The Start Strong 2023 program for long day care provides funding to deliver affordable quality preschool education to children aged 4 and above who are enrolled in eligible long day care services in NSW.

Just before 9 am on Friday (21 October), a car crashed into the front of Bright Beginnings Family Day Care Center on Central Grove in Broadmeadows, in the city's north, causing an 11-month-old to be hospitalised.

As part of Brighter Beginnings, the Health and Development Checks for children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) program is a partnership between the Department of Education and NSW Health to provide free development checks to children in the preschool environment.

As of 1 September, changes to laws mean that the NSW Working with Children Check can now access information held on a national database of people barred from working with children. Additional changes have come into effect by ensuring that NSW applicants or clearance holders will be automatically barred from working with children for a range of serious animal cruelty offences. 

The Preschool Multicultural Support Program is designed to assist the inclusion of children from CALD and refugee backgrounds in quality preschool education and to build the cultural competency of early childhood educators.  Eligible community and mobile preschool services can access 20 hours of FREE face-to-face multicultural support for any children who require assistance.

The NSW Department of Education is committed to increasing the number of early childhood teachers qualified in providing inclusive education for children with disability and additional needs in NSW community preschools, mobile preschools and long daycare services. To support this commitment, scholarships worth up to $20,000 for eligible individuals.

From the 01 November, for Cert 3 and Diploma Educational Leaders, they will now receive an allowance of $4,022.05 per year.

Fee-free early childhood education and care training are available to any eligible NSW resident, regardless of age, employment status or prior qualifications.

Free Kinder will be available for both 3 and 4-year-old kindergarten programs from 2023. All early childhood education and care providers that deliver a funded kindergarten program in Victoria are eligible to receive Free Kinder funding from 2023, subject to meeting specified terms and conditions.

Due to a rising teacher shortage, more early learning centres are operating without enough qualified early childhood teachers, which could jeopardise the federal government's promise to make daycare more affordable.