The Department of Education is committed to giving Queensland children and their families the best possible start to their learning.
The Queensland Government’s 4-year
Putting Queensland Kids First (PQKF) plan strongly supports this commitment and aligns with the department’s
Equity and Excellence: Realising the potential of every student education strategy.
The initiatives delivered through PQKF will provide early intervention and support to improve outcomes for students, families and their school communities across the early years.
This investment will give Queensland children the support they need early in life so they can make the most of their education and realise their full potential.
What we will deliver
The initiatives delivered through PQKF focus on early childhood education interventions and support systems that have been co-designed with experts and families to meet the needs of our diverse Queensland communities.
The department is leading 6 initiatives under PQKF focused on increasing support for children to participate in early childhood education and provide early intervention to support engagement in the early years of schooling.
The department’s
Early Childhood Education and Care division will oversee the delivery of:
- extended access to free kindy for 4-year-olds in discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. This will support up to 600 kindergarten-age children residing in these communities to attend a kindy program each year
- support for vulnerable children and families to connect and engage with early childhood education and care services with 36 early childhood coordinators located in high-need communities
- new family and early years integrated hubs in Aurukun and Kowanyama.
We will deliver in our state schools:
- further support for transitions, attendance and engagement in the early years of schooling with 84 family support coordinators working across 219 primary schools in priority communities
- health practitioners to be engaged in 20 high-need primary schools to support families to access free primary healthcare and facilitate referral of students to specialist services
- 85 behaviour specialists to work in 299 primary schools to help school staff in supporting student behaviour and engagement.
All of these initiatives align with Equity and Excellence by supporting Queensland families, schools and communities to give every child a strong start in life and the best possible education.