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Early Childhood is the first level of lifelong education, accepted as ranging from birth to 8 years of age. It covers the period before school, preschool and the first years of schooling, sometimes called Infants schooling in the Australian system. It includes child development, parental assisted learning, preschool education in either Child care Centres or Preschools and extends into the first formal years of education.
There are multiple pages that can be accessed using either the page number boxes above or the other links.
This page looks at Australian Government bodies, agendas, support programs and more, Indigenous Early Childhood programs and education, Child Care Providers and programs in other countries.
The First Page looks at Early Childhood development support and education across all states & territories. A link is provided to Australian Government information on this page.
The Third Page looks at national bodies, publications, other general information and also has a link to conference information.
Other pages linked to this area include Early Childhood Resources.
Australian Government
Main Sites
- Changes To Childcare And Early
Learning In Australia
A broadcast detailing some of the proposed changes. Transcript provided. -
Child Care Access Hotline
‘The Australian Government Child Care Access Hotline is a Free telephone service to help you find a child care service that meets your needs. You can access this service via Freecall 1800 670 305 between 8.00am and 9.00pm Monday to Friday [charges apply on calls from public pay phones or mobile phones]’. - Child Care Links Project
‘Child Care Links was developed as a pilot program and uses child care centres and other community services in disadvantaged areas as community hubs to link families with young children to local support services and to strengthen community networks. The aim of Child Care Links is to improve the health and wellbeing of young children by strengthening the resilience of their caregivers, using early childhood and other community services to foster the development of child-friendly communities’. - Child Support
Access information on government action and proposals. - Early Childhood
Home Page for Early Childhood programs, agendas, resources, reports, news and more from the Australian Government. Individual sections are detailed below.
- Early Childhood Education
‘In this section you will find information on early childhood education’. Access a number of programs. - Indigenous Early Childhood
Part of several areas related to Indigenous Education. - Latest News
News, articles and announcements. - Office of Early Childhood Education & Child Care
- Policy Agenda
‘The Australian Government’s agenda for early childhood education and child care focuses on providing Australian families with high-quality, accessible and affordable integrated early childhood education and child care.’ A number of these poicies and agendas are listed below. - Programs
Includes Child care for families, Child Care for Services, Early Childhood Education and a link to MyChild.gov.au [see link below] - Resources
A wide range including the Early Childhood Learning Resources Project which has specifically developed resources available for download including PDF downloads and Flash videos, an Information for Families Using Child Care - Fact Sheet Kit in PDF and RTF formats, access to issues of the Child Care News, Child Care Service Handbook, forms, guidelines and of course other resources.
Policy Area Agenda Items
These links can lead to multiple actions, policies and initiatives. Visit the relative link to find more about those where this is indicated.
- Australian Early Development Index
Overview with a link to the AEDI Home Page. -
Early Childhood Development Workforce
‘The second phase of the Education and Training Workforce study is examining the workforce of the Early Childhood Development [ECD] sector. This research report was released on 1 December 2011’. There are multiple documents availabel for download in PDF format. - Early Childhood Education - Universal Access
Overview, links to proposed projects and Fact Sheet in either PDF or RTF Format. State fact sheets can be obtained from the MyChild site, see below. - Health Guidelines for Early Childhood
Settings
‘The guidelines, titled Get Up & Grow, provide information to support healthy behaviour in children aged five years and younger attending early childhood education and care settings, including centre-based care, family day care and preschools’. Download a version of these here. - Home Interaction Program for
Parents & Youngsters
Overview, locations and partner organisations involved in this. - Indigenous Early Childhood Development
Multiple initiatives are linked to this page. - KidsMatter Early Childhood
‘KidsMatter Early Childhood is a national early childhood mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative specifically developed for early childhood services, including preschools and long day care’. - National Early Childhood Development
Strategy
‘On 2 July 2009, the Council of Australian Governments endorsed the National Early Childhood Development Strategy - Investing in the Early Years. The Strategy will help all levels of government to build a more effective and better coordinated national early childhood development system to support the diverse needs of Australian children and their families. It covers children from before birth to eight years and aims to improve the health, safety, early learning and wellbeing of all children and better support disadvantaged children to reduce inequalities.’ Available in PDF and RTF formats. - National Quality Agenda for Early Childhood Education & Care
‘Provides the basis for the initial round of consultations on the development of a new national quality framework for early childhood education and care to progress these reforms, outlines some of the issues that have been identified in developing a national quality framework and a national early years learning framework, and poses a series of key questions that must be addressed in developing options’. - National Workforce Census
‘The National Workforce Census is an initiative of the Australian Government in partnership with state and territory governments. The information collected will provide comprehensive, current and nationally consistent data on access to early childhood education and care services and staff qualifications and experiences’. Documents available in PDF or RTF formats.
