07 OctELAA Submission to Preschool Funding Review

Posted on 07 Oct 2019

ELAA has made seven recommendations to the review of the national funding arrangements for 600 hours of quality early childhood education for all Australian children in the year before school. The outcomes of the review of the Universal Access National Partnership (UANP) will inform funding arrangements beyond 2020 when the current agreement expires.

On behalf of our members, ELAA recommended that:

1. the outcome of the review is informed by child centred, evidence-based principles
2. the UANP provides an ongoing commitment to preschool education for children in the year before school
3. the UANP establishes a timeframe for children to access preschool in the two years before school
4. the UANP provides an integrated framework for early childhood education and care
5. the UANP ensures access to high quality services through the ongoing funding of ACECQA and funding to States and Territories to fulfil their responsibilities
6. a review of the role of not-for-profit and for-profit services in the delivery of early childhood education and care be undertaken
7. a comprehensive workforce strategy be developed.

The submission outlines 11 key principles which should inform any reforms to funding, design and delivery of the early childhood sector.

The review of the UANP is the most significant review of early years funding and policy in Australia in the past decade and ELAA encourages all members and supporters to read our full submission .