ACT Children’s Plan 2010-2014 This plan is a whole of government and whole of community commitment to children aged 0 to 12 years. Its vision is that: Canberra is a child friendly city that supports all children to reach their potential, make a contribution, and share the benefits of our community. The ACT Children’s Plan covers: Text description: Opportunities for children to influence decisions about their lives and their community, and to actively participate in their communities. Advocacy, promotion and protection of children’s rights Processes to assess the impact of law, policy and practice on children. Regular monitoring of the of children’s health, wellbeing, learning and development. Services, programs and environments that support children’s optimal development and enhance parental, family and community capacity. Effective governance mechanisms across government and community. Municipal Early Years Planning Framework, VIC The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the municipal Association of Victoria partnered to develop the Municipal Early Years Planning Framework.8 This framework provides a range of principles and practical guidance to help local governments incorporate the needs of young children in their planning processes. In addition, it recognises the complementary roles of state and local government in the planning, funding and delivery of a range of services. National Quality Framework To ensure all children have access to quality early childhood education and care, the Australian, state and territory governments have established the National Quality Framework, which includes a National Quality Standard, for most long day care, preschool/kindergarten, family day care and outside school hours care services. The framework raises quality and drives continuous improvement and consistency in education and care services and school age care. (www.acecqa.gov.au) The Early Years Learning Framework is a key component of the Australian Government’s National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care. The framework describes the principles, practice and outcomes essential to support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school. It has a strong emphasis on play- based learning. Play is the best vehicle for young children’s learning providing the most appropriate stimulus for brain development. The framework also recognises the importance of communication and language (including early literacy and numeracy) and social and emotional development. Both of these elements have implications for the planning and establishment of child care facilities. (years-learning-framework)
3 1 2 1 4 Understand policies and legislation The different levels of government implement overarching policies and legislation which govern child care. However, this often results in several layers of regulations and requirements which can be difficult to understand and navigate. Align local government policies It is important that local governments get clarity from the relevant decision maker where there is policy overlap or potential for different interpretations. A Queensland example The Education and Care Services National Regulations (Part 4.39) determine the indoor and outdoor space ratios required for children in centre-based child care services. In parallel, the Queensland Government’s Development Code for child care centres (in Part 5.4) establishes development standards for child care facilities including, amongst others, accessibility, indoor play facilities, toilet and laundry facilities, outdoor play and storage facilities. Both these need to be identified to local child care proponents to ensure they fully understand the two. Referrals to other government agencies to obtain child care service approvals can also be complex processes, involving various government agencies such as state departments of planning, environment and children’s services. For example, in NSW all child care facilities must have received development approval before lodging an application for service approval. Aligning with the National Quality Framework In Queensland, the Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE) is responsible for approving care services in accordance with the requirements of the National Quality Framework (NQF). Assessing a development application for child care facilities involves DETE working with local government and is a useful mechanism to ensure the NQF is delivered through the land use planning system. Brief local government staff Build the capacity of local government staff to better understand how state, national and local government requirements overlap and what they should do if clarification is required. This will help to ensure a more consistent level of service delivery and communication with proponents regarding state and national requirements. Assist proponents Child care providers and proponents operate within a national framework set by the Commonwealth. However, they are often working across different state (and local) governments where the policies and legislation may vary. Local government could consider providing clear pathways and briefings for proponents on how to navigate the required processes.
NSW Standard Instrument The NSW Standard Instrument zoning objectives acknowledge local communities consist of not only residents but also workers employed in an area on a day-to-day basis. It identifies the objective of the Neighbourhood Centre Zone to: …provide a range of…community uses that serve the needs of people who live or work in the surrounding neighbourhood. Zone for workforce participation The availability of child care encourages economic vibrancy as it supports workforce participation. This that local government should aim to facilitate the location of child care in areas of high economic activity as well as close to places of residence. York Park Master Plan, ACT The York Park master Plan states there are to be limited commercial and retail uses to support those employed in this largely office and open space area. However, the plan explicitly permits child care centres as a key land use planning policy which creates supply of child care close to a place of work. Be holistic when master planning Master planning takes a broad, systemic approach to a substantial land use and identifies current and future needs. Subsequently, land zoning (and rezoning) can deliver a mix of land uses which will meet the needs of the community. Conduct a needs analysis Master planning processes can take into account an analysis of housing, employment, major and community infrastructure, daily activity patterns of both residents and employees and also the characteristics of those living and working in neighbouring areas. Community needs analysis for growth areas are particularly well established in Victoria and serve as a useful good practice model for enabling the supply of child care in master planning. Metropolitan Planning Authority, VIC Metropolitan Planning Authority governments in Victoria entered into a partnership to develop Guidelines for Planning for Community Infrastructure in Growth Areas. The aims of the guidelines are to: Address the demand of rapid population growth on community infrastructure provision Increase cooperation between government and state agencies with responsibility for providing community infrastructure Increase capacity of government to undertake local planning for community infrastructure Encourage consistency in community infrastructure planning. The guidelines provide a consistent planning framework that local government can use to undertake a community needs analysis.
Introduction Local government play a crucial role in the supply of child care by: developing partnerships with levels of government to align the policy, procedures and practices for child care communicating and engaging with a range of stakeholders including communities, councillors, colleagues, child care providers and proponents on the importance of child care together with determining need and ways to meeting this. Part 3 provides guidance and examples of how to build stakeholder awareness and support. Partner with state government State and local governments both support the availability of child care. By working in partnership, they can ensure that child care policies, procedures and practices are aligned. They can also share resources and information to develop a common understanding of state- level child care requirements and how actions from both support progress towards these needs. Partnerships in Victoria The Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) and the municipal Association of Victoria (MAV) signed the Partnership Agreement which commits to building positive, collaborative relationships between the DEECD, MAV and all Victorian local governments and to increase the learning and development opportunities for children, young people and families. The Partnership Agreement commissioned a survey of all 79 Victorian governments to map how they supported children and young people, a key step to collating an evidence base for future planning. This led to a report, Victorian Local Government Support for Children, Young People and their Families (2011). The report provides an analysis of comparative differences in five groupings of local governments: metropolitan with rural local governments growth areas with other metropolitan local governments interfaces with other metropolitan local governments metropolitan fringes with local governments Best Start10 local governments with other local governments. This analysis helps local governments benchmark child care facilities within Victoria.
Conclusion These guidelines provide a starting point for local government to assess their processes for facilitating the adequate availability of child care within their area. The guidelines provide information on: National and state level policy and legislative frameworks and the need to align local government policies within this broader context. What can be done in the delivery of land use planning e.g. strategic land use planning, master planning and development controls, to facilitate the establishment of child care facilities. The important role that local governments play in engaging with stakeholders and providing information on the benefits of child care to the community, councillors, staff and proponents. Each section also provides a quick checklist to help local government to quickly see areas where they are already implementing best practice and areas for improvement. The information contained in the guidelines can also serve to inform discussions with state level organisations responsible for the establishment and delivery of child care services. The ultimate objective is to promote more streamlined mechanisms for development and service approval for proponents. These guidelines are a start. Each state is different in its land use planning policies, legislation and procedures. In recognition of this difference local governments are encouraged to adapt the tool to their context to make it as relevant and as useful for their situation.