Name & Shame Child Care SitesDo you think these websites are effective?
A new website designed to name and shame Queensland child care centres in breach of standards went live this month.
As of 1 February the website will publish information about services that demonstrate serious or repeated non-compliance with the Child Care Act 2002, including revoked or suspended licenses.
Earlier this month Queensland Premier Anna Bligh told the state parliament that the website was designed to provide parents with clear and accurate information about their children's care.
"We are doing this, very simply, because parents want to be reassured and have a right to know that those centres charged with caring for their children are up to scratch," said Ms Bligh.
"With the click of a mouse, parents can now easily find if their local child care service has seriously or repeatedly contravened child care laws, and if so, what action was taken by the government and by the centre itself."
The president of Childcare Queensland, Ms Gwynn Bridge, told the Sunshine Coast Daily that the new laws could breed a culture of paranoia among child care workers.
"My major concern is that across Queensland we have many educational zones, which are all inspected by different compliance officers," Ms Bridge said.
"It is known some of these officers can be pedantic and over-zealous, which leads to paranoia among child care operators and staff."
"There needs to be consistency if the log system is to work."
Ms Bridge said Childcare Queensland had no objection to major incidents being reported in the logs, which will be displayed online and at centres, but feared it could be used to record "silly" complaints.
She said some child care centres had been reprimanded with compliance notices for trivial "breaches", like dust sitting in sliding door recesses which, under the new system, would have to be logged.
"Child care workers are very busy people and their primary job is to care for and nurture children," she said.
"The log system, if not managed correctly, has the potential to take focus away from the children and put it on compliance."
The new laws also require licensed early childhood education providers to have a compliance history logbook available for parents to peruse at the centre from July 2010.
The logbook will contain similar information to the website which is available at The Office for Early Childhood Education and Care
The Queensland Government's website is similar to the website launched by the NSW Government and Western Australian Governments in 2008 which lists serious breaches and license revocations – NSW Government - WA Government
Do you think these websites are an effective way of ensuring parents have the information they need to make decisions about their children's child care?
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Go to CareforKids Social to share your thoughts with your colleagues in the industry.
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