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Early Years Strategic PlanImproving outcomes for all Victorian children2014-2020

Published by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development

Melbourne March 2014

© State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development) 2014

The copyright in this document is owned by the State of Victoria (Department of Education and Early Childhood Development), or in the case of some materials, by third parties (third party materials). No part may be reproduced by any process except in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968, the National Education Access Licence for Schools (NEALS) (see below) or with permission.

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Authorised by the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, 2 Treasury Place, East Melbourne, Victoria, 3002. ISBN 978-0-7594-0745-9

This document is also available on the internet at www.education.vic.gov.au/eystrategicplan

Contents Minister’s Foreword 1

Introduction 2

Laying the foundations for success in the early years 4

Early childhood is even more critical to life chances than we previously knew 4

Early childhood programs can offer higher returns and be very cost effective 7

A focus on the early years: Victorian Government achievements 9

Victorian services are doing well but we can do even better 11

We can better fulfil children’s potential 11

Breaking the cycle of disadvantage 11

Delivering benefits for families and across the Government’s agenda 12

Improving the early years of all Victorian children 13

A. Supporting parents and communities to give children a great start 14

A great start for every child and family 14

Making it easier for parents to get what their children need 16

B. Early and sustained support for those who need it most 18

C. All children benefiting from high-quality early learning 20

Advancing children’s learning and development 20

World-class practice to advance learning and development 23

Making it happen: working with all levels of government 25

How we will monitor our progress 26

Appendix A: Victoria’s Early Childhood Services 27

Appendix B: Early Years Strategic Plan Key Initiatives 28

Appendix C: Early Years Outcomes Framework 29

1Minister’s Foreword

All young children deserve a great start in life and the opportunity to fulfil their potential, regardless of their background or circumstances.

The Victorian Government understands this and that is why we have been investing in key services such as Maternal and Child Health, early childhood education, early childhood intervention services and supported playgroups to enhance children’s early development.

The Victorian Government’s Early Years Strategic Plan outlines directions and actions from 2014-2020 to continue to improve all children’s outcomes.

The Plan focuses on three key areas – supporting parents and communities to give children a great start; early and sustained support for those who need it most; and all children benefiting from high-quality learning.

Success relies on continued strong partnerships, coordinated effort and a shared vision of what we want for all Victorian children. It also relies on parents, recognising that some parents need additional support to fulfil this role. The Plan builds on the current strengths of the system and will make Victoria an even better place for families to live and raise their children.

The Plan includes an Early Years Outcomes Framework that defines the outcomes to which our combined efforts will contribute – being born healthy and remaining healthy, developing socially and emotionally, growing up in a safe environment and being engaged in stimulating experiences for children’s learning and development.

I look forward to working in partnership with local government, community organisations, early childhood providers and families to pursue the vision outlined in this Plan, and to ensure that success is achieved and the benefits are realised for all Victorian children.

Hon Wendy Lovell, MLC Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development

Minister’s Foreword

The right start in life sets children on the path to success. Getting a great start in life makes the world of difference to a person’s ability to thrive at school, stay healthy and socially connected, and contribute to society. Many people with a poor start to life never catch up and disadvantage passes from one generation to the next. It is crucial that all Victorian children get the best start possible.

We have always known that early childhood is important. However, it is only very recently that dramatic advances across science and economics have taught us just how important the first years of life really are.

The early years (pregnancy to eight years) are a period of rapid cognitive, biological and social development. This lends itself to building strong foundations for lifelong health and learning. However, significant evidence shows that lost opportunities in this period are particularly difficult to recover. And evidence also shows that the environment where a child spends these early years strongly shapes whether or not they have strong foundations for their future health, wellbeing and development. From an economic perspective, there is also substantial evidence to show that investing in early childhood in a way that improves educational outcomes not only helps each individual; but is a vital driver of economic growth, productivity and social progress.

The agenda for change set out in the Early Years Strategic Plan is built on the recognition that:

• there is strong scientific, economic and social evidence for change

• there is more to do to make Victoria a world leader in learning and development

• we have the building blocks to take the next steps towards a world-leading system.

Introduction

Focus of the PlanThe Early Years Strategic Plan aims to improve outcomes and better support children in the period from pregnancy up to eight years of age. There are approximately 634,000 children in this age group living in Victoria’s diverse communities. These children and their families are supported by a Victorian early years workforce of over 33,000 staff. This Plan describes the Victorian Government’s vision for the system that provides services to Victoria’s children.

The focus of the Plan is on building sector capacity in areas related to the portfolio of the Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development, including Maternal and Child Health (MCH) services, early childhood education and early childhood intervention services. The Plan will also:

• build connections across state government departments

• support relationships with local government.

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3Introduction

The Plan recognises that important reforms are underway and outlines new steps such as more seamless learning between early education and primary school, improving the ability for communities to shape services to meet local needs, and supporting vulnerable families with earlier and improved support.

While some actions can be pursued by Victoria, others will need to be undertaken in conjunction with the Commonwealth Government, recognising that more significant improvements for Victorian children and families can be delivered faster and more effectively through a partnership approach.

A range of discussions and consultations have informed the Plan’s development, including: an Expert Advisory Group; a Search Conference involving 100 parents, providers and stakeholders held in June 2013; and a range of discussions held with stakeholder groups.

Through working with parents, the community, early years services and across governments, we hope to spark action that will improve children’s outcomes, create a dialogue that raises community focus on children and develop new thinking on service delivery design and public accountability. Our society of tomorrow depends on our ability to create policies and practices that support families and benefit children today.

Early childhood is even more critical to life chances than we previously knew

The past decade has seen explosive growth in the scientific understanding of early childhood development, with overwhelming evidence that life chances are heavily influenced by what happens in the first years of life. The rapid pace of physical and particularly brain development in the early years creates both opportunity and risk.

Development starts in pregnancy, a time when the foundations for lifelong learning and wellbeing are starting to be formed. Important influences such as the mother’s health and nutrition have a significant impact on physical and brain development and, therefore, later life chances. Low birth weight babies, for example, have a higher risk of adverse health and development later in life, including increased risk of cardiovascular disease and learning difficulties.1

We know that brain development is particularly sensitive to a young child’s experiences and environment, and that a substantial proportion of that development is constructed during the early years of life.2 The experiences that young children have influence their brain’s structure and function.

Babies and infants growing up in stable and stimulating environments with lots of opportunities to interact with others and develop relationships with important people in their lives are more likely to thrive. These experiences lay the foundation for developing basic skills in the first years of life, such as rapid language growth and the ability to regulate emotions.

If the basic foundations (see Figure 1) are not established then more advanced skills, crucial to success in education and later life, will have no foundation on which to develop.3

Laying the foundations for success in the early years

What the experts say‘Virtually every aspect of early human development, from the brain’s evolving circuitry to the child’s capacity for empathy, is affected by the environments and experiences that are encountered in a cumulative fashion, beginning in the prenatal period and extending throughout the early years.’

Jack P. Shonkoff, MD

‘Ability gaps between advantaged and other children open up early before schooling begins. … Children who start ahead keep accelerating past their peers, widening the gap … Early advantages accumulate, so do early disadvantages … The best way to improve the schools is to improve the early environments of the children sent to them.’

