About

A steward for change

The Office for Early Childhood Development was formed with a clear mandate: to create a fairer and better future for all children in South Australia. We’ll do this by responding to recommendations of the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care.

The Royal Commission provided a clear idea about the best way to deliver quality preschool programs 3- and 4-year-olds, and how families can be supported in the first 1000 days of their child’s life. It also made recommendations on how to improve access to out of school hours care, and the flow-on benefits of this for increasing workforce participation by parents.

The Government of South Australia has committed to action on all recommendations, whether it be direct state investment and reform, identifying an alternative approach or advocating to the federal government for change.

Read the full response to the Royal Commission.

The OECD is South Australia’s early childhood development system steward.

The Office partners with governments and departments, Aboriginal leaders, sector stakeholders, unions, the professions, parents and the community to create a better and fairer future for children across South Australia. This will include working collaboratively to mobilise long day care, early learning centres, and government services in every community to deliver a new offer of universal 3-year-old preschool. It will help put cutting-edge insights about supporting healthy child development into practice.

The Office is working systemically and locally to create the quality preschool supply we need and to support service integration and connection for families.

Leading the reforms

Kim Little is the inaugural Chief Executive of the Office for Early Childhood Development in South Australia. Working with her team and across governments and departments, Aboriginal leaders, sector stakeholders, unions, the professions, parents and the community, she is tasked with leading the design and implementation of the landmark reforms flowing from the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care.

She brings her expertise in education and social policy issues to the table as South Australia embarks on bold reforms to increase the number of children starting school developmentally on track.

Kim moved to the OECD from her position as the lead Deputy Secretary for the implementation of the Victorian Government’s ambitious Education State kindergarten reforms. This included the introduction of universal 3-year-old kindergarten in sessional and long day care settings, equity funding to support educationally disadvantaged kindergarten children to thrive, and successful programs to lift the quality of kindergarten-offering services.

Kim worked in the Victorian Government in various leadership roles in early childhood and higher education and skills, focusing on policy matters, market design and intervention. She has also worked as a philosopher at Monash University and as a corporate lawyer.

Kim grew up in rural and remote Queensland and Papua New Guinea and is married to a South Australian.