This would ensure children are receiving all of the important <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pbj.2017.03.003">benefits of active outdoor play</a> on a daily basis (and not only when the weather allows — which is important given the varied weather experienced in Canada!).</p>
<h2>For children at home</h2>
<p>While these research findings may only be directly applicable to childcare settings (where <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/daily-quotidien/210407/dq210407b-eng.htm">the majority of young children spend their weekday waking hours</a>), young children tend to be most active during the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1123/jpah.10.2.170">transition to outdoors</a>. The thrill and excitement that outdoor play provides, coupled with more space and looser rules around movement and noise levels, <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/00094056.2016.1251793">naturally encourages children to be more active</a>. </p>
<p>As such, if children are at home, it is quite likely that they could also benefit from shorter, more frequent outdoor play periods, which may be particularly helpful for parents if they notice their children are engaging in too much sedentary or screen time during the evening or weekend hours. </p>
<p>Breaking up sedentary and screen time with high intensity outdoor play, if only for 10 minutes, can help <a href="https://doi.org/10.1080/02640414.2019.1685842">boost children’s health benefits</a>, while simultaneously preventing any unnecessary consequences from prolonged sedentary or screen time, such as <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2015.07.016">delayed language development</a> or <a href="https://doi.org/10.1139/h2012-063">irritable sleep patterns</a>.</p>
<p>Frequent outdoor play is important for young kids. Whether at daycare or at home, breaking up sitting time and taking kids outdoors will help encourage heart-pumping physical activity and provides them with countless <a href="https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-017-4860-0">health benefits</a>. So this summer, don’t discount the benefits of encouraging shorter windows of more frequent play.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/162993/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Brianne Bruijns receives funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada Joseph-Armand Bombardier Canada Graduate Scholarship. </span></em></p>Restructuring children’s outdoor play in child care centres into shorter, more frequent bouts helps maximize children’s physical activity.Brianne Bruijns, PhD Candidate in Health Promotion, Western UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1596262021-05-11T16:03:24Z2021-05-11T16:03:24ZOttawa’s $10-a-day child care promise should heed Québec’s insights about balancing low fees with high quality<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399868/original/file-20210510-15-150r5pb.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=50%2C341%2C3028%2C1943&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">In Québec, the biggest child care provider by far is schools. Here, children raise their hands at a care centre in Montréal in August 2006. </span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source"> CP PHOTO/Ian Barrett</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>New research from the University of Toronto captures how <a href="https://doi.org/10.30636/jbpa.32.188">parents struggle to find a child care provider</a> they feel comfortable with and can afford. Unless awarded a scarce fee subsidy, <a href="https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/UserFiles/File/Publications/TELCCS_REPORT.pdf">low-income families are priced out of government-regulated child care</a>.</p>
<p>Those paying market fees <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/features/analysis-daycare-fees-continue-to-rise-across-canada-1.3940099">would find it cheaper to send their toddlers to university</a>. Child care expenses <a href="https://www150.statcan.gc.ca/n1/pub/75-006-x/2018001/article/54976-eng.htm">are a factor in why young adults in Canada are having fewer children</a>, a trend <a href="https://ottawacitizen.com/news/national/with-falling-birth-rates-worries-mount-that-pandemic-deferred-pregnancies-could-affect-everything-from-immigration-to-health-care">with serious social and economic implications</a>.</p>
<p>COVID-19 underscored what women knew all along. Faced with few viable options, <a href="https://thoughtleadership.rbc.com/canadian-women-continue-to-exit-the-labour-force/">mothers ended up exiting the workforce</a>. Small wonder that <a href="https://www.budget.gc.ca/2021/home-accueil-en.html">the recent federal budget</a> focused on reducing fees when describing its early learning and child care plans. </p>
<p>Ottawa’s plan to cut costs in half by next year, with the promise of <a href="https://www.macleans.ca/politics/ottawa/budget-2021-the-liberals-massive-historic-very-costly-bet-on-childcare/">$10-a-day child care fees within five years</a>, throws a lifeline to <a href="https://www.policyalternatives.ca/publications/reports/child-care-deserts-canada">thousands of households</a>. </p>
<p>The federal government’s goals are <a href="https://www.canada.ca/en/department-finance/news/2021/04/budget-2021-a-canada-wide-early-learning-and-child-care-plan.html">inspired by Québec’s 20-year experience with low-cost child care</a>, referencing it as a model for the rest of the country. </p>
<p>Yet Québec child care is about more than low fees. </p>
<p>As a researcher who <a href="https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/UserFiles/File/Publications/QCProfile.pdf">has examined Québec’s early learning and care</a> and the need for Canada <a href="http://ecereport.ca/en/">to invest in early childhood education</a>, I believe as Canada’s other provinces and territories develop their early learning and care plans, they should be aware of the unintended consequences of inexpensive child care — and the pitfalls of taking shortcuts.</p>
<h2>No single ‘Québec model’</h2>
<p>There is no single “Québec model.” There are three. The biggest child care provider by far is schools. Authorities are required to offer before- and after- school care for four to 12-year-olds. Over 370,000 children participated in school-delivered child care before the pandemic disrupted attendance.</p>
<p>The second single biggest group are the publicly managed <a href="https://www.mfa.gouv.qc.ca/fr/services-de-garde/parents/types/centres-petite-enfance/Pages/index.aspx"><em>centres de la petite enfance</em> (CPE)</a> (early childhood centres). Operated by parent-dominated boards, these centres enrol infants to preschoolers. </p>