Professor James J. Heckman

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5Laying the foundations for success in the early years

Providing Victorian children with a healthy start and stimulating home and service environments creates the right opportunities for the development of basic and complex skills. In particular, a number of longitudinal studies demonstrate that high-quality early childhood programs benefit all children’s learning and development, regardless of their socioeconomic background.5

In relation to early learning, a meta-analysis of 123 studies found that preschool was associated with significant effects for cognitive and social skill and school progress.6 The Effective Provision of Preschool Education study in the UK highlighted that participation in high-quality early childhood education and care over multiple years matters for both cognitive and non-cognitive gains (see Figures 2a and 2b). Such findings have similarly been recognised by the OECD.7

References1. Center on the Developing

Child 2007, A Science-Based Framework for Early Childhood Policy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University.

2. ibid.

3. Heckman, J. 2008, Schools, Skills and Synapses: IZA Discussion Paper No. 3515, Bonn: IZA.

4. Nelson, C. A. 2000, ‘The neurobiological bases of early intervention’ in Shonkoff, J. P., and Meisels, S. J. (eds), Handbook of early childhood intervention, Second Edition (pp 204 – 227), Cambridge MA: Cambridge University Press.

5. Pascal, C. 2009, An Updated & Annotated Summary of Evidence, A Compendium To: With Our Best Future in Mind, Implementing Early Learning in Ontario.

6. Camilli, G., Vargas, S., Ryan, S. & Barnett W.S. 2010, ‘Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Early Education Interventions on Cognitive and Social Development’, Teachers College Record, vol. 112, no. 3, pp. 570-620.

7. OECD 2013, Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing.

8. Melhuish, E. 2013, Let evidence lead the way: Findings from the UK’s Effective Provision of Pre-School Education Study. Presented in Toronto, Canada.

9. Sammons, P. 2010, ‘Do the benefits of preschool last?’ in Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., and Taggart, B., (eds) Early Childhood Matters – Evidence from the Effective Pre-school and Primary Education project (pp 129 – 130), New York NY: Routledge.

Figure 1: Critical brain and sensory development during pregnancy and the first years of life4

Sensory Pathways(Vision, Hearing)

Conception Birth

Age

(Months) (Years)

Higher CognitiveFunction

Language

-8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19

6 Title of the Publication

The benefits of early years programs can be seen in early cognitive markers and measured at high-school and post-secondary levels.10 The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) analysis shows that 15-year-old students who attend at least one year of pre-primary education perform better on PISA than those who did not, even after accounting for socioeconomic background.11

What is high-quality education and care in the early years?High-quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) provides children with the early skills and knowledge to build on for the rest of their lives. It also inspires confidence in children and a positive attitude toward learning, supporting success in school and life.ECEC settings that are high quality:• set high expectations for every

child• engage children in experiences

and interactions that encourage and extend each child’s learning

• have well-qualified, responsive educators with strong backgrounds in early childhood teaching and learning and the foundation concepts that build understanding of literacy, science and mathematics

• focus on the whole child – with each child actively involved in developing a positive sense of self, and guided to develop positive relationships and emotional self-regulation

• build collaborative relationships with families, actively involving them in their children’s learning, sharing knowledge and supporting parents

• have effective leadership and service management, committed to continuous improvement.

Figure 2a: Quality and duration matter (months of developmental advantage on literacy)8

8

7

6

5

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Early childhood education program attendance

Low

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2-3 years0

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elop

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ths)

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Figure 2b: Preschool quality and self-regulation and pro-social behaviour (age 11)9

0.30

0.25

0.20

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Early childhood education program attendance

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ize

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7Laying the foundations for success in the early years

Early childhood programs can offer higher returns and be very cost effective

The economic case for the importance of early childhood – aligning to the scientific case – shows that the early years lay the foundations for future productive and successful participation in society.

Economic evaluation shows that early childhood programs can be highly effective investments, repaying their costs, generating savings and producing returns to society.12 A synthesis of cost-benefit analyses of early childhood education programs revealed that many had a positive benefit to cost ratio, with higher rates of return from those programs targeted toward the groups likely to benefit from them most.13 14

Economic research indicates that a system that prevents family difficulties from escalating is more effective than a system that seeks to resolve issues after they are established. High-quality universal services can prevent social problems from escalating. These services, provided across a broad population, are often more cost-effective per individual than later remediation (see Figure 3).15

Benefits can include increased educational achievement and labour force participation, and savings can also be achieved through reduced spending on: child welfare, health services, social welfare, remedial education programs and the criminal justice system.

References10. Pascal, C. 2009, With Our Best

Future in Mind, Implementing Early Learning in Ontario.

11. OECD 2013, Education at a Glance 2013: OECD Indicators, OECD Publishing, p.276.

12. Melhuish E., & Barnes, J. 2012, ‘Preschool programs for the general population’ in Encyclopedia on Early Childhood Development.

13. Lee, S., Aos, S., Drake, E. et al. 2012, ‘Early Childhood Education for Low Income 3- and 4-Year Olds’ Return on Investment: Evidence Based Options to Improve Statewide Outcomes.

14. Kilburn. M.R. & Karoly, L.A. 2008, What does economic research tell us about early childhood policy? RAND Research Brief.

15. Heckman, J. 2008, Schools, Skills and Synapses: IZA Discussion Paper No. 3515, Bonn: IZA.

16. Department of Education and Early Childhood Development internal analysis, 2012.

17. Dowrick, S. 2004, ‘Ideas and Education, Level or Growth Effects and Their Implications for Australia’ in Ito, T., & Rose, A., (eds) Growth and Productivity in East Asia, University of Chicago Press.


The economic benefits of successful programs can be substantial, especially where they improve school retention and attainment. An increase of one year of schooling in the average educational attainment of the workforce is estimated to increase the long-run level of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) by around 8 per cent, and to boost GDP growth by supporting more rapid adoption of new technologies.17

Figure 3: Victorian children’s services maximum annual unit cost16

$250,000

$200,000

$150,000

$100,000

$50,000

$0

MCH 0-1 High-qualityECEC

Intensive support

Complex fostercare

Residential care

Preventative services(i.e. MCH)

Remedial services(i.e. out-of-home care)

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9

Through a focus on the early years, Victoria is an even better place for families to live and raise their children. The Victorian Government is delivering more services to more children with increased participation rates in key universal services and responding to an increased population.

At the time of releasing this Plan, our achievements include:

• Increased funding for the Maternal and Child Health Service to support all Victorian children to have access to 10 free Key Ages and Stages visits and achieving 100 per cent participation in the initial home visit.

• More Victorian children than ever attended a kindergarten program in the year before school, with over 98 per cent of eligible children attending. This represents nearly 73,900 children across the state.

• Record investment in early childhood facilities, with 180 major grants provided to build new or expanded facilities across Victoria, and around 1,400 services provided with minor capital funding to enhance the quality of their program.

• 77 per cent of Victorian early childhood education and care services assessed so far have met or exceeded the National Quality Standard, better than any other state or territory.

• Supported rural children to access kindergarten by providing grants to small rural kindergartens to ensure they are accessible and affordable.

• Supported vulnerable children in rural areas by investing to increase participation in playgroups, improve connections to local parenting supports, and better engage with and support transitions to early childhood education and care services.

• Delivered the State of Victoria’s Children reports, focusing on outcomes for Victoria’s young children from birth up to eight years of age in 2012, and focusing on how children and young people in rural and regional Victoria are faring in 2011.

• Funded 1,150 Early Childhood Intervention places and packages, and an additional 246 Kindergarten Inclusion Support packages.

• Delivered a funding boost to the Victorian branch of the Australian Breastfeeding Association.