Other Government Sites
- ACECQA
‘A new national body, the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA], will guide the implementation and management of the integrated national regulatory system from 1 January 2012’. - Family Assistance Office
Find if you are entitled to benefits to help with child care and what are entitled to. For specific Child Care Benefit information, go here and for Paid Parental Leave go here. - MyChild.gov.au
‘The website mychild.gov.au provides information to families about Australian Government early learning and care initiatives and other issues that affect children. On this website, you will find information on different types of child care, how to access assistance with the cost of child care, as well as a searchable database of local child care services. You will also find links to other useful websites about children’s health and wellbeing, parenting and family support services.’ One useful section is the Early Childhood Agenda which helps you understand current commonwealth plans in this area. ‘Australian families can now see online whether child care services have casual vacancies, as well as ongoing vacancies, following enhancements to the MyChild website’. -
ACECQA
Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority. ‘ACECQA is an independent statutory authority. We provide national leadership in promoting quality and continuous improvement in early childhood education and care and school age care in Australia. We are working with State and Territory Governments and the early childhood sector to implement changes to education and care that will benefit young children and their families’. ACECQA has effectively replaced the previous National Childcare Accreditation Council. Important pages include :
- ACECQA - FAQs
- ACECQA - National Quality Framework
Part of this section also includes Information Sheets on different aspects of this. - Fact Sheets
Resources for Families. - Links, Resources and NCAC archive
- Providers, Services & Certified Supervisors
‘Resources and information for providers, services and certified supervisors is available here’.
Child Care Providers
Includes regional, state and national child care providers and provider groups.
- Australian Child Care Index
‘Helps parents find the care in their area that suits their needs, listing all the care options available to them. Looking for childcare ? Whether Long Day Care, Family Daycare, an Early Learning Center, a Kindergarten, a Pre-school, a Nanny or a Babysitter are what you need - look around. We have the childcare options that suit your needs.’ - Building Blocks
Very secure, using the most modern technological safety systems. New South Wales. - C&K
‘C&K is proud to be the largest and longest established provider of community based early childhood education and care services in Queensland’. - CareforKids
‘Offers parents greater flexibility, gives you more choices and allows you to make informed decisions about who cares for your children by matching your needs and the needs of your children to quality agencies, carers and child care centres you can trust.’ - Find a Child Care Service
Via MyChild.gov.au. ‘Only approved child care services that provided fee information are currently listed. Check back regularly as we are continually updating the listing and new services are being added when they register. You can also phone the Child Care Access Hotline on 1800 670 305 to find a complete listing of all Child Care Benefit approved services in your area. The Child Care Access Hotline also provides information on vacancy details.’ -
Goodstart Early Learning
‘Our name focuses us on the importance of the first five years and communicates that we are moving beyond childcare into early learning’. This group took over most of the ABC Learning chain and is run by a group of charitable organisations. - Kindergarten Union
General information, tips for parents on selecting a suitable child care program, other sites provided and a link to all their Kindergartens in the greater Sydney area. -
Guardian Childcare
‘Guardian Childcare Alliance is focussed on delivering best practice early childhood care by attracting, retaining and developing an excellent team who are supported by leading edge management, resources, systems and infrastructure’. - McArthur Children’s Services
While primarily an employment group they would be able to provide information on their pre-school, day care centres, etc.. - SDN Children’s Services
Another employer, but also able to provide information on services.
