That ICPA (Aust) advocate for legislative change to section 5(1) of the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law to enable the provision of Early Childhood Preschool Programs on rural and remote school sites, available to both three- and four-year-olds, not governed by the school itself.
The b4-Kindy program operates exempt from the definition of an education and care service under section 5(1) of the Children (Education and Care Services) National Law. As per the Law, an education and care service is any service providing or intending to provide education and care on a regular basis to children under 13 years of age other than a school providing full-time education to children, including children attending in the year before kindergarten but not including a preschool program delivered in a school or a preschool that is registered as a school.
The b4-Kindy program:
• Is provided by a school.
• The school provides full-time education to children, including children in the year before kindergarten.
• The children attending are in the year before kindergarten, but not two years before kindergarten or earlier.
• The program is an integrated early learning program delivered by a School Learning Support Officer (SLSO) under the direction of a teacher. It is not a preschool program. The National Law defines a preschool program as an early childhood educational program delivered by a qualified early childhood teacher to children in the year that is two years before kindergarten.
Operating with the above the limitations, three-year-olds are not able to access early childhood education in their rural and remote communities, making it more challenging to reach the recommended 600 hours of early childhood education prior to commencing school.
In addition to this, the b4-Kindy program must also ensure compliance under the Crown Employees (School Administrative and Support Staff) Award. SLSOs employed to deliver the program must work under the direction and supervision of a teacher to support the achievement of educational outcomes. SLSOs are not to supervise students on their own. Regardless of the activity, a teacher must be in sight and/or hearing distance at all times. ICPA NSW is advocating for state Legislative change to allow SLSO’s the responsibility of sole supervision, allowing for those three and four-yearolds the opportunity to be located in a purpose specific room separate from primary students.