• Commenced right@home trials to provide extra support to vulnerable families and assess the benefits of a targeted, sustained nurse home visiting program.

• Reduced the proportion of Victorian children found to be developmentally vulnerable on one or more domains on the Australian Early Development Index from 20.3 per cent in 2009 to 19.5 per cent in 2012.

A focus on the early years: Victorian Government achievements

A focus on the early years: Victorian Government achievements

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• Provided ongoing support for vulnerable families with children aged from six months to engage in a range of early learning activities including Supported Playgroups, the smalltalk program and the E4Kids longitudinal study.

• Provided approximately $26 million to the ECEC workforce for scholarships, professional development opportunities, employment incentives and an early years workforce campaign.

• Offered 2,022 Victorian Government scholarships to early childhood professionals to upgrade or attain an early childhood education qualification. Scholarships assist services to meet the National Quality Framework’s qualification requirements.

• Offered 244 employment incentives to early years services to fill vacancies in hard-to-staff locations.

• Extended support for professional leadership and management of early childhood education and care, and expanded the number of Kindergarten Cluster Management services.

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While most young Victorians are benefiting from a good start in life, we can and should strive for better results for all Victorian children.

We can better fulfil children’s potential

Learning is fundamental to children’s futures. Despite recent learning and development improvements in Victoria, further improvements are required to catch rapidly advancing international jurisdictions.

The quality of ECEC provided is critical to children’s learning and development. Early findings from the E4Kids Study indicate that services in Queensland and Victoria rated highly for emotional support and classroom organisation, but less well for instructional support. Instructional support is the way educators promote thinking skills, encourage language development and extend children’s learning.18

We need to focus more on high-quality teaching and learning in ECEC in tandem with play-based learning. A combination of play and age-appropriate instruction works for children in the years before school and in the early years of school.

Breaking the cycle of disadvantage

The potential of children’s brains is remarkably similar at birth. However, by two to three years of age, the impact of socioeconomic and broader disadvantage differences becomes significant. At school entry, around 20 per cent of Victorian children (over 12,000 children in 2012) arrive not ready to fully benefit from formal education. However, only 5 per cent of children starting school have additional needs established through medical diagnosis or additional health care support.

The task for schools is made more difficult than it should be to attempt to close the achievement gap through the provision of costly remediation programs. While these programs remain necessary, they run second best to preventing the problem in the early years.19 Experience indicates that the continuing impact of early vulnerability is likely to persist across generations, entrenching disadvantage and making it harder for these children and their children to break the cycle of disadvantage. This represents a significant loss of potential for these children, their communities and Victoria as a whole.

The logic for breaking the cycle of disadvantage is compelling both socially and economically. We know that early, high-quality integrated and sustained action works. Participation in high-quality early childhood services will build all children’s learning and help to address the needs of substantial numbers of children across the socioeconomic spectrum displaying behavioural and learning vulnerabilities at school entry.

Victorian services are doing well but we can do even better

References18. Effective Early Educational

Experiences (E4Kids) Research Bulletin, Issue: 2 January 2012.

19. See, for example, Teese, R. & Lamb, S. 2011, The funding of Australian schools in the context of student achievement differences: A submission to the Review of Funding for Schooling; and VAGO 2009, Literacy and Numeracy Achievement.

Victorian services are doing well but we can do even better


Delivering benefits for families and across the Government’s agenda

Improved early childhood outcomes can make a difference right across the Victorian Government’s agenda. Improved outcomes in early childhood deliver immediate benefits for children, families and society. These benefits compound over future years as children grow into young adults and productive members of society. Across government, improved early childhood outcomes can deliver:

• Enhanced educational outcomes – significantly increasing our ability to be a world-leading education system with higher average educational levels, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

• Improved family stability – family difficulties often emerge early in a child’s life. Intervening early can mean these problems can be addressed before they become more complex.

• Delivery of a significant preventative health measure – studies illustrate the preventative benefits of maternal and child health interventions in reducing the load on acute health services and delivering improved mental and physical health throughout life.

• Reduced justice interventions – social and behavioural difficulties in adolescence and adulthood can often be traced to onset in early life. Improved early environments for children can see later reductions in demand for justice services.

• Reduced unemployment – inter-generational disadvantage and unemployment represent significant social and economic cost through welfare payments and lost tax revenue.

• Improved economic outcomes – immediately through enabled parental workforce participation and, in the longer term, a higher percentage of children growing up to be productive participants in the economy and society.

Investment in the wellbeing of all children will build a more civil society which will benefit everyone.

Benefits for familiesThe Early Years Strategic Plan aims to improve outcomes for all Victorian children.

It provides a vision for a system that delivers better services and supports for children and families.

Families will experience this change in a number of ways.

The actions included in the Plan will better enable local services to be open, welcoming and responsive to the needs of their communities and the individual children and families within them.

Families experiencing vulnerability will receive improved early support to prevent problems from escalating and more coordinated service provision to enable the right support for families at the right time.

A greater focus on early learning will enable families to have confidence that no matter where they live in the state or what service they choose for their child, high-quality learning opportunities will provide children with a strong foundation for their future development.

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While there are challenges to improving early years outcomes, Victoria is starting from a place of relative strength. In recent years, there has been a sustained program of reform in the early years, both at state and national levels, which has resulted in a stronger early years system in Victoria. Appendix A outlines the breadth of Victorian early childhood services.

This reform has built on the existing service system, resulting in Victoria being well positioned to improve the early years of Victorian children. We already have:

• a universal base of supports for children and families, including a world-class and highly respected MCH Service, closely linked with primary health services (e.g. General Practitioners and Community Health Centres).

• high participation rates in early learning in the year before school

• parents who are highly engaged and committed to their child’s development

• a committed sector comprised of professionals eager to develop innovative ways to support children and their families

• unique involvement of local government in the early years supporting diverse community needs

• early childhood facilities that support access to services

• a school system with a high degree of autonomy in how schools plan, prioritise and meet the learning and broader developmental needs of their community

• a strong foundation for evidence-based interventions through the Australian Early Development Index and local studies about what works.

To ensure that every Victorian child is given the best opportunity to learn and develop in the early years, we must maximise the benefits of these strong building blocks through a clear agenda.

The Early Years Strategic Plan aims to improve outcomes and better support all Victorian children from pregnancy up to eight years of age with a focus across three areas:

A. Supporting parents and communities to give children a great start

B. Early and sustained support for those who need it most

C. All children benefiting from high-quality early learning.

A summary of the key initiatives included in the Early Years Strategic Plan is provided in Appendix B.

Improving the early years of all Victorian children

Improving the early years of all Victorian children


A. Supporting parents and communities to give children a great start

A child’s learning and development is greatly impacted by the environment that they grow up in. Parents and families are central influences on a child’s early life, supporting children’s cognitive, emotional and physical growth. Communities also play a significant role, coordinating services and supporting children and families to benefit from national, state and local programs. Ensuring that local services are open, welcoming and responsive to children and families is critical for a system that supports parents and children. More can be done to be responsive to local needs, particularly when children have multiple or complex issues.

A great start for every child and family

The first weeks, months and years of life are an incredibly important time for both children and families. It is crucial that parents have access to quality maternity services, MCH services, parenting advice and strong primary health services (e.g. General Practitioners) delivered through the community. These services work together to provide continuity of care for new mothers, fathers and their children. Additional support is targeted to families when needed through enhanced MCH and Child Health Teams.

