Kiddipedia
Choosing child care is a big decision. There are some obvious factors such as convenience, availability and cost. However, when it comes to finding a service that’s going to best support your family, there are a few extra things you should consider.
Why it’s more than just ‘child care’
A growing body of research shows early education is just as important as schooling. This research links high-quality early education to better social, cognitive and language development outcomes for children, especially vulnerable children.
Early education and care is led and run by trained professionals, known as educators, who are qualified in early childhood development. The curriculum is age-appropriate, play-based, educational and nurtures growth and development.
There are a number of factors to consider when it comes to choosing the right care for your family. One particular consideration often overlooked is the difference between private and not-for-profit, community-owned and run services.
What is not-for-profit, community-owned care?
There are many different types of care services, including long day care, outside school hours care (OSHC), kindergarten, family day care and occasional care. These can all be community-owned services.
Community-owned education and care is ‘owned’ by parent committees, councils, community groups and/or not-for-profit organisations, rather than individual shareholders. Their main aim is to deliver high-quality education and care, and any profit is invested back into the service to benefit children and families. In a private service, a percentage of profit is delivered to owners, directors and shareholders.
How do privates and not-for-profit services compare?
Research has shown that community-owned education and care services provide better quality education and care than for-profit businesses.
When there are no owners, directors or shareholders anticipating a financial return on their investment, services can spend more time and money focusing on creating environments that put children’s development and wellbeing at the forefront.
Research from peak body for the sector, Community Child Care Association (CCC) showed that not-for-profits are far outperforming the national averages, delivering higher quality services for Australian children and families. Forty-two per cent of not-for-profits in the study are rated “Exceeding” in educational programming and practice, compared with the national average of 18%.
Added benefits for families
In not-for-profit and community-run services, families have an influence on decisions about how service profits are spent, or how the service engages with the community. The committee of management is made up of members from the community, so local issues are better understood and can be responded to by making use of local resources.
Better access and lower costs
Not-for-profit and community-owned providers allow costs to be reinvested into the service and the local community. Often for families, the out-of-pocket costs of education and care are lower in not-for-profit and community-owned services. Families also have the peace of mind that their expenses aren’t lining the pockets of large-scale private providers.
Accessibility is also a focus among the vast majority of not-for-profit services. This refers to both inclusion of everyone regardless of their needs, as well as the location of services, which often share facilities with other community services such as maternal and child health, council and local government or sport and community hubs. Research tells us that accessible facilities increase uptake of education and care, in turn empowering as many children as possible to get access to the support they need for the best start to life.
Inclusion is also a key consideration for many families. Local services need to understand the unique needs of their local communities. Whether it be through strong connections to local reconciliation groups, partnerships with multicultural services or a demonstrated commitment to making their space accessible for all families regardless of their needs. In this space, the trend is that not-for-profit services tend to consistently outperform their private counterparts.
More support for educators
Not-for-profit services are providing a high-quality setting to support teachers’ and educators’ welfare and wellbeing. According to a report published by Australian Community and Children’s Services (ACCS) earlier this year, the not-for-profit sector was more proactive in supporting professional development opportunities for educators to grow and learn.
Positive organisational cultures support teachers and educators to feel valued and appreciated, and community-owned and managed services provide higher quality working conditions for educators and teachers.
The purposeful efforts of not-for-profits to support educators and build a positive company culture is often reflected in staff turnover numbers. As a sector under pressure, retaining staff is difficult, however, turnover remains lower in community-owned and not-for-profit services. The relationships children and families form with their educators are important in nurturing growth. Less movement of staff helps ensure children are receiving the consistent education and care they need.
How do I tell the difference between not-for-profit and private services?
The easiest way is to ask! Speak to different services, find out about how they operate and seek reviews from educators and families where possible.
About Community Child Care Association (CCC)
Established in 1971, we are the voice of community-based early childhood education and outside school hours care (OSHC) services in Victoria. We helped set up the very first community-owned services in Australia. Today, we continue to support and champion both community-owned services and the wider sector.
We’re active across Victoria, providing leadership and advocacy, working with governments, and supporting services with membership, quality professional development and consultancies.
We support long day care, OSHC, kindergarten, family day care and occasional care educators, teachers, leaders, coordinators and directors.
Community Child Care Association is the Victorian peak for community-owned education and care. We are also the state peak for OSHC.
Our heritage as a sector leader means we’re the go-to organisation for projects, like the Victorian Inclusion Agency.
Join CCC or find out more at www.cccinc.org.au
