3.6 Key messages

3.6 Key messages

■The overall quality of provision in almost all ELC settings is good or better.

Context to support learning

■The majority of pre-schools inspected were characterised by warm, respectful and open relationships

with parents and children. More formal approaches to sharing information with parents on their children’s learning have yet to be developed in many settings.

Processes to support children’s learning and development

■The extension of the ECCE programme to afford children up to two years of free pre-school

education has posed additional challenges for settings in meeting the differing needs of individual learners.

■Planning practices for children with additional needs in early learning and care (ELC) settings should

be developed further to include a greater emphasis on children’s individual needs.

■There has been an increase in the use of play-based approaches to learning. However, because of a

misperception that it is the role of ELC settings to prepare children for primary school, some settings have adopted an overly-formalised approach to learning.

■The development of emergent, child-centred learning programmes and approaches to assessment,

including the use of assessment information to inform the next steps in children’s learning, continues to present a challenge in ELC settings.

■There is a good focus on early literacy and numeracy in ELC settings. However, there is potential to

improve approaches to support the development of children’s communication and higher-order thinking skills.

Children’s learning experiences and achievement

■Quality learning experiences in ELC settings were characterised by child-centred approaches that

led to high levels of engagement, enjoyment, motivation and achievement among children.

■Where practice required improvement, challenges were most often related to the over-use

of adult direction and insufficient opportunities for children to take the lead and use their initiative in activities.

Management and leadership for learning

■Internal review and self-reflection and evaluation practices have yet to be embedded consistently

in all ELC settings. Greater emphasis on embedding these processes in ELC settings is required. This is identified as a key priority outlined in First 5; A Whole-of-Government Strategy for Babies, Young Children and their Families 2019-2028.

■While early years educators use some strategies to support the transition from pre-school to primary

school, many ELC settings have yet to establish professional links with their local schools.

■Early years educators demonstrate positive dispositions towards engaging in CPD.

However, additional support for, and resources tailored to, the development of leadership capacity are a priority.