Growing parent and community capacity to support children’s development

Good parenting leads to great outcomes for children and is a critical element in helping children achieve against the odds of disadvantage. We also know that communities around parents shape expectations and support. Local and national work on effective early childhood communication strategies is underway. This work will support more effective communication of the critical importance of the early childhood period. We will build on these approaches to improve parents’ awareness and understanding of evidence-based ways to support their children’s development.

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15Improving the early years of all Victorian children

Implementing an early years parenting strategy

Parents can benefit from high-quality parenting supports in the early years. Playgroups provide an opportunity for parents to meet other parents, share parenting skills and experiences, and support children’s learning and development. Better support for parents is being implemented in three rural areas by linking playgroups to early learning and support services. Early years parenting supports will be further strengthened through an outcomes-based service approach, building connections (between parenting services and within the overall early years system), and a greater focus on evidence-based practice. The Early Years Parenting Strategy will provide an opportunity to map existing effort across the state and identify opportunities to strengthen services and decrease duplication and overlap.

Growing participation and expanding the reach and value of the MCH Service

The MCH Service is a cornerstone of Victoria’s human development system. It has an excellent national and international reputation and provides the opportunity to better support parents and improve children’s outcomes from the first days of life. Continuing to grow participation in MCH services (particularly in later Key Ages and Stages visits) remains a critical statewide priority. A review has recently been undertaken and indicates directions to further improve the MCH Service, including:

• modernising and enhancing the quality of service delivery to make it easier for families to access the support they need

• intervening early and preventing problems from escalating

• building the capacity and confidence of the MCH workforce

• exploring greater use of technology to enhance service delivery.

Actions to facilitate these reforms include improving data systems to better monitor and respond to individual child development, workforce capacity building and ensuring that funding is allocated to best support additional needs and flexible responses. Consultations with stakeholders have informed the review and we will work with local government over the coming year, as a major stakeholder and the co-funder of the MCH Service, to progress the proposed future directions.


Victoria’s plan to improve breastfeeding rates

Breastfeeding supports maternal and child bonding and has health, wellbeing and cognitive benefits. Improving breastfeeding rates requires commitment by government, agencies, health services and professionals. A Breastfeeding Plan will articulate strategies for service providers to better support mothers to initiate and sustain breastfeeding. Improvement in breastfeeding rates in Victoria will support better health and development outcomes for children.

Exploring options for right@home

right@home provides intensive MCH support for parents from pregnancy until their child turns two years of age. The outcomes of the right@home trial will inform how services can be better designed to support children and families at risk of vulnerability, particularly through strengthening parent-child relationships.

Making it easier for parents to get what their children need

Complex funding and governance arrangements, and a focus on single program accountability rather than children’s outcomes, can create barriers for service delivery and families accessing services. We want to make it easier for parents to access services in their local community through a more integrated and responsive early years system that is measured by outcomes and reflects local diversity and needs.

Demonstrating child-centred and community-led planning and funding

In order to maximise children’s development, enable more seamless service experiences and best use available resources within communities, we need to empower local decision-making and innovation. This involves enabling service design, integrated planning and funding to be driven by the needs of children, families and local communities.

Through community-driven processes, new approaches will be demonstrated that better respond to child and family service experiences and pathways. These approaches will be based in universal service provision and focus on lifting outcomes for all children, with strengthened linkages to services and support for children with additional needs.

right@homeThe right@home trial is a multi-state randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of a sustained nurse home visiting program.

right@home is designed to promote family wellbeing and child development. Three trial sites are being supported by Victorian Government funding – Whittlesea, Ballarat and Dandenong/Frankston.

Approximately 300 expectant mothers will participate in a program through which they will receive an intensive nurse home visit. They will be recruited in the antenatal period and receive the program until their child reaches two years of age.

right@home seeks to better understand if offering extra visits until babies turn two years old makes it easier for vulnerable families to learn about things like feeding, managing their baby’s sleep and parenting.

This trial will build the evidence base around effective practice and establish best practice for vulnerable families in Victoria. The trial will strengthen the links between maternity services and supports for families in the first months and years of their child’s life.

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Demonstration projects will develop clear accountability arrangements centred on child outcomes and a well-defined service commitment for families. Every child will have a basic learning, health and care plan setting out the services that will promote their continuing development. This child plan will build on guidance provided through the Child Health Record for each new baby in Victoria. Demonstration projects will be informed by international expertise and the experiences of communities locally and internationally trialling similar integrated approaches.

Strengthening local planning

We want to build on and strengthen local planning approaches to better recognise and respond to the unique characteristics of communities. The focus will be on working with local governments to:

• strengthen planning by formalising the status of Municipal Early Years Plans with the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development and the Municipal Association of Victoria, including joint agreement about the role of councils in early childhood service delivery and infrastructure planning

• enable better access, use, analysis, communication and linking of information and data (including community planning data) to guide decision-making and planning.

This work will complement reform underway to establish local networks to support local information sharing and coordination of service provision and planning relevant to vulnerable children.

An Early Years Outcomes Framework

An Early Years Outcomes Framework has been developed to promote understanding of, and focus on, children’s development, and to support services in their own planning, improvement and accountability.

The Framework is for all children from birth to eight years and identifies ambitions for every child in Victoria, regardless of their background or geographic location. Outcomes are identified in four key domains: Being Healthy, Building Wellbeing, Learning and Developing, and Staying Safe (see Appendix C).

We want the framework to support services to be uncompromising in their ambitions for outcomes-focused service excellence. The Framework will be implemented across the system so that all services have a shared approach to prioritising activities and lifting outcomes. The Framework has been informed by input from parents, practitioners, managers and experts.


B. Early and sustained support for those who need it most

While all families benefit from early childhood programs, families experiencing vulnerability are most acutely in need of support. We need to intervene early, prevent problems from escalating and provide quality early years experiences that address vulnerability. Intervening early will provide families who need support most with the opportunity to disrupt entrenched cycles of disadvantage and give their child a great start in life. A focus in this area complements reforms already underway as part of Victoria’s Vulnerable Children, Our Shared Responsibility, 2013-2022.

Sustained service pathways for vulnerable children

Providing access to high-quality early childhood services gives vulnerable children a better chance to experience later life success. A priority is to streamline and strengthen the system of services to promote a seamless and sustained early childhood experience for vulnerable children. This will involve:

• developing and demonstrating models for collaborative practice across universal and early intervention services for vulnerable children and their families that build on MCH review directions and draw on international and innovative local exemplary practice

• demonstrating better linkages in the service response from pregnancy, through ‘right@home’ nurse home visiting and into quality ECEC from around two years of age, with additional parenting support through supported playgroups

• developing a client level information system to better support service engagement and sustained participation.

This initiative builds on pre- and post-natal health reforms to improve outcomes for disadvantaged and vulnerable families. Through community health services, the government has funded programs for women who are otherwise unable to access antenatal care services, or who require additional support. In addition, Child Health Teams have been supported to provide services to Victorian children experiencing mild to moderate developmental difficulties and behavioural issues.

18

Doveton CollegeThe momentum to establish Doveton College emerged when leaders of the Doveton and neighbouring Eumemmerring communities looked in depth at the needs of their community and the opportunities being missed to change life outcomes.Responding to significant community disadvantage and prevalent early developmental vulnerability, what emerged is a new service model that weaves together early childhood education and care, school and community resources to address systemic barriers to learning and development. Children and families now have access to an integrated learning and development service all at one location. This includes high-quality, full-day learning for children from birth, school education from Foundation to Year 9, family counselling, MCH services, playgroups, adult education, and other learning and wellbeing opportunities.The school community has put substantial effort into broader partnerships and the network of services and support is provided through strong partnerships, philanthropic contributions and a shared vision across the many agency partners of Doveton College.


