New Early Years Strategy to include sector’s experiences
7 February 2023 at 4:37 pm
The federal government is calling on health, education and family support organisations to contribute to the strategy’s development.
Social service organisations in the early years sector, including those operating in child and maternal health, education, family support and social work, can help shape the direction of the new Early Years Strategy.
The federal government has released a call for public submissions on the strategy’s discussion paper, which recognises the vital importance of the early years to childhood development.
The strategy will help the government create an integrated and holistic approach to supporting the education and wellbeing of Australian children aged five and below, their families and communities. In particular, it aims to improve coordination between early childhood government programs, funding and frameworks.
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Social services minister Amanda Rishworth, who is jointly leading the strategy’s development alongside early childhood education and youth minister Dr Anne Aly, said it was critical to represent the experiences of a wide range of fields from within the sector.
“We want to hear from a diverse range of voices in the community, including parents, families, carers and caregivers, educators, child and maternal healthcare providers, social workers, early years experts and anyone who wants to contribute to improving the lives of Australian children,” said Rishworth.
“Getting it right in the early years’ means not only that children and their families are supported to thrive in these critical years of development but also that any investments we make now can have broader, sustained benefits for our society and economy across current and future generations.”
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An expert advisory panel has also been established to inform the strategy and provide advice to the government on how to best support children and families. Among the 14 members are National Children’s Commissioner Anne Hollonds, SNAICC CEO Catherine Liddle, and disability advocate and Plumtree CEO Sylvana Mahmic.
The call for public submissions aligns with the federal government’s National Early Years Summit on February 17, which will see over 100 industry experts, sector leaders, service providers and families identify key early childhood issues as well as opportunities to strengthen government support.
“This is going to be much broader than just childcare… This is about looking at how, from pregnancy all the way to five years of age, we can give children the best start in life,” Rishworth said in an interview addressing the summit.
“That’s health, that’s education, that’s family supports, that’s community support. So we’re bringing together a range of experts from non-government organisations, from businesses, from service deliveries on the ground to talk about how we get the commonwealth services as integrated as possible to deliver that.”
As well as public discussion paper submissions, which close on April 30, interested stakeholders can share their priorities and experiences through a survey until March 3. A series of expert roundtables will also be staged nationally, with more information to be updated online.
