Learning

A good education from the earliest years lays the best possible foundation for a full and satisfying life. Research confirms that people with higher levels of education get more interesting, safer and better paid jobs and are, on the whole, healthier. Quality early childhood education is proving crucial in offsetting disadvantage to put children on a path to better lives. Not only are children who attend pre-school more likely to complete high school, but those who complete high school are less likely to experience unemployment, welfare dependency, delinquency and crime.

Challenges
Childcare costs in Sydney can be very high. The outer west suburbs have the highest concentrations of both children under five and low income households. Fewer Year 12 students stay in the NSW school system than in other states. In a 2006 survey, over a third of adult Australians showed literacy and numeracy skills below the level considered minimum to meet the demands of a knowledge society. Indigenous students show worse education outcomes than non-Indigenous at every education level across several indicators.

Facts
In Sydney the average weekly cost of child care is $247, compared with $233 nationally

Of all school-leavers aged 15-19 in Sydney, 34.8% were not fully engaged in either education or employment (2006), compared to a national rate of 28.4%.

More than half (57.6%) of Sydney's unemployed people have no qualifications beyond school.

Think
How can we ensure all children have access to high quality, affordable child care?

How can we widen education options and make them more attractive for young people, so they want to keep learning for longer?

How can we support adults with poor literacy and numeracy to improve their skills?

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