Early Childhood Development Victoria, Australia

Tony Cook, Associate Secretary

Integrated Policies & Programs

Victoria, Australia

The role of government

Local Government

• Infrastructure provision

• Service provision

Victorian Government

• Subsidises the cost of kindergarten

• Provides grants for infrastructure which it does not own

• Responsible for the licensing of services and the regulation of staff and services

• About to begin a nationally consistent quality assurance regime

Commonwealth Government

• Subsidises the cost of child care

• About to establish the overarching Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority

Victoria – snapshot of participation (2010)

• 1755 funded kindergarten services

• 66,651 children funded to participate in kindergarten

• 67,433 four year old population

• 95% kindergarten participation rate

• 1,199 long day care centres

• 71,784 Maternal and Child Health birth notifications

• 649 Maternal and Child Health centres

Victorian Government’s vision: integrated service delivery

• Over the last decade, Victoria has been working to

deliver:

• More holistic responses to children’s and families’

needs

• An inter-disciplinary professional approach

• A ‘no wrong door’ approach

• Earlier intervention

• Joint efforts focused on outcomes

• A more efficient deployment of resources

The Continuum of Service Delivery

Co-existence Communication Coordination Collaboration Integration

Victorian Integrated Service Model

Integrated ECEC Services: Key Initiatives

Children’s Capital Program (Victoria)

• Established in 1999

• $26 million in 2011-12

• Victorian Government provides infrastructure grants to community-based, integrated children’s centres

• Grants of up to $2 million

Integrated Services Development Project

(Victoria)

• March 2010 – December 2011

• Centre for Community Child Health engaged to work intensively with 20 sites to develop tailored approaches to integration

Indigenous Children and Family Centres (Commonwealth)

• National Partnership on Indigenous Early Childhood Development (2009)

• $547.2 million over six years to address the needs of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children

• 38 CFCs across Australia

• 2 in Victoria

Early learning and Care centres

(Commonwealth)

• Aims to increase the supply of integrated early childhood education and care in areas of unmet demand for child care

• Emphasis on connecting with schools to ensure all children are fully prepared for learning and life

• 10 centres in Victoria, including one Autism-specific centre

Children’s Capital Program: Expected Outcomes

• Creation of child friendly communities • More children’s and family services on or near school

sites • Integrated, inclusive and collaborative services • Early learning and care (improved access to

kindergarten in same place as long day care) and other children's and family services

• High quality programs to meet the health care and educational needs of young children

• Increased infrastructure capacity to enable universal access to 15 hours of kindergarten for four-year-old by 2013

Children’s Capital Program: Progress to date

• Since 1999, 104 children’s centres have been funded

• The majority are on Local Government land, with Local Government as the main investor and service provider

• 75 are open and operating

• 42 are (or will be) on or adjoining school sites

• 9 are (or will be) within one kilometre of a school site

• 11 site are part of the Commonwealth Government’s early learning and care centre initiative

Integrated Services Development Project

Of the 75 Children’s Centres currently operating, 20 have participated in the Integrated Services Development Project being led by the Centre for Community Child Health

Project Priorities:

1. To work with integrated children's centres to develop and implement a vision, service model and governance arrangements that reflect the needs of their local communities

2. To ensure a range of resources and tools are available to support integrated service development

3. To consider, document and share effective, innovative and emerging practice

Case Study: Southern Rise Education Centre (Wodonga) • In 2000, Wodonga City Council conducted a community

consultation about the vision for early years services in the area

• In 2001, Wodonga Council began a discussion with service providers about how to achieve better service delivery

• A primary school advised Wodonga Council that they were outgrowing their existing site, and were looking to relocate

• The primary school offered to partner with Wodonga Council to integrate ECEC services onto the site

• Concept planning went ahead with a shared vision. Wodonga Council and the school worked collaboratively to secure the land, the budget and the grants to make the Southern Rise Education Centre a reality

Southern Rise Education Centre:

The Steering Committee for Southern Rise Education Centre was in place for two years before the Centre opened in April 2011. Represented on the Steering Committee were: Wodonga City Council

The School Council (through a sub-committee)

School Parents (the ‘integrated parents club’)

In addition to the primary school, the ECEC services delivered on site include: Kindergarten

Before and after care

Maternal and child health

Consultancy (speech pathologist, school nurse)

Meeting rooms available for community use

Southern Rise Education Centre: Key principles that make integration work

• Integrated governance and collaboration

between Wodonga Council and the school

• A life-long approach to education

• Supportive, multi-disciplinary staffing

arrangements

• Service philosophy and provision driven by the

needs of children and families

Southern Rise Education Centre

Southern Rise Education Centre

Southern Rise Education Centre

Contact details:

Tony Cook Associate Secretary, Schools and Youth

Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations

Email: tony.cook@deewr.gov.au