Exploring effective ways to address early social and behavioural issues

Parent-reported concern about children’s behaviour is a strong predictor of later, more serious psychosocial problems. Child behavioural issues can have lasting impacts on a child’s wellbeing and development, and represent a significant social and health burden on society. These children are also at greater risk of abuse and neglect. Options for a more integrated system of secondary parenting support will be explored with the aim of testing what works to prevent these problems from escalating and to avoid children experiencing more serious problems later in life.

Early Childhood Agreement for Children in Out-of-Home Care

An Agreement to improve access to, and the continuing engagement of, children in Out-of-Home Care with early childhood services is being implemented. The focus of the Agreement is the core universal platforms of kindergarten and MCH services, and to ensure a pathway and supported transition to school integrated with the Out-of-Home Care Education Commitment.

Implementing a strategy to improve learning and development outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians

A strategy is being developed and implemented for services supported across the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development to improve learning and development outcomes for Aboriginal Victorians. With an emphasis on cultural inclusiveness, young Aboriginal children will be supported to achieve their potential, irrespective of background or circumstances. The strategy will build on the strengths of the existing programs to lift Aboriginal MCH participation and improve the Aboriginal In Home Support and Home Based Learning program.

Providing faster and better support for young children with a disability or developmental delay

Delivering timely and effective services for children with a disability or developmental delay and their families is a key focus. We are preparing for the introduction of the National Disability Insurance Scheme and continue to work to increase access to Early Childhood Intervention Services.


We want all Victorian children to benefit from high-quality early learning experiences. Learning and skill formation does not wait until children start school. There is a growing recognition of the impact of early learning on future outcomes and there is an evident challenge to keep pace with international leaders. While parents play an important role as their child’s first teachers, research shows us that expanded access to high-quality early learning can increase a child’s learning and development outcomes significantly and address disadvantage.

Advancing children’s early learning and development

Engaging children in high-quality early learning programs that focus on the whole child sets the stage for future success in school and life. It gives all Victorian children the best opportunity to grow, learn and achieve and leads to long-term positive effects. To provide a world-class ECEC system, Victoria needs to learn from leading nations who are acting on the evidence to expand their early learning offerings.

Growing participation in early learning

Providing earlier access to high-quality early learning is the benchmark (see Figure 4) set by many leading educational jurisdictions which have concluded that it has a measurable and marked impact on educational outcomes.

We want to learn from advanced and aspiring education leaders. This will require work with the Commonwealth Government to continue improved access to early learning in the year before school and assess the case for growing access for all three-year-old children.

20

C. All children benefiting from high-quality learning


Sustaining the focus on quality early learning

The quality of ECEC services is known to be fundamental to children’s development. Quality services deliver great results while low-quality services are limited in their impact. The National Quality Framework (NQF) has placed a focus on continuous improvement of ECEC services. The Government supports the continued implementation of the NQF reforms with support for the sector, children and families to enable Victorian children and families to access high-quality ECEC services.

Every toddler talking

The ability to speak, listen and be understood is the foundation for a range of later skills, particularly child and adult literacy. Research and examination of Victorian children’s development, current practices and the input of leading local and international experts will support the identification of effective approaches that can be applied systematically in Victoria. Exploring best practice in this area will boost the ability of universal services to support language and literacy development, and effective intervention where problems arise, to provide Victorian children with every opportunity for later success.

Figure 4: Age by which at least 75% of children are enrolled in early childhood education20

Age of Child

Denmark

Sweden

UK

New Zealand

Japan

Shanghai

Hong Kong

Korea

Australia

United States

0 1 2 3 4

References20. Department of Education and

Early Childhood Development internal analysis, 2014.


A seamless learning experience – linking children’s learning from birth to primary school

Strong partnerships between early years services and primary schools improve children’s learning outcomes. Each stage of learning builds on what has come before, and a shared approach to learning between early childhood and primary school educators, parents and other practitioners promotes high-quality learning and care, provides an age-appropriate curriculum and maximises opportunities to support the most vulnerable children.

Seamless learning experiences are supported by:

• shared high aspirations for every child’s learning and development recognising that some children and families require additional support

• effective partnerships with children, their families, their community, key providers and other stakeholders, e.g. educators, speech pathologists and psychologists

• wherever possible, co-locating early childhood services on new and existing school sites in partnership with local government.

A first step is for local governments, early childhood services and schools to establish demonstration projects that support a more integrated learning experience for children across early childhood and school. These projects will build the evidence base for effective shared approaches to learning and collaborative partnership models, which can be shared across communities.

Strengthening our focus on gifted and talented children

The Victorian Government is currently developing a new strategy to enhance gifted and talented education. The Aiming High: A strategy for gifted and talented children and young people, 2014-19 will enable gifted and talented children to reach their full potential. It will support improved information and resources for families, early childhood professionals, teachers and educational leaders so that they can effectively identify gifted and talented children and address their learning and development needs. A first step has been the development and release of an online resource for early childhood professionals. Longer term strategies will include professional learning opportunities and the establishment of education

22


networks within and between early childhood settings and schools.

World-class practice to advance learning and development

Passionate, engaging and well-prepared early childhood professionals make a significant difference to the quality of the learning and development experiences provided to children. It is important that the Victorian early years workforce is supported to evolve and improve and to embrace world-class practice.

Deepening early years curriculum and assessment approaches

Curriculum, assessment and reporting are the basis of ECEC provision. Building on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, educators will be better supported to teach early literacy, science and maths concepts to children from birth through to the primary school years. Supports will draw on and complement the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development’s Digital Learning Strategy.

Opportunities to enhance assessment in the early years will be examined, including practical support to use the online assessment platform outlined in Victoria as a Learning Community. There will be an emphasis on consolidating the different forms of assessment and monitoring across early childhood education services to enable better understanding of children’s overall development and progress and aid early intervention where required.

As part of this, assessment tools will be investigated that will improve a professional’s ability to progress children’s learning and better support parental engagement.

Empowering our leaders

In order to achieve high-quality practice with a greater emphasis on early learning, our leaders need to relentlessly focus on quality. An initial focus will be on building leadership capacity and effective, shared professional practice, including joint professional learning opportunities for ECEC and school professionals. An important element of this is the promotion of principals as leaders in their community with an active interest in learning from birth through the school years.


Attractive careers and quality preparation

There is no greater responsibility than supporting the next generation of society. We need to explore and put in place effective strategies to enhance Victoria’s early years workforce. We know that the combination of course work, practical placements and initial workplace supports enable a strong start for entrants. This will require work with the Commonwealth Government, Deans of Education and local educational institutions and the sector to improve this preparation and early career phase.

Expecting and supporting high-quality professional practice

Jurisdictions are focusing on continuous improvement of pedagogical and clinical practice. Steps being taken include improved skills in child observation and assessment, building capacity to use data and investing in effective models of workforce development.

A priority area is improving the way educators assess and promote children’s thinking skills, encourage literacy and numeracy development and extend children’s learning. We know from local research that educators need to focus more on ways to promote thinking skills and extend children’s learning.

