New early childhood standards commence today

New national early childhood standards will commence in the ACT from today that will improve the quality of care provided to children, Minister for Community Services Joy Burch said.

Ms Burch said the changes under the National Quality Framework included lower educator to child ratios, minimum qualification requirements for educators and the provision of an early childhood trained teacher in all centres, and will be phased in over a number of years.

Other changes include increasing educator to child ratios, introducing new qualification requirements and a national assessment and rating process.

"These changes will provide families with new quality ratings for childcare centres to help them make informed choices about which service will best meet their needs," Ms Burch said.

"There has been a significant amount of research conducted on the early years of children's development showing the positive impact that quality early education and care makes on a child's life, and these changes will help ensure that children in care are given the best start possible."

Ms Burch said the ACT's education and care services were well placed to meet the new standards, and the Government would continue to work with the sector to implement the reforms.

"The ACT Labor Government is supporting the sector to transition to the new Framework, which will result in a growth in childcare places in 2012 and beyond."

The ACT Government has made significant investments in childcare in recent years, including a $60 million Supporting Quality Early Childhood Education and Care package announced in April that included the construction of new childcare centres, capital grants to allow centres to expand, and land releases for the establishment of new centres.

"The package also included an early childhood scholarship program that will assist childcare workers in the ACT to meet the minimum qualification requirements of the Framework, and we will be calling for applications for the scholarships in the new year."