New reforms to put the safety and wellbeing of children in early childhood education services at the forefront of care have passed the NSW Parliament in the hope of whittling out dodgy providers and giving parents a greater sense of trust as they send their kids each day into care.

The reforms, with over 30 additions to the legislation, will place emphasis on child-first obligations, and a more transparent service, with access to better information.

Significant penalties will face early childhood centres if a mobile phone ban is breached, which should be a comfort to parents and carers considering recent incidents in metropolitan centres.

Once assent is received from the NSW Governor, the new reforms will take immediate effect in the Provision in the Children [Education and Care Services National Law Application] Act 2010 [National Law] to make the rights and best interests of children paramount.

The legislation introduced last month was prompted by an independent review into early childhood education and care regulation, where it was found that the Regulator was hand strung by the existing laws and these laws needed to be reassessed for the better of the industry.

While more work must be done, the changes will be a significant help, with the aim to continue for a national consistency, so all Australian children can receive the same level of protection.

Chantelle Finlay, Director of Nyngan Preschool with some of her cute little charges [Image Nyngan Preschool]

Chantelle Finlay, Director of Nyngan Preschool says that the landmark package places children’s safety and wellbeing at the heart of the early childhood education and care system.

“These reforms respond to an independent review which found that existing regulatory framework did not provide the powers needed to enforce consistent protection across services,” said Mrs Finlay.

“From the vantage point of a preschool, these reforms mean: reinforced expectation that every educator and staff member must actively contribute to a culture of safety, vigilance and wellbeing.

“Enhanced documentation and transparency, records, safety incidents, recruitment checks, and compliance information may need to be more readily available or audited.

“A possible increase in regulatory oversight: preparing for more frequent reviews or inspections and ensuring that policies, practices and training are fully aligned with the new standards.

“Opportunity to build trust with families: with published compliance and safety information, preschools can strengthen communication with families about how the service keeps children safe.

"This is particularly significant in communities with high proportions of Aboriginal children, where culturally safe practice is essential.

“For our service, these reforms align closely with the practices we already uphold. We are committed to consistently acting in the best interests of children and ensuring their safety and wellbeing.

“It can be challenging to recognise that not all Early Childhood services or professionals share the same high standards of child-centred practice, which is why these strengthened regulations are so important in supporting sector-wide accountability,” concluded Mrs Finlay.

One western area mother of four, says this is a step forward for childcare.

“It is hard enough as parents to have to send your child to care in the first place but knowing that they are well looked after and are safe is such a comfort.

“We are so lucky in small towns as the carers are mostly known to the kids and families but in bigger centres, I could imagine it could be scary having people look after your child who are unknown to you.

“It is one of the great things about living in the bush, and hopefully these new reforms will lift the standard even higher,” she said.