Early childhood positions will go with amalgamations

The current allocation of state funding to expand amalgamations and closures under Education Works stage 2 continues.

Preschool members and communities should be aware of the implications of entering into such an agreement with neighbouring schools, the most significant being the loss of Preschool Director and ECW positions.   

The position of the government in relation to such arrangements for preschools is that it is effectively a closure (not an amalgamation) with the subsequent establishment of a new early childhood facility on the school site.

The leadership configuration in the new site makes no provision for a Director position with the same autonomy as the preschool currently attracts. Early Childhood Worker positions are replaced with SSO hours allocated to the new school, with no guarantees of existing ECW roles or current conditions for employees.