Germany, desperate to lift its birth rate, is proposing a law to allow children under six to laugh, shout and play at any volume. The move follows a series of lawsuits over noisy children and calls to ban kindergartens from residential areas because they were too loud.

THE problem with child care is that it keeps taking us by surprise. Government has been trying to catch up since the 1980s, when increased participation of women in the paid workforce began a surge in demand. It struggled to meet that demand in an often ad hoc manner. The..read more

The article"Kinder no longer?" (Education, 19/5) highlights the many difficulties facing traditional parent-managed kindergartens. At Lady Forster Kindergarten we are a traditional kindergarten defying the demographic trend outlined in your article. With an active parent committee and thriving sessional and long-day kindergarten programs, we place a high value on our..read more

DISCUSSION of the nation's "future cultural health" must be inspired with a vision of access and active participation for all children in the arts. It must inspire an energised coalition between arts and education to lobby for mandatory arts teaching in high schools and increased flexible arts programs in kindergartens..read more

Trained child-care workers in Horsham and Ballarat can now attain a teaching degree in early childhood education enabling them to work in prior-to-school settings, particularly in kindergartens.