Work to challenge and support professionals to improve pedagogy will build on existing supports to meet qualification and ratio requirements and improve practice. Future support will include:

• professional learning opportunities to help educators stimulate deep and engaged learning and build children’s concept development in literacy, science, technology and mathematics through integrated approaches to teaching and learning

• support for stronger partnerships across sectoral boundaries through joint professional learning opportunities for ECEC and school professionals

• sharing examples of exemplary practice that are already happening

• professional development that progresses cultural and inclusion practices that better promote access and sustained engagement in high-quality learning.

In 2015 early childhood teachers will be registered with the Victorian Institute of Teaching, which will formally recognise their status as professional educators in ECEC.

The Early Years WorkforceThe early years workforce is central in helping children learn, grow and succeed. A wide range of professionals make up this workforce, including educators, nurses and family support workers.

Early childhood educators are the largest group with over 32,000 educators employed in a variety of settings, including kindergarten, long day care and family day care. Educators hold a range of qualifications from Certificate III in Early Childhood Education and Care through to early childhood teaching degrees.

There are approximately 1000 nurses employed in MCH services to provide primary care for Victorian families with children from birth to school age.

The Early Childhood Intervention Service workforce comprises around 650 professionals holding a range of qualifications, including early childhood teaching and allied health. These practitioners support children with a disability or developmental delay and their families.

24

25Making it happen: working with all levels of government

International benchmarking (e.g. UNICEF, The Economist and the OECD Family Database) illustrate that Australia’s early years services are underdeveloped in comparison with other international leading and aspirational jurisdictions. In 2012, a benchmarking in The Economist ranked Australia in 28th position of 45 advanced and developing economies.

Australia’s overall spending on ECEC services remains well below the conservative minimum of 1.0 per cent of Gross Domestic Product recommended by UNICEF, requiring increased Commonwealth Government investment to move towards this benchmark.

In addition, Figure 5 shows that investment is uneven from birth through to eight years. Funding is skewed towards the school years, with a significant funding jump when a child turns five years old.

Making it happen: working with all levels of government

Figure 5: Estimated 2010-11 per capita expenditure by age level21

Per-capita governmentinvestment – 0-4 years

$12,000

$10,000

$8,000

$6,000

$4,000

$2,000

$-

0-1 year 1-2 years 2-3 years 3-4 years 4-5 years 5-6 years 6-7 years 7-8 years

Per-capita governmentinvestment – 5-8 years

To realise the full benefits from the early years, all levels of government must work together to pursue agreed objectives.

A joint approach to change across the early years is required. A partnership between governments based on clear early years objectives, child-centred thinking and political will are critical factors if we as a nation want every child to achieve their potential and to prevent early and sustained disadvantage.

References21. Department of Education and

Early Childhood Development internal analysis, 2014.


This Early Years Strategic Plan outlines a clear pathway towards improving outcomes for Victoria’s children. By focusing on three key areas – supporting parents and communities to give children a great start; early and sustained support for those who need it most; and all children benefiting from high-quality early learning we will enhance and strengthen the existing early years service system in Victoria.

Improving outcomes will take time and our progress will need to be monitored. For this reason we are committed to a process of planning, implementation and review to bring about the necessary changes. Figure 6, below, illustrates our process for implementation.

We look forward to working with our partners and with parents and children in implementing this agenda to improve outcomes for Victoria’s children.

How we will monitor our progress

Figure 6: Implementation of the Early Years Strategic Plan

Supporting parents and

communities to give children a

great start

Communication Strategy

Early and sustained support for those who need

it most

All children benefiting from

high quality early learning

Revie

w Plan

Implement

26

27Appendix A: Victoria’s Early Childhood Services

Appe

ndix

A: V

icto

ria’s

Ear

ly C

hild

hood

Ser

vice

s

Fam

ily, A

bori

gina

l an

d di

sabi

lity

supp

ort s

ervi

ces

Pare

ntin

gA

rang

e of

uni

vers

al a

nd ta

rget

ed p

aren

ting

serv

ices

pro

vidi

ng in

form

atio

n, e

duca

tion

and

supp

ort s

ervi

ces

for a

ll pa

rent

s an

d ca

rers

of c

hild

ren

aged

from

bir

th to

eig

htee

n.

Earl

y Ch

ildho

od In

terv

enti

on S

ervi

ces

Supp

orts

for c

hild

ren

with

a d

isab

ility

or d

evel

opm

enta

l del

ay a

nd th

eir f

amili

es fr

om b

irth

to s

choo

l age

, and

kin

derg

arte

n in

clus

ion

su

ppor

t ser

vice

s fo

r chi

ldre

n w

ith d

isab

ilitie

s or

add

ition

al n

eeds

.

Abor

igin

al E

arly

Yea

rs S

uppo

rtTh

e Ab

orig

inal

In-h

ome

Supp

ort P

rogr

am a

nd th

e Ab

orig

inal

Hom

e-ba

sed

Lear

ning

Pro

gram

pro

vide

sup

port

to A

borig

inal

chi

ldre

n an

d th

eir f

amili

es in

the

early

yea

rs o

f life

.

Play

grou

psCo

mm

unity

pla

ygro

ups

enco

urag

e ch

ildre

n to

lear

n an

d de

velo

p th

roug

h pl

ay w

hile

giv

ing

pare

nts

the

oppo

rtun

ity to

mee

t and

sha

re p

aren

ting

skill

s an

d ex

perie

nces

. Su

ppor

ted

play

grou

ps a

re fu

nded

in s

elec

ted

Loca

l Gov

ernm

ent A

reas

by

the

Vict

oria

n G

over

nmen

t with

the

aim

of e

ngag

ing

disa

dvan

tage

d fa

mili

es a

nd p

rom

otin

g

impr

oved

hea

lth a

nd d

evel

opm

ent o

utco

mes

for c

hild

ren,

as

wel

l as

incr

easi

ng th

eir p

artic

ipat

ion

in e

arly

yea

rs s

ervi

ces

and

supp

orts

.

Child

hea

lth

and

wel

lbei

ng

Mat

erna

l and

Chi

ld H

ealt

hA

univ

ersa

l ser

vice

ava

ilabl

e to

all

Vict

oria

n fa

mili

es

with

chi

ldre

n fr

om b

irth

to s

choo

l age

. It p

rovi

des

10 K

ey

Ages

and

Sta

ges

cons

ulta

tions

with

a q

ualifi

ed n

urse

gi

ving

par

ents

the

oppo

rtun

ity to

dis

cuss

thei

r con

cern

s,

pare

ntin

g ex

perie

nces

and

how

to o

ptim

ise

thei

r chi

ld’s

he

alth

, gro

wth

and

dev

elop

men

t.

Enha

nced

Mat

erna

l and

Chi

ld H

ealt

hRe

spon

ds to

the

need

s of

chi

ldre

n an

d fa

mili

es a

t ris

k of

poo

r out

com

es, i

n pa

rtic

ular

whe

re th

ere

are

mul

tiple

risk

fact

ors.

Pro

vide

s a

mor

e in

tens

e le

vel o

f sup

port

than

that

pro

vide

d th

roug

h th

e un

iver

sal s

ervi

ce, i

nclu

ding

sho

rt-t

erm

cas

e m

anag

emen

t in

som

e ci

rcum

stan

ces.

Mat

erni

ty a

nd c

omm

unit

y he

alth

ser

vice

sPr

imar

y pr

e- a

nd p

ost-n

atal

hea

lth s

ervi

ces

to s

uppo

rt

child

ren

and

fam

ilies

, inc

ludi

ng m

ater

nity

ser

vice

s, G

ener

al

Prac

titio

ners

and

Com

mun

ity H

ealth

Cen

tres

. Co

mpl

emen

ted

by ta

rget

ed s

ervi

ces

incl

udin

g Ch

ild H

ealth

Tea

ms

that

ad

dres

s de

velo

pmen

tal d

ifficu

lties

of V

icto

rian

child

ren.

