ENHANCING EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND CARE
Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care (EECEC) is proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government through Jobs Queensland.
CHDC is leading EECEC in collaboration with Astute Early Years Specialists and its Childcare Leadership Alliance.
This new initiative is investigating how to increase capacity in Emerald and Blackwater, including actions to attract and retain early childhood educators.
Jobs Queensland’s Grow Your Own program supports regional workforce-building projects.
EECEC was identified as a priority in the Central Highlands Workforce Development and Accommodation Strategy.
Phase One
The first phase is now underway.
Its focus is to identify challenges and explore solutions to support capacity building and workforce sustainability in early childhood education and childcare services across the Central Highlands.
To achieve this, Childcare Chats will take place in Blackwater and Emerald to get input from working families. Scroll down this page for more details.
Astute Early Years Specialists has also engaged with people in the industry via a sector-specific survey, one-on-ones and an information session in Emerald in February 2025.
A survey was also conducted in March and April to gain input from the broader community, especially parents, caregivers and employers who use childcare services, including Outside School Hours Care.
Congratulations to Blackwater’s Bridget Javati and Emerald’s Paula Swain, who’ve each won a $100 voucher to a local dining venue of their choice. Bridget and Paula’s names were picked in a random draw after completing the survey.
Results from the survey will be published soon.
As part of our ongoing engagement with families and educators, CHDC is hosting Childcare Chats in Blackwater and Emerald. These informal, in-person sessions are a chance to have real conversations about what’s working, what’s not, and how we can improve early childhood education and care together.
Enjoy a free treat, face painting for the kids, and a relaxed space to connect with others in your community.
These events are part of the Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care (EECEC) project, proudly supported by the Queensland Government through Jobs Queensland.
This project was identified as Action 5 – Childcare Alliance in the Workforce Development and Accommodation Strategy, which was launched in May 2024.
To begin, CHDC connected with Astute Early Learning Specialists to discuss expanding the Childcare Leadership Alliance, which is already in operation in the neighbouring Issaac region, into the Central Highlands.
A joint grant application was submitted to Jobs Queensland. CHDC was notified of its successful outcome in September 2024.
This funding will support Phase 1, which is targetting workforce sustainability and capacity building.
PROJECT PARTNERS
Enhancing Early Childhood Education and Care is proudly supported and funded by the Queensland Government through Jobs Queensland.
