COAG Meeting

Communiqué, Council of Australian Governments, 2 July 2009; The Australian, 3 July 2009; Canberra Times, 3 July 2009; Canberra Times, 3 July 2009; Sydney Morning Herald, 3 July 2009

The latest meeting of the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has agreed to introduce a range of reforms for early childhood education, vocational education and skills training, indigenous education and international education.

COAG has agreed to implement a national childhood strategy as part of a move to introduce universal access to early childhood education. The Investing in the Early Years – A National Early Childhood Development Strategy is designed to ‘guide consideration of investment in future reforms’. As part of the strategy, all early childhood education centres will be required to implement the Early Years Learning Framework, which describes the principles, practice and outcomes required to support and enhance young children’s learning from birth to five years of age, as well as their transition to school, from July 2009.

In addition, COAG agreed to establish a jointly-governed national licensing and quality assurance system and national quality standards for early childhood education. The Minister for Education Employment and Workplace Relations, Ms Julia Gillard, indicated that she expected the strategy to include requirements for early childhood education centres to improve staff-student ratios and for a greater proportion of staff to hold appropriate tertiary qualifications.

As part of its commitment to introduce a Youth Compact, COAG also agreed to implement the National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions (NP). The Youth Compact requires children to stay in school until Year 10 and then to be in full-time education, training or employment. The NP will provide states and territories with $623 million over five years to improve youth careers and transition programs as well as $100 million in reward payments for states and territories to improve participation and Year 12 attainment rates. COAG also agreed to develop models for a national regulatory body of vocational education and training and to increase funding for nationally accredited training programs.

 

 

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