Approximately two hundred protestors walked down Magellan Street this morning, chanting "What do we want? Fair Funding. When do we want it? Now" and "We teach, We care. We deserve to be paid fair."

The protest ended at The Quad just after 9am to voice their frustration over the lack of NSW Government funding, which is seeing staff in Community Preschools being paid up to 35% less than their counterparts in Long Day Preschools with the same qualifications.

(The first Northern Rivers Preschool Alliance protestors arrive at The Quad this morning)

The protest was aligned with a larger protest in Sydney outside of Parliament House.

President of the Northern Rivers Preschool Alliance, Bridget Isichei, said the pay gap had increased so much that hiring staff was now a serious issue.

"We're already seeing the collapse of some community preschools in NSW. I can think of many community free schools that don't have directors or that can't rehire because our educators and teachers can get the same job in another service, but for 35% more pay. Our teachers and educators have the same qualifications and registration, so we really are competing, and it's a battle that we can no longer win.

"We're at crisis point. We have been bargaining with the NSW Government at Fair Work for 12 months, and in that 12 months, although the NSW government have been forced to attend the Fair Work, they've refused to participate or find any solutions to our challenges. And so that's what's brought us here today."

Bridget explained that Community Preschools receive funding from the state government only, whereas Long Day Care services receive funding from the federal and state governments.

"They're able to double dip on their funding," Bridget exclaimed. "And when the federal government decided to increase wages for early childhood teachers and educators, which was great, it was only for those teachers and educators in the services that they fund, which is about 97% of our sector. It's all of the Long Day Care services. Our public preschool teachers are already getting 35% higher, so we were already competing, but when the long day care wages went up, it put us into an absolute crisis.

"That's why, almost immediately, we went to Fair Work and asked the New South Wales Government to at least match the wage increases for the rest of the sector, but they've refused to do so completely. They're saying that they're not in charge of our wages. They're not responsible, but they're our only funder. We really need them to listen at this point.

The difference between a Community Preschool and Long Day Care is the hours of operation. Long Day Care operate from 6am to 6pm, 52 weeks of the year, in most cases, to cater for two working parents. Community Preschools operate in the same way as public schools, open during school terms and school hours.

"We're able to create a consistent environment for children where we have the same educators and teachers there in the morning, when the parents drop off, that also pick up in the afternoon, they have the same educators and teachers across the week," Bridget said.

"Long Day Care, because of the structure, and also because they've also been underpaid for a long time, will have a variety of different educators working on different days, different people when the parents drop off, as to pick up.

"Community Preschool has managed to create this consistency that allows children to thrive, and that's one of the reasons why we exceed the National Quality Standard. So, we're three times more likely to exceed the National Quality Standard. Community Preschools are absolutely thriving with their quality ratings because of our structure."

Another key difference in the two systems is the amount that is paid on a daily basis. Bridget claimed Community Preschools are charging around $12 a day because of their structure, an affordable rate compared to Long Day Care of $100 to $150 a day, which is subsidised by the NSW Government's Start Strong for Long Day Care program. The Federal Government offers a Child Care Subsidy to all parents based on their individual circumstances.

When asked why Community Preschools don't increase fees to help cover increased wages, Bridget replied, "That's what the New South Wales Government asked us to do. They asked us to increase fees.

"It is possible that some preschools in NSW may be able to increase fees depending on the area they live in, but for most preschools in NSW, most are in regional and remote communities, and that's because big for-profit Long Day Care's don't want to set up in those communities. There's no money to be made, so community preschools often run in those communities, and those communities don't have the extra money to pay those fees.

"The risk is that the most vulnerable children in NSW will stay home and miss out on those opportunities, and we know that early childhood education is most important for vulnerable children, so our community preschool sector is not willing to risk those families and children missing out on preschool to respond to that request."

In terms of staff shortages, it was explained that even three years ago, a vacant position would have 50 applicants, and a recent vacancy received no applications after running a job ad for four months.

'When we did get a great application and went right through to the interview and reference process, the person turned down the job because we couldn't meet the salary expectations."

Jackie has used the Community Preschool at Clunes for her three children. "I'm here today for the educators to support them the way they've supported us. They've given us a strong start for our children, the start that they've needed. Now, they need to be recognised, valued and paid fairly."

Tracy McCarthy, a Director from Talgum Community Preschool, said her preschool has operated at a deficit for the past three years.

"Our reserves for maintenance and leave entitlements are running low. The safety net funding only increases by the CPI each year, and does not factor in wage increases, higher maintenance costs, paying for expensive internet and administration platforms that are now mandatory and expensive, and new license agreements with local councils that we've never had to pay before.

"Reducing staff hours is not an option as we need to meet ratios, have lunch breaks and programming time and workplace health and safety guidelines to support the well-being of our educators. My role as a director would not be manageable with less hours. If anything, I need more.

"Preschools are not sitting on mountains of gold. It is quite the opposite for many. Preschools require substantial funds for ongoing maintenance, upgrades and capital works and retain funds to cover leave entitlements. NSW community preschools are not a one-size-fits-all. All the operating costs are contextual and significant, regardless of whether we enrol 15 or 50 children.

"We need to protect the preschool model of care and education and shift the focus to what is best for children and their safety and well-being and what is best qualified, dedicated and well-supported teachers and educators that are paid what they are worth and funding that reflects the contextual needs of each service."

It would appear that this, like the Nurses and Midwives wage issue, will not be going away anytime soon for the NSW Government.