NSW PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRY INTO EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION & CARE IN NSW Thank you to members who contributed and provided input. The ACA NSW submission has the following issues and challenges presented as well as raised: 1. Is the NSW sector (and the regulatory framework) fulfilling the promises of early childhood education and care for all children? 2. Are NSW's Aboriginal children benefiting from early childhood education and care? 3. Are the 100+50 preschools on school grounds benefitting all children? 4. Are NSW's Quality Ratings reliable? 5. Are NSW's Regulatory Practices working? 6. Are our children safe and protected? 7. Does NSW have a sustainable supply of skilled labour? 8. Is the NSW regulatory framework fit-for-purpose? 9. Is NSW Payroll Taxes fair for all NSW tax-paying ECEC services? ... and more. FOR THE SUBMISSION, please visit: https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... @followers

HUGE THANK YOU TO 3 EXEMPLARY SERVICES * Hopskotch Kindergarten, Toongabbie * iSTEAM AHEAD Early Learning Centre, Brookvale * Pine Street Kindergarten, Manly Another amazing (sold out) Wheels on the Bus tour was conducted on 5 April 2025, visiting 3 amazing services, learning different practices, collecting new ideas, making new friends, not to mention fantastic team bonding! For more information, please visit https://www.nsw.childcarealliance.o... The next tour will be on Saturday, 20 September 2025. Tickets will be released soon. Register early to avoid disappointment.

WE HAVE THE ANSWERS TO 139+ FAQs https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... Do you always seem to need the answer to a burning question immediately? Do you need clarification of new and changed laws, regulations, industrial issues... and more? There are 139 FAQs (and more being answered every week) accessible by ACA NSW members (using their username & password). If you have a new question(s), please contact our Member Support Officers via 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org,au.

NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN! ARE YOU READY TO BE RECOGNISED IN 2025? https://www.eeceawards.com.au/ The Excellence in Early Childhood Education Awards is our sector's largest awards programme in NSW and Australia! Recognising early childhood educators, teachers, support staff, services and teams across New South Wales. Nominations close on Sunday, 7 September 2025 at 11.59 pm. EECE Awards Gala Night on Saturday, 8 November 2025 at the Hyatt Regency, Sydney CBD. Thank you to our sponsors for 2025 - Guild Insurance, Guild Early Learning, KKTC, Huggies & Nova Employment. @followers

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: MEMBERS-ONLY MEETING Our latest members-only meeting on 5 May is now available to watch! Catch up on the key updates, exciting announcements, and valuable discussions you may have missed. This video is exclusive to members. For past and scheduled videos, please visit https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... Note: ACA NSW username & password required

SURVEY ON NSW REGULATORY AUTHORITY Have your say on the performance of the NSW Department of Education as the NSW Regulatory Authority This 2025 NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority Sector Survey (https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/GGKW... is run independently by ACECQA. All responses are anonymous. 🗓️ Closes 5pm AEST, Monday 26 May 2025 The Sector Survey is separate from both the independent review into the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority and the NSW Parliamentary Inquiry into the NSW ECEC sector currently underway. Participation in this survey will help the NSW ECEC Regulatory Authority understand how to improve the delivery and quality of its regulatory role to promote the safety, health and wellbeing of children in NSW. NOTE: It is worth noting that the NSW Department of Education relies heavily on sector input. By way of example is the apparent (NSW) sector support for the change to 5-day notification for partial Assessment & Rating despite ACA NSW's survey showing 77.9% were against the proposal. (See https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... Hence, it is worth reflecting on the 2022 and 2024 Sector Surveys' key findings about the NSW Department of Education, for example: * in 2022: o 73% of respondents agreed or strongly agreed that regulatory officers acted professionally during compliance-related interactions o 65% agreed the regulator performs its regulatory functions to promote continuous improvement; * in 2024: o 80% of respondents were either very satisfied, satisfied or neither satisfied nor dissatisfied with their interactions with the NSW Regulatory Authority; o 74% either strongly agreed, agreed or neither agreed nor disagreed that the regulator performs its regulatory functions to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children. For full articles & links: https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... @followers

DAYS OF INTEREST (FOR MAY) To view educational experiences: https://www.nsw.childcarealliance.o... (ACA NSW username + password required) International Tea Day + Star Wars Day + National Simultaneous Storytime... and more! For ACA NSW members, there are over 180 educational resources available for all the various Days of Interest to make your educational programming easier. Pinkies up!

PROUDLY INTRODUCING Inspired EC! https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... Co-founded by Tash Treveton and Nicole Halton in 2008, Inspired EC provides their special early childhood education and care expertise via: * consultancy; * live/online/on-demand/in-person and bespoke professional development; * mentoring and coaching; * playground design and development; ... and more! Their passion lies in nature based education and the importance of play in high quality environments. And Inspired EC are also Approved Providers for Inspired Family Day Care. But what really sets them apart is their approach to working with early childhood professionals and their range of expertise on: * Play-Based Learning * Understanding Behaviours * Infants and Toddlers * Positive School Transitions * Sensory Processing * Engaging Environments * Nature Pedagogy * Effective Supervision * The Talking and Thinking Floorbooks Approach™ * The Benefits of Risky Play Inspired EC also provides free resources, for example: 7 Ways to Support Your Team as Educational Leader, 5 Tips for Talking to Families About Risky Play, Reviewing Your Infant Outdoor Environment, Reflecting on Photographing Children, and more! They also provide a regular blog on range of topics, including: * "Should students and casual educators change nappies" * "Playdough vs Clay: A proprioceptive Play Showdown" * "AI for documentation: Concerns, Questions and Confusion" ... and more! Thanks to Inspired EC, ACA NSW members receive an introductory 10% discount when they first engage Inspired EC. Members can contact ACA NSW for the specific code or link to use. For any further information/clarification, please contact: * Inspired EC on (02) 4947 8112 or info@inspiredec.com; or * the ACA NSW team on 1300 556 330 or nsw@childcarealliance.org.au. @followers

WHAT HAPPENED AT LAST NIGHT'S INNER CIRCLE? Thank you to our sponsors Guild Insurance, Guild Early Learning, KKTC and KindyClean for supporting the (sold out) ACA NSW Inner Circle event held last night (28 April 2025) at Club Parramatta! As promised, the following was discussed: * an update on the Worker Retention Payments; * the Fair Work Commission's (provisional) decision on Gender Undervaluation of 9.4%-27.8% wage increases over 5 years; * what could Universal Childcare look like; * what might occur after the Federal Election on 3 May 2025; * the Federal Labor Government's $500m+$500m proposal to expand existing services and to build 160 new services (12,000 additional places) in regions and outer suburbs; * ... and more. Access the full article, slides and video of the presentation (ACA NSW members' usernames & passwords will be required) via https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... The next ACA NSW Inner Circle event will be on Monday evening, 11 August 2025. Stay tuned via https://nsw.childcarealliance.org.a... @followers