Early childhood update

On 4 November, the IEU will hold a Reality Round Table, providing an opportunity for early childhood members and organisers to discuss issues with Federal Early Childhood Education Minister Dr Anne Aly (pictured right).

The union has designed the round table to ensure the Minister is fully apprised of the reality of wages and workloads in the early childhood sector. The aim is to progress on the push for industry wide bargaining in the sector, the only route to higher wages. We also want to suggest ways the Minister could help reduce the heavy workloads so many early childhood education teachers face. The round table allows for sharing of information and learning between the Minister, early childhood teachers and union officials, with the aim of getting action from the Federal Government.

Early Childhood Australia conference

Early childhood organisers Tina Smith and Kate Damo (pictured right) recently attended the Early Childhood Australia (ECA) conference Passion to Power: Our Future Profession in Canberra and held an IEU stall to greet members, encourage new ones and network with other stakeholders.

The conference was well attended, and the main theatre was at near capacity. The opening address and welcome by Federal Education Minister Jason Clare reiterated that the language we use to describe our profession needs to change.

‘Kids’ are children and ‘childcare’ is early childhood education. This was heartening as the IEU early childhood team has been advocating this for many years.

Keynote speaker and Australian of the Year 2022, Dylan Alcott, who is also a multiple Paralympic medal holder gave spoke about his relationships with his family and friends and how he overcame his fears.

Crisis summit

Early childhood sector Organiser Kate Damo and Industrial Officer Verena Heron met with the United Workers Union (UWU) and Australian Education Union (AEU) at a caucus to collaborate ahead of the ECA/UWU Workforce Summit on 12 October.

Heron represented IEU members at this historic coming together of unions, employees and peak bodies.

The aim of the summit was to explore strategies to resolve the workforce crisis in early education.

Participants discussed the barriers in the industrial system that prevent teachers from achieving the professional pay and conditions they deserve.

This was the start of a journey to effect change in government policy that could lead to increased wages and improved conditions for early childhood teachers.

HESTA awards

Winners of the 2022 HESTA Early Childhood Education and Care Awards were announced during a special celebration in Canberra recently to acknowledge the vital role early childhood educators play in helping set future generations up for success.

Goodstart Early Learning Glenfield Park won the Advancing Pedagogy and Practice category; and Explore and Develop Penrith was awarded Outstanding Organisation for its leadership and innovation to support the mental health and wellbeing of young children.

Special congratulations to long-time IEU member and Individual Leadership winner Elizabeth Price (pictured right) from Gloucester Preschool and Early Years Learning Centre, who was recognised for her commitment to challenging and inspiring children through natural learning environments.