Earl

y ch

ildho

od

educ

atio

n an

d ca

re

Long

Day

Car

eEd

ucat

ion

and

care

ser

vice

s fo

r chi

ldre

n ag

ed b

etw

een

birt

h an

d si

x ye

ars.

Pro

gram

s ar

e ce

ntre

-bas

ed a

nd c

reat

ed

arou

nd th

e de

velo

pmen

tal n

eeds

, int

eres

ts a

nd e

xper

ienc

e of

the

child

.

Kind

erga

rten

A un

iver

sal e

arly

lear

ning

pro

gram

for c

hild

ren

in th

e ye

ar b

efor

e sc

hool

. Fun

ded

prog

ram

s ar

e de

liver

ed b

y a

qual

ified

ear

ly c

hild

hood

teac

her a

nd a

re

offe

red

in a

rang

e of

set

tings

. The

Kin

derg

arte

n Fe

e Su

bsid

y pr

ogra

m p

rovi

des

elig

ible

chi

ldre

n w

ith fr

ee o

r low

-cos

t acc

ess

to k

inde

rgar

ten

in th

e ye

ar

befo

re s

choo

l. Ac

cess

to E

arly

Lea

rnin

g an

d Ea

rly S

tart

Kin

derg

arte

n pr

ogra

ms

prov

ide

targ

eted

sup

port

for e

ligib

le c

hild

ren

to a

ttend

fif

teen

hou

rs o

f thr

ee-y

ear-o

ld k

inde

rgar

ten

per w

eek.

Fam

ily D

ay C

are

Educ

atio

n an

d ca

re p

rovi

ded

by e

duca

tors

for o

ther

peo

ple’

s ch

ildre

n in

thei

r ow

n ho

me.

Ava

ilabl

e to

chi

ldre

n fr

om b

irth

to p

rimar

y sc

hool

.

Out

side

Sch

ool H

ours

Car

eCa

re fo

r prim

ary-

scho

ol-a

ged

child

ren

outs

ide

scho

ol h

ours

and

dur

ing

scho

ol v

acat

ions

.

Occ

asio

nal C

are

Care

for c

hild

ren

aged

bet

wee

n bi

rth

and

six

year

s pr

ovid

ed o

n ei

ther

an

hour

ly b

asis

, for

sho

rt p

erio

ds o

f tim

e or

at r

egul

ar in

terv

als

in a

rang

e of

set

tings

.

Qua

lity

Asse

ssm

ent

and

Regu

lati

onRa

isin

g th

e co

nsis

tenc

y an

d qu

ality

of

educ

atio

n an

d ca

re

serv

ices

in V

icto

ria

thro

ugh

esta

blis

hing

re

quire

men

ts a

nd ra

ting

the

serv

ices

. Sta

ndar

ds

and

asse

ssm

ent c

riter

ia

are

set i

n th

e N

atio

nal

Qua

lity

Fram

ewor

k fo

r w

hich

the

Dep

artm

ent

of E

duca

tion

and

Early

Ch

ildho

od D

evel

opm

ent

is th

e re

gula

ting

body

in

Vic

toria

.

28 Appendix B: Early Years Strategic Plan Key Initiatives28

Appe

ndix

B: E

arly

Yea

rs S

trat

egic

Pla

n Ke

y In

itiat

ives

Supp

ortin

g pa

rent

s an

d co

mm

uniti

es

to g

ive

child

ren

a gr

eat s

tart

Earl

y an

d su

stai

ned

su

ppor

t for

thos

e

who

nee

d it

mos

t

All c

hild

ren

bene

fitin

g fr

om h

igh-

qual

ity

lear

ning

A gr

eat s

tart

for e

very

chi

ld

and

fam

ilyM

akin

g it

easi

er fo

r par

ents

to g

et

wha

t the

ir ch

ildre

n ne

edAd

vanc

ing

child

ren’

s ea

rly

lear

ning

and

dev

elop

men

tW

orld

-cla

ss p

ract

ice

to a

dvan

ce

lear

ning

and

dev

elop

men

t

Gro

win

g pa

rent

and

com

mun

ity

capa

city

to s

uppo

rt c

hild

ren’

s de

velo

pmen

t

Dem

onst

ratin

g ch

ild-c

entr

ed

and

com

mun

ity-

led

plan

ning

and

fu

ndin

g th

roug

h de

mon

stra

tion

proj

ects

Prov

idin

g ac

cess

to h

igh-

qual

ity

earl

y ch

ildho

od s

ervi

ces

for

vuln

erab

le c

hild

ren

thro

ugh

sust

aine

d se

rvic

e pa

thw

ays

Gro

win

g pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in e

arly

le

arni

ngD

eepe

ning

ear

ly y

ears

cur

ricu

lum

an

d as

sess

men

t app

roac

hes

Impl

emen

ting

an e

arly

yea

rs

pare

ntin

g st

rate

gy, m

appi

ng

exis

ting

effo

rt a

nd id

entif

ying

op

port

uniti

es to

str

engt

hen

serv

ices

Wor

king

with

loca

l gov

ernm

ents

to

bui

ld o

n an

d st

reng

then

loca

l pl

anni

ng a

ppro

ache

s

Expl

orin

g ef

fect

ive

way

s to

add

ress

ear

ly s

ocia

l and

be

havi

oura

l iss

ues

in c

hild

ren

Sust

aini

ng th

e fo

cus

on q

ualit

y ea

rly

lear

ning

Empo

wer

ing

our l

eade

rs to

focu

s re

lent

less

ly o

n qu

alit

y

Gro

win

g pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in, a

nd

expa

ndin

g th

e re

ach

and

valu

e of

, the

Mat

erna

l and

Chi

ld H

ealth

Se

rvic

e

Impl

emen

ting

an E

arly

Yea

rs

Out

com

es F

ram

ewor

k fo

r all

serv

ices

Impr

ovin

g en

gage

men

t of

child

ren

in o

ut-o

f-hom

e ca

re w

ith

earl

y ch

ildho

od s

ervi

ces

Boo

stin

g th

e ab

ility

of u

nive

rsal

se

rvic

es to

sup

port

lang

uage

and

lit

erac

y de

velo

pmen

t

Expl

orin

g an

d im

plem

entin

g ef

fect

ive

stra

tegi

es to

enh

ance

th

e ea

rly

year

s w

orkf

orce

Impl

emen

ting

a B

reas

tfee

ding

Pl

an, w

hich

will

bet

ter s

uppo

rt

mot

hers

to in

itiat

e an

d su

stai

n br

east

feed

ing

Impl

emen

ting

a st

rate

gy

to im

prov

e le

arni

ng a

nd

deve

lopm

ent o

utco

mes

for

Abor

igin

al V

icto

rian

s

Link

ing

child

ren’

s le

arni

ng fr

om

birt

h to

pri

mar

y sc

hool

Expe

ctin

g an

d su

ppor

ting

high

-qu

alit

y pr

ofes

sion

al p

ract

ice

Usi

ng o

utco

mes

of t

he ri

ght@

hom

e tr

ial t

o in

form

how

we

supp

ort c

hild

ren

and

fam

ilies

at

risk

of v

ulne

rabi

lity

Prov

idin

g fa

ster

and

bet

ter

supp

ort f

or y

oung

chi

ldre

n w

ith a

di

sabi

lity

or d

evel

opm

enta

l del

ay

Stre

ngth

enin

g ou

r foc

us o

n gi

fted

an

d ta

lent

ed c

hild

ren

29Appendix C: Early Years Outcomes Framework

Appe

ndix

C: E

arly

Yea

rs O

utco

mes

Fra

mew

ork

Str

ong

Child

ren

Str

ong

Fam

ilies

Str

ong

Part

ners

hips

EARL

Y YE

ARS

OU

TCO

MES

FR

AMEW

ORK

FO

R VI

CTO

RIA:

