Welcoming a focus on the Early Years.
Child Australia congratulates the McGowan Government’s commitment to children in their early years via the announcement of Our Priorities, a renewed focus on improving outcomes for Western Australians.
The objectives to improve health, wellbeing and education for our children, while ambitious, are most definitely attainable, however this can only be done if the sector works together toward a common agenda. The evidence is overwhelmingly clear that quality outcomes for children can be set in the early years.
Child Australia’s Chief Executive Officer, Tina Holtom stated “We believe that the Education and Care sector is currently underutilised as a rich resource in reaching families and children. More needs to be done to effectively lift quality across the largest system that supports children in their developmentally vulnerable years, and strengthening early childhood educator capability is the first step.”
While the McGowan Government’s commitment announced yesterday provides fresh hope that the early years will be recognised for the incredibly powerful role that it plays in a person’s long-term trajectory, there is much work to be done in developing a proactive collaborative approach to improving developmental outcomes for children. “We can’t expect different outcomes, if we continue to do what we have always done. Our children’s lives are far more complex than ever before and our educators must be equipped to support them” Tina said.
Child Australia works with children and their families across many programs and services in Western Australia and as a leading organisation dedicated to improving outcomes for children, they will host the largest gathering of thought leaders, educators, academics, health professionals and other critically important practitioners at the 2019 Early Childhood Learning and Development Conference on 29-30 March in Perth. Alongside this will be a pre-conference VIP Roundtable event which will bring together leaders to network and set a clear agenda for the critical importance of the early years.
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About Child Australia
Established in 1987 Child Australia is a not for profit organisation and a leading provider of professional development and support for the education sector in Western Australia and the Northern Territory. Child Australia’s purpose is to develop the capacity of professionals working with children, families and the community to support children’s wellbeing, learning and development. More information at www.childaustralia.org.au
