Through crisis comes opportunity, and there is no doubt the early years sector is facing a crisis like never before. As governments, providers large and small, and peak agencies try to make sense of what has happened, the only way forward is through truth-telling and the courage to disrupt.
Crisis comes at a cost and the cost is now or never. Playing on the edges won’t solve it, nor will band-aid approaches. Will there be wins? Yes. Will there be losses? Absolutely. But that is the price of radical thinking: to understand how we arrived here and to ensure history does not repeat itself.
We’ve been here before. When ABC Learning collapsed, there were cries of “never again.” Yet here we are, with some players now bigger than ABC ever was. Empty promises take us nowhere.
The question is: Are we government, providers, peak agencies, and policymakers willing to make the decisions that need to be made? We already know what’s required:
• Better ratios.
• Less pressure on educators to churn out endless photos at the cost of meaningful interactions.
• Improved qualifications with a long-term commitment to the sector.
• A diversification of providers who place children above profits, and yes there have been other suggestions made which will also improve the safety of children.
The time is here. The moment is now. Seize it, because it may never come again.
12 years ago Anthony Semann published a paper on leadership and love. In a series of posts we will be heading back into the archives and exploring this topic again.
