Children's Services: A Vision for the Future

2000 ◽  
Vol 25 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Denise Fraser
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Services Sector ◽  
South Wales ◽  
Key Stakeholders ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Good Starting Point ◽  
Advocacy Leadership

How do we change community perceptions and promote the importance of the early childhood years? Advocacy by the early childhood sector would appear to be a good starting point, but how well equipped are members of the profession to take on this role? This paper explores these questions by analysing the direction of policy decisions in relation to children's services and comparing them with overseas directions. It further reports the findings of a study of key stakeholders in the children's services sector and their perceptions of who are the main influencers of children's services policy. The findings point to the limited nature of advocacy leadership amongst those involved in the children's services sector in New South Wales. Discussion of the findings focuses on developing strategies to inform and support early childhood professionals to help them to advocate on behalf of children and to build the profile of children within the community.

A National Framework for Children's Services: AECA's View

1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 35-45 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme Vaughan ◽  
Pam Cahir
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Discussion Paper ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
National Framework

Council of Australian Governments (COAG) proposed, in its discussion paper released in November 1995, that it develop a national framework for children's services in Australia. This is part of its review of intergovernmental responsibilities for the delivery of children's services. The review consists of two steps, the first being intergovernmental agreement on a national framework, and the second, bilateral agreements between the Commonwealth and each State and Territory to implement the national framework. The Australian Early Childhood Association, Inc. (AECA) has prepared a submission which sets out its views on the objectives, outcomes, and features of a national framework for children's services. The Association strongly believes that the interests of children should be the paramount consideration in developing the national framework for a children's services system.

scholarly journals Thinking about Practice in Integrated Children's Services: Considering Transdisciplinarity

2012 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 94-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Nolan ◽  
Jennifer Cartmel ◽  
Kym Macfarlane
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Education ◽  
Direct Result ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Care Community ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Role Confusion

Integrated service delivery in the early childhood education and care sector is burgeoning as a direct result of government agendas in Australia that privilege services for young children and families, especially those considered most vulnerable and at risk. In many cases this means reviewing and revising current practice to work more collaboratively with other professionals. This paper reports the findings of one aspect of a larger Australian study entitled: ‘Developing and sustaining pedagogical leadership in early childhood education and care professionals’. The focus of this paper is the understandings and practices of professionals in both Queensland and Victoria working in integrated Children's Services across the education, care, community and health sectors. The notion of transdisciplinary practice is also explored as a way to sustain practice. Qualitative data collection methods, including the ‘Circles of Change’ process, the ‘Significant Change’ method and semi-structured interviews were used. The findings indicate concerns around professional identity, feeling valued, role confusion and the boundaries imposed by funding regulations. Working in a transdisciplinary way was generally considered a useful way to move practice forward in these settings, although the ramifications for leadership that this approach brings requires further consideration.

From Whitlam to Economic Rationalism and Beyond: A Conceptual Framework for Political Activism in Children's Services

2006 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Sumsion
Keyword(s):  
Critical Literacy ◽  
Universal Access ◽  
Political Activism ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Social Landscape ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
Critical Action ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Political Economic

Thirty years after the dismissal of the Whitlam Government, the Australian political, economic and social landscape is dominated by discourses of economic rationalism. The reification of market forces presents challenges for early childhood professionals seeking to establish a viable future trajectory for children's services that includes universal access to affordable, high-quality centre-based long day care services. This article argues that political activism, grounded in critical imagination, critical literacy and critical action, can assist in addressing this challenge.

scholarly journals Does Sure Start spending improve school readiness? An ecological longitudinal study.

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Senior
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
School Readiness ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Educational Achievement ◽  
Child Poverty ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Health And Social Care ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
Important Time

Background Early child development predicts a range of later outcomes including educational achievement, employment, involvement in crime, health, and social care need. Inequalities in early childhood also cause inequalities in health later on in life. Because of this, early childhood is an important time for intervention. School readiness in England is used to refer to an assessment of a child's cognitive, emotional, and physical development, and is a major focus of effort for local and national policymakers. However, evidence on what factors affect school readiness is needed to guide policymakers at local and national levels. MethodsI analysed a panel data set of 150 English upper tier local authorities from 2012 to 2016, for a total of 750 local-authority years. I used fixed effects poisson regression models to test for associations between local trends in school readiness performance and sure start spending, non-sure start children’s services spending, and child poverty rates.ResultsAfter adjustment for local trends in child poverty and spending on other children’s services, local trends in Sure Start spending were positively associated with school readiness, both among all children and among children eligible for free school meals (an indicator of poverty). All effects were small, with a 10% change in per-child Sure Start spending associated with a less than 0.2% change in school readiness performance.ConclusionDespite limitations associated with the ecological nature of this study, it provides evidence that Sure Start spending may improve school readiness. This complements wider evidence on the health benefits of Sure Start, suggesting that this programme had benefits across a range of outcomes.

The Many Faces of Child Care: Roles and Functions

1996 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
pp. 21-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret Sims ◽  
Teresa Hutchins
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Child Care ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Children's Services ◽  
Children’S Services ◽  
The Many

Current debates in early childhood are underpinned by fundamental issues regarding the roles and functions of services for children. Some writers have identified care and education of children as the main functions of children's services. This paper discusses a multifunctional approach and suggests that services for children in the 21st century need to develop a new discourse that celebrates the multifunctional nature of children's services.

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