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Children and their families are currently faced with a patchwork of services from birth to age 5, which are difficult to navigate. The evidence base on early childhood development is rapidly evolving, which creates a remarkable opportunity to continually create better services for children and families.
The government has established the Office for Early Childhood Development to steward the early childhood development system in South Australia.
The Office will partner with governments and departments, Aboriginal leaders, sector stakeholders, unions, the professions, parents and the community to reduce developmental vulnerability 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 3-year-old preschool. It will help put cutting-edge insights about supporting healthy child development into practice.
The Office will work systemically and locally to create the quality preschool supply we need and to support service integration and connection for families.
Our vision for South Australian families
Over the next decade, we will purposefully build an innovative early childhood development system that puts children and families first, where:
- Families are seen and known through trusted relationships with early childhood education and care providers that see the whole child.
- Families are reached where they are, through services embedded within and connected to the early childhood education and care sector with preschool as a backbone.
- Families have flexibility with services meeting the practical needs of their everyday lives.
The reform pillars
Universal Preschool
- Up to 15 hours of quality preschool programs available for 3-year-olds progressively from 2026 to 2032. This includes funding for a learning and development program, services to support children’s additional needs, and family outreach for children to enrol and stay in preschool.
- Three-year-old preschool programs will be offered in settings where children are already receiving early childhood education and care services, whether it be long day care, government preschool or an early learning centre. Children enrolled in long day care services will receive their preschool program in that service as it becomes available.
- Funding for planning time, professional learning, access to tools and curriculum materials for early childhood teachers.
Investing in Aboriginal children
- From 2024, 3-year-old Aboriginal children, as well as children in care, at government-operated preschools will be offered 15 hours of preschool, up from 12 hours.
- From 2025, extending the Enter for Success Strategy, that allows Aboriginal children to enrol in any government school in the state, to also apply in preschools.
- Working with Aboriginal communities to co-design and deliver a range of strategies so Aboriginal children receive increased benefits from 3-year-old preschool.
Growing and supporting our early childhood workforce
- A new investment of $56 million over 4 years to attract, develop and support the early childhood education and care workforce we will need to deliver this ambitious reform. A workforce strategy will be launched in the first half of this year and will include a significant scholarship program.
- Pursuing changes to the Teachers Registration and Standards Regulations 2021 so teachers with a degree recognised by the Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority can register as a teacher in South Australia. This will boost supply and enable a wider range of qualifications, including the development of new degrees, with a stronger focus on quality early childhood education.
Accessiblity and flexibility for families
- Trialling preschool out of hours care in government-operated preschool in 2024 at 20 locations, which will inform a broader roll-out from late 2025.
- Supporting communities to access federal support and funding to improve the availability of childcare services in thin markets. In addition to this the Department for Education is actively supporting the establishment of family day care services in priority regional and rural communities.
- Reforming out of school hours care at government schools, on top of recent expanded investment into training, tools, and resources to deliver high quality OSHC services.
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 the areas of early childhood and higher education and skills, with a focus 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.
Chief Executive, Kim Little
