12 Dec2023 has been a big year for ELAA and our members
ELAA’s CEO, Andrew Cameron reflects on a big year for ELAA members and the Early Childhood Education and Care sector
I am grateful for having had the opportunity to join ELAA in recent weeks. I have been impressed by the scale and ambition of ELAA’s forward plans. At the heart of these plans is a belief that ELAA’s work can help those who operate Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services to be successful, and in so doing contribute positively to the hundreds of thousands of families and children engaged by ELAA’s members each year. The team at ELAA care deeply about the sector and I’m proud of the work they’ve done this year.
2023 was a big year for ELAA and our members. On the advocacy front, our team kicked off the year by hosting an all-member forum with the Victorian Department of Education (Vic DE), to address our member’s burning questions regarding the Best Start, Best Life reforms. This was followed by five consultation sessions for members to respond to questions and discuss the challenges and opportunities that arise by scaling up the hours of three-year-old kindergarten and introducing Pre-Prep. These consultation session topics covered:
- workforce attraction, retention and quality
- building infrastructure capacity
- high-quality, play-based programs
- participation, access and outcomes
- system enablers.
The consultations were not only useful for our advocacy to Vic DE, but also provided us with better insight into the ECEC sector’s needs and informed our approach toward our submissions for the year.
We produced a total of six submissions in 2023, and we were proud to highlight our members voices in our submission to the Productivity Commission’s inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care. The success of this submission was reflected in the alignment of the Commission’s recent draft report with a number of the recommendations contained in our submission including ELAA’s recommendation to extend access to the Child Care Subsidy to ECEC services offering additional hours of care beyond their funded kindergarten programs.
I’d like to thank our members for playing an active role in ELAA’s advocacy, and for your willingness to share your experiences as providers of ECEC and also the insights of your teachers and educators who work directly with your children. We listen to all of your feedback whether it be verbal or through our pulse check surveys and we take this information to our meetings with federal and Victorian Departments of Education and other stakeholders. In particular, the constant feedback from our regional and rural members has been inspiring and informative.
Moving into 2024 ELAA’s advocacy will focus on:
- how we can best support our members to ensure that the Best Start, Best Life reforms are a success
- advocating for better wages and conditions for the ECEC workforce, including successful negotiations for the 2024 Victorian Early Childhood Teachers and Educators Agreement (VECTEA) and developing resources that can support our members with workforce planning and onboarding
- improving accessibility and equity for all children and families in ECEC.
I must recognise the many ELAA member representatives who have contributed their time and effort towards informing and amplifying ELAA’s work to advance the interests of the ECEC sector in 2023. Thank you for any contributions you have made via completing an ELAA survey, contributing to an ELAA working group, or volunteering to support ELAA’s governance. I look forward to working with ELAA’s members, partners, board and staff to continue this important work through 2024.
I wish all ELAA members the very best for the festive season ahead and I look forward to working with you in the new year.
Andrew Cameron – CEO
