Nicole Upfold, Vice-President

I am Nicole Upfold and in 1993, my husband and I opened Nicky's Kids Town. I hold a Diploma in Teaching and a Diploma in Applied Science (Nursing) Since 1993 we have successfully established 8 childcare services and we currently operate 3 services. Our centres licenses have varied from 18 to 79 children.

I am aware of the frustration felt by operators due to government paperwork and red tape.

If elected I will work on your behalf for the government to review the Assessment and Rating System. The current system has been in place long enough that the industry should be consulted to assess what changes need to be made to ensure the process remains current and effective.

We need a strong executive to ensure we are heard. The proposed " discussion" on reducing the current 1 to 4 ratio for children under 2 years needs to be taken off the agenda. The regulatory authorities need to consult with operators of centres - rather than Policy makers only.

The NSW government needs to address the school starting age. The government needs to change the start date of " must be 5 years before 31 July" to " must be 5 years before the 31st January". We have enough places in our services to provide care and education to the children who would be 5 after the January cut-off date. The long term outcomes of children being 5 years of age before starting school are well documented.

I support that all funding, including CCR and CCB should be funded on hours booked rather than utilisation.