<p>CPEs are entirely publicly funded, except for a government established <a href="https://www.mfa.gouv.qc.ca/en/services-de-garde/Pages/index.aspx">daily fee of $8.35 paid by parents</a>. <a href="https://www.mfa.gouv.qc.ca/fr/publication/Documents/taux-et-echelles-de-salaires-personnes-salariees.pdf">A wage scale</a> provides educators with a living wage, plus benefits and a <a href="http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/E-12.011">pension plan</a> — rare perks for those working in child care. </p>
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<em>
<strong>
Read more:
<a href="https://theconversation.com/canadas-covid-19-child-care-plan-must-start-with-investing-in-early-childhood-educators-157553">Canada's COVID-19 child-care plan must start with investing in early childhood educators</a>
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<p>Spaces in CPEs are very much in demand but enrolment numbers have stagnanted in recent years to about 98,000 children. </p>
<p>The third group are private providers. These are a mix of commercial and non-profit operators, in addition to self-employed people who deliver child care out of their homes. All are licensed to serve children before they enter kindergarten. A subgroup of “subsidized” operators receive government funding in exchange for charging parents the $8.35 daily fee. </p>
<p>Among the private group, the fastest growing arm are the unsubsidized centres, with over 70,000 spaces. These set their own wages and market fees, but generous tax credits reimburse parents for most costs. Almost a third of Québec’s <a href="https://www.oise.utoronto.ca/atkinson/UserFiles/File/Publications/QCProfile.pdf">more-than-$4.2 billion early learning and child care budget goes out in tax credits</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="Children standing on playground bridge." src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/399888/original/file-20210510-15-1g1snq0.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">‘Centres de la petite enfance’ enrol infants to preschoolers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">(Shutterstock)</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Preference for non-profit providers</h2>
<p>Over the years, <a href="https://inroadsjournal.ca/quebecs-childcare-program-20-2/">private centres gained a reputation for poor quality</a>. Learning from Québec, the federal government has <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/politics/article-ottawas-squeeze-play-to-get-all-provinces-into-its-child-care-plan/">ruled out tax measures or direct payments to parents to reduce fees</a> and has indicated a bias for non-profit providers.</p>
<p>Some <a href="https://inroadsjournal.ca/quebecs-childcare-program-20-2/">researchers blame the hyper demand from parents for low-cost care</a> for the evolution of Québec’s fragmented early childhood services. </p>
<p>Reducing the cost of care is a critical goal, but a low fee for parents doesn’t necessarily translate into an enriching experience for children. </p>
<p>Fee reductions must be partnered with interventions to promote quality. Québec has had to responded <a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/allison-hanes-study-shows-many-quebec-daycares-are-failing-our-kids">to charges of poor quality</a> early learning and care, the <a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2020/10/08/quebecs-auditor-general-flags-daycare-shortage-lack-of-access-to-family-doctors/">jumping of waitlists</a> into choice spots <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/quebec-moves-to-tighten-rules-for-private-daycare/article1216169/">and even patronage</a> in the awarding of contracts for new centres. </p>
<p>For example, <a href="http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/ShowDoc/cs/S-4.1.1">amended child care legislation</a> now requires all providers to adopt an updated curriculum and document children’s progress. Inspections are more frequent and go beyond basic health and safety checks to observe how educators interact with children and provide feedback for improvement. Results are publicly posted. To tackle access bias, operators are required to enrol only those at the top of a government-administered, online registration site. Cross-sector committees advise the ministry on where new centres will be placed. </p>
<h2>Expansion through schoools</h2>
<p>More recently, Québec’s government is showing a preference for expanding early learning and care through its schools, rather than by priming the child care market with payments to parents. New policy requires all schools to provide <a href="https://www.quebec.ca/en/education/preschool-elementary-and-secondary-schools/kindergarten">kindergarten</a> for all four-year-olds by 2023, with the choice of before- and after- care for working parents.</p>
<p><a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/pre-kindergarten-in-quebec-expands-to-more-schools-1.3958397">Pre-kindergarten offers small classes</a> taught by a teacher with a preschool speciality, supported by an early childhood educator. Over the past year, despite the pandemic, Québec opened 995 new pre-kindergarten classes, almost meeting its 1,010 target. </p>
<p>In contrast, deficiencies in child care are difficult to rectify. The government’s goal of creating 13,500 subsidized spaces by next year is stalled at 2,500. To bump production it is <a href="https://montreal.ctvnews.ca/quebec-wants-to-get-rid-of-red-tape-to-free-up-more-daycare-spaces-1.5344677">going after the “red tape”</a> originally put in place to provide transparency.</p>
<p><a href="https://ipolitics.ca/2020/10/08/quebecs-auditor-general-flags-daycare-shortage-lack-of-access-to-family-doctors/">A report by the province’s auditor general</a> finds 46,000 families looking for care, many of them low-income, while operators skirt their legal obligation to enrol children on the centralized waitlist. </p>
<p>Of Québec’s three child care streams, expanding through schools is proving to be effective as well as efficient. Any government looking to build good early learning and care should take a closer look.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/159626/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Kerry McCuaig receives funding from Margaret and Wallace McCain Family Foundation, the Lawson Foundation, the Atkinson Foundation, the Government of Canada, the City of Toronto. </span></em></p>As provinces and territories beyond Québec develop early learning and care plans, they should be aware of the pitfalls of taking shortcuts in response to parent demand.Kerry McCuaig, Fellow in Early Childhood Policy, Atkinson Centre, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, University of TorontoLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.