Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th century in Bavaria and Alsace to serve children whose parents both worked outside home. The term was coined by the German Friedrich Fröbel, whose approach globally influenced early-years education. Today, the term is used in many countries to describe a variety of educational institutions and learning spaces for children ranging from 2 to 6 years of age, based on a variety of teaching methods.
Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to eighteen years. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an equally important and often overlooked component of child's developments.
A preschool, also known as nursery school, pre-primary school, or play school or creche, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. It may be publicly or privately operated, and may be subsidized from public funds.
Katherine Margaret Ellis is a former Australian politician, who represented the Division of Adelaide in the Australian House of Representatives for the Australian Labor Party from 2004 until 2019. She served in multiple portfolios in the outer ministry of the 2007–2013 federal Labor government and was in the shadow cabinet after that. In March 2017 Ellis announced that she would step down from shadow cabinet as of the next reshuffle and leave parliament at the 2019 federal election.
ABC Learning was an Australian company that was once the world's largest provider of early childhood education services. It was listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with its market capitalisation reaching A$2.5 billion in March 2006. The company went into administrative receivership after a fallout from the subprime mortgage crisis caused debt repayments to overwhelm the company, and the auditors failed to sign off on the financial reports citing the need to recast previous year's reported profits.
The Australian Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (DEEWR) was a department of the Government of Australia.
Child and family services is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological. People who seek or are sought after to participate in these homes have no other resource to turn to. Children might come from abusive or neglectful homes, or live in very poor and dangerous communities. There are also agencies that cater to people who have biological deficiencies. Families that are trying to live in stable lives come to non-profit organisations for hope of a better future. Child and family services cater to many different types of people who are all in different situations. These services might be mandated through the courts via a governmental child protection agency or they might be voluntary. Child and family services may be mandated if:
Professional Association for Childcare and Early Years (PACEY) is a charity and membership organisation based in London and working in England and Wales. A standard-setting organisation, it promotes best practice and support childcare professionals to deliver high standards of care and learning.
Early Years – the organisation for young children is a non-profit organisation based in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Formerly known as Nippa, it works to promote education and care services for young children. It provides support in the form of information and training to parents, childcare providers, employers and local authorities, as well as the development of programmes and projects to enhance the care and education provided for children.
The Department of Education is a ministerial department of the Queensland Government responsible for the administration and quality of education in Queensland, Australia. The department is composed of two separate portfolios, Education Queensland and Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC). The department also encompasses the Queensland Curriculum and Assessment Authority, a separate statutory authority responsible for creating syllabuses, curriculums, and assessment.
Child care indicators are sets of standards that act as indicators of quality child care. These standards are developed by governments, child care experts, pediatricians, and parent advocacy groups. This information is useful for parents who are seeking quality child care and for directors and staff working in child care settings for ensuring quality settings and programs.
Family policy in the country of Japan refers to government measures that attempt to increase the national birthrate in order to address Japan's declining population. It is speculated that leading causes of Japan's declining birthrate include the institutional and social challenges Japanese women face when expected to care for children while simultaneously working the long hours expected of Japanese workers. Japanese family policy measures therefore seek to make childcare easier for new parents.
The Victorian Socialists (VS) is a democratic socialist political party based in the Australian state of Victoria. Founded in February 2018, it is an electoral alliance of various socialist parties, organisations, community groups and trade unionists, with the stated purpose of "taking on the political and economic elite" and fighting for "a socialist society defined by genuine democratic control of the economy, equality, and social justice".
A pre-school, also known as kindergarten or child care centres in Singapore, is an educational establishment or learning space offering early childhood education to children before they begin compulsory education at primary school. All Singapore Citizens born after 1 January 1996 and living in Singapore must attend a national primary school unless an exemption is granted.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected educational systems worldwide, leading to the near-total closures of schools, early childhood education and care (ECEC) services, universities and colleges.
The Early Childhood Development Agency is an Autonomous Agency that manages the early childhood education sector in Singapore. It oversees the development of childcare centres and kindergartens. The agency is jointly overseen by the Ministry of Social and Family Development and the Ministry of Education, with it being housed in the former.
Early childhood education in the United States relates to the teaching of children from birth up to the age of eight. The education services are delivered via preschools and kindergartens.
Primary responsibility for early learning and child care in Canada rests with the 13 provincial and territorial governments. Since 1984, there have been a number of unsuccessful attempts at establishing a national child care system. By 2019 in Canada, about 60% of children who were 0 to 5 years-old participated in day care arrangements. Of these, 52% were in formal day care settings and 26% were cared for by a relative in an informal setting. About 40% of parents had difficulty finding child care arrangements. As of 2016, 30% of child care operations in Canada were for-profit, which includes large single-owner corporate chains. Some federal, provincial, territorial, and municipal public funding of child care is limited to not-for-profit child care operations.
Deborah Jane Brennan is an Australian Professor in social policy research, who was awarded a Member of the Order of Australia, in the Queens Birthday Honours list, in 2022, for her significant service to social policy research, gender equity and tertiary education.
Georgie Dent is a writer, journalist, former lawyer, and winner of the 2021 Edna Ryan award, in the category of Workforce. She was author of the book Breaking Badly, published in 2019. In 2022, Dent was executive director of The Parenthood, an advocacy group representing parents and carers. She is an advocate of women's empowerment, workforce participation, and gender equality.