Indigenous Early Childhood
Includes actions, activities, reports and groups specifically to develop/improve Indigenous early learning throughout Australia, as well as to similar programs overseas that may be of value. Check specific program/activity links in the state listings.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are warned that the following may contain images and voices of deceased persons.
- Aboriginal Head Start
A wealth of information about a comparative program being run in Canada designed to assist Indigenous early childhood education and care. A second site on Aboriginal Early Learning and Child Care is accessed here. -
ATSIECSAG
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Early Childhood Sector Advisory Group Inc.. Its vision is that it ‘will be the recognised peak advisory body for Aboriginal Early Childhood Education and contribute to successful transition to school for Aboriginal children.’ - Early School Engagement and
Performance, Preschool to Year 3
Section of the Productivity Commissions project on Overcoming Indigenous Disadvantage. Data and downloads. Now requires ability to log in to the site. - Indigenous Early Learning and Care
‘A review of what works in Indigenous early learning and care in Australia illustrates that while Indigenous-specific services are thought by many to best deliver culturally safe and strong care, there are examples of promising practice among mainstream early intervention programs adapted for Indigenous children and their families.’ - Location Playgroups for Indigenous Children
‘The Australian Government is funding the implementation of facilitated playgroups in regional and remote communities to provide early childhood services and parenting support within a playgroup setting to Indigenous families’. - School
Readiness in Indigenous Children
Bringing Together the Health and Education Research Agenda. Report on a project by the Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth. Several downloadable PDF documents, other information and links. - The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care
‘The national non-government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.’ - Teaching Resources for Indigenous Students
Texts that can be downloaded from the NT Department of Education, & Training. ‘These teacher resources are designed for engaging students with low literacy levels. Some of the resources have Aboriginal content and themes.’ Check the bottom of the NTCF Support Materials page for other resources. - Welfare Payments and School Attendance …
An analysis of experimental policy in Indigenous education ‘Canvasses the current trials linking welfare payments to school attendance and outlines what evaluations have indicated about such schemes to date. Then provides an analysis of key concerns about the approach.’
Overseas Programs
Programs from a number of countries, with an emphasis on education, designed to assist children in the early years.
- British Columbia Early
Learning Framework
‘The British Columbia Early Learning Framework describes the vision, pedagogical principles, and key areas of learning for children birth to five years [before school entry].’ Copies in PDF format in either English or French. -
Children First
A Curriculum Guide for Kindergarten. Saskatchewan Education. ‘This curriculum emphasizes developmentally appropriate practice for young children. It provides, through an integrated approach, for all areas of their development : physical, socio-emotional and intellectual.’ - Early Childhood Education and Care in Sweden
‘In Sweden, all children are considered to be entitled to a preschool place. For almost three decades, child care has been an integral part of the Swedish welfare state and of most families’ everyday lives.’ Provides annotated links to information about childhood education and care in Sweden. - Early Head Start National Resource Centre [US]
‘A storehouse of early childhood expertise that promotes the building of new knowledge and the sharing of information.’ Activities, products, publications, resources and links. - ecelearn.com
New Zealand site that looks at the use of technology for online learning in early childhood. Sections for teachers, learners and community. Covers many areas. - Head Start [US]
‘Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.’ Fact Sheets provide a range of information. The Office of Head Start is accessed here. - No Child Left Behind [US]
A Parents Guide. Information from the US Department of Education. For further in formation, visit either No Child Left Behind : A Desktop Reference [available in PDF or Word formats], also from the US Department of Education, and/or No Child Left Behind which covers a range of information both in support and opposed. The last includes articles, video and more. - Sure Start [UK]
‘Sure Start is the government programme to deliver the best start in life for every child. We bring together, early education, childcare, health and family support.’