Investing in ECEC to strengthen communities

It was wonderful to hear of Parliament’s approval of the Three Day Guarantee for early childhood education and care (including OSHC) this month. Giving children and families this additional access to high quality learning and development opportunities in 2026 will be amazing. 

Also last month, the OECD released a report showing how societal inequalities can be reduced through investment in early childhood education and care (ECEC). It argued that countries in the developed world needed to do much better and made two main recommendations: 

(1) combine universal and targeted policy approaches, and 

(2) develop a cross-sectoral approach that goes beyond just the early years sector.   

There were some invaluable insights included in a detailed section focusing on Australia. One was that the ECEC sector needed to connect more with families and communities to increase awareness of its positive impact on children. Work to change attitudes towards ECEC within marginalised communities is essential to widen participation and thus improve children’s development and life outcomes.  

We know how hard connection can be in atomised communities currently bearing the weight of a cost-of-living crisis. That’s why ECEC services such as OSHC are so important. A high-quality service that families can rely on is a critical part of community scaffolding.  

Another Australia-specific insight from the report was the need to coordinate between different parts of the early years and education systems to ensure pedagogical continuity, specifically in the areas of play and social interactions. This is another area where OSHC has an obvious role to play. Play is vital to children’s development, whether in areas such as literacy and numeracy or ‘soft’ skills such as communication and connection. Yet as they move from long daycare to primary school, structured learning becomes the focus of the day and there is sometimes little time left to play.   

In Australia, OSHC is a neighbourhood playground for many children. It’s where they can have fun and be themselves. Increased participation in OSHC means that it can further support and connect the times before and after school with a child’s primary school adventure, building on play-based learning for children. 

Having these conversations at the centre of our national thinking about the future is essential.