0 –

8 Y

EARS

To p

rom

ote

unde

rsta

ndin

g of

, and

a fo

cus

on, c

hild

ren’

s de

velo

pmen

t, a

nd to

sup

port

ser

vice

s’ o

wn

plan

ning

, im

prov

emen

t and

acc

ount

abili

ty

Four

Inte

r-re

late

d D

omai

ns

CHIL

DB

EIN

G H

EALT

HY

All V

icto

rian

chi

ldre

n ar

e bo

rn a

nd re

mai

n

heal

thy,

dev

elop

pos

itiv

e he

alth

beh

avio

urs

an

d ac

hiev

e op

tim

al h

ealt

h

BU

ILD

ING

WEL

LBEI

NG

All V

icto

rian

chi

ldre

n de

velo

p so

cial

ly

and

emot

iona

lly, a

re re

silie

nt a

nd h

ave

a

stro

ng s

ense

of i

dent

ity

and

wel

lbei

ng

LEAR

NIN

G A

ND

DEV

ELO

PIN

GAl

l Vic

tori

an c

hild

ren

lear

n an

d de

velo

p th

roug

h en

gage

men

t in

mea

ning

ful,

hi

gh-q

ualit

y ed

ucat

iona

l exp

erie

nces

STAY

ING

SAF

EAl

l Vic

tori

an c

hild

ren

expe

rien

ce a

nd g

row

up

in

safe

env

iron

men

ts a

nd c

omm

unit

ies

OU

TCO

MES

• C

hild

ren

are

born

hea

lthy

• C

hild

ren

rece

ive

the

nutr

itio

n, c

are,

pl

ay a

nd re

st th

ey n

eed

for h

ealt

hy

grow

th a

nd d

evel

opm

ent

• C

hild

ren

begi

n to

und

erst

and

thei

r ow

n he

alth

and

phy

sica

l dev

elop

men

t

• C

hild

ren

are

conn

ecte

d to

thei

r wor

ld a

nd

soci

ally

incl

uded

• C

hild

ren

deve

lop

and

sust

ain

posi

tive

re

lati

onsh

ips

• C

hild

ren

deve

lop

resi

lienc

e an

d ex

peri

ence

po

siti

ve m

enta

l hea

lth

• C

hild

ren

deve

lop

a st

rong

sen

se o

f cul

ture

an

d id

enti

ty

• C

hild

ren

are

confi

dent

and

invo

lved

lear

ners

• C

hild

ren

deve

lop

foun

dati

on s

kills

for

life

and

lear

ning

• C

hild

ren

enga

ge w

ith

and

bene

fit fr

om q

ualit

y ed

ucat

iona

l opp

ortu

niti

es a

nd a

chie

ve

posi

tive

out

com

es

• C

hild

ren’

s en

viro

nmen

ts a

re n

urtu

ring

, saf

e an

d se

cure

• C

hild

ren

are

prot

ecte

d fr

om a

buse

, neg

lect

, ha

rm a

nd e

xplo

itat

ion

• C

hild

ren

are

rais

ed in

eco

nom

ical

ly s

ecur

e en

viro

nmen

ts

IND

ICAT

ORS

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f inf

ants

who

are

br

east

fed

• D

ecre

ase

in th

e pr

opor

tion

of l

ow b

irth

wei

ght

babi

es

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n w

ho a

re

fully

imm

unis

ed

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n w

ho e

at

heal

thily

and

get

the

reco

mm

ende

d am

ount

of

exe

rcis

e

• D

ecre

ase

in th

e pr

opor

tion

of c

hild

ren

who

ar

e ov

erw

eigh

t and

obe

se

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n at

tend

ing

Mat

erna

l and

Chi

ld H

ealt

h Ke

y Ag

es

and

Sta

ges

visi

ts

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n on

trac

k so

cial

ly a

nd e

mot

iona

lly

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n liv

ing

in

supp

orti

ve fa

mily

env

iron

men

ts

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n at

tend

ing

serv

ices

that

pro

mot

e po

siti

ve

rela

tion

ship

s w

ith

child

ren

and

adul

ts

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f fam

ilies

who

be

lieve

thei

r com

mun

ity

is a

n ac

cept

ing

plac

e fo

r peo

ple

from

div

erse

cul

ture

s an

d ba

ckgr

ound

s

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n liv

ing

in n

eigh

bour

hood

s w

ith

good

acc

ess

to

play

grou

ps, p

arks

and

pla

ygro

unds

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n on

trac

k fo

r spe

ech

and

lang

uage

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n on

trac

k fo

r lea

rnin

g an

d co

gnit

ive

deve

lopm

ent

• In

crea

se in

pro

port

ion

of c

hild

ren

who

are

re

ad to

by

a fa

mily

mem

ber e

very

day

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f stu

dent

s ac

hiev

ing

nati

onal

min

imum

sta

ndar

ds in

N

APLA

N

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n pa

rtic

ipat

ing

in q

ualit

y Ea

rly

Child

hood

Ed

ucat

ion

and

Care

ser

vice

s

• In

crea

se in

ave

rage

rate

s of

stu

dent

at

tend

ance

at p

rim

ary

scho

ol

• In

crea

se in

the

num

ber o

f chi

ldre

n liv

ing

in a

sa

fe a

nd s

ecur

e en

viro

nmen

t

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f chi

ldre

n at

tend

ing

safe

and

sec

ure

serv

ices

• D

ecre

ase

in p

ropo

rtio

n of

chi

ldre

n ex

pose

d to

fa

mily

vio

lenc

e in

cide

nts

• In

crea

se in

the

num

ber o

f fam

ilies

who

are

ec

onom

ical

ly s

ecur

e

• In

crea

se in

the

prop

orti

on o

f par

ents

who

ha

ve s

omeo

ne to

turn

to fo

r adv

ice

whe

n ha

ving

pro

blem

s

Fam

ilies

and

com

mun

itie

s ar

e st

rong

in th

eir s

uppo

rt fo

r eac

h ot

her a

nd c

reat

e sa

fe e

nvir

onm

ents

in w

hich

chi

ldre

n gr

ow, l

earn

an

d liv

e w

ell

Opt

imal

out

com

es fo

r chi

ldre

n ar

e ac

hiev

ed th

roug

h a

qual

ity,

eff

ecti

ve s

ervi

ces

appr

oach

that

is re

spon

sive

, se

amle

ss, c

ohes

ive

and

colla

bora

tive

Fam

ilies

and

com

mun

itie

s ar

e st

rong

in th

eir s

uppo

rt

for e

ach

othe

r and

cre

ate

safe

env

iron

men

ts in

whi

ch

child

ren

grow

, lea

rn a

nd li

ve w

ell

Child

Fam

ilyCo

mm

unit

y

Ser

vice

s

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