Quality is key in early childhood education in Australia

Early education benefits all children, and can be transformative for the children with the greatest challenges. But not all children in Australia experience a high quality early education. Getting quality right is the key piece of the puzzle needed to deliver the promise of early education. Investing in early learning is a widely accepted approach, backed by extensive evidence, for governments and families to foster children’s development, lay the foundations for future learning and wellbeing, and reduce downstream expenditure on health, welfare and justice. While all children benefit from high quality early learning, research also shows that children experiencing higher levels of disadvantage benefit the most, and can even catch up to their more advantaged peers. Yet, the benefits of early education are only realised if children have access to learning opportunities that are of sufficiently high quality to substantially impact their development. Too many children in Australia are missing out on high quality early learning opportunities