Strategic objective: A great start for all children
We are setting the critical foundations for children’s futures through quality early childhood services. We provide strategic leadership in early learning and child development through policy development and implementation, risk-based regulation, and continuous quality improvement. We use evidence-based strategies to increase the access, participation, inclusion and wellbeing of children aged from birth to 8 years in early childhood programs and services.
Kindy
Access to a quality kindergarten program makes learning fun, builds confidence and provides meaningful experiences and interactions that support a child's early learning, wellbeing and development.
In 2024, we provided all Queensland children the opportunity to experience the life changing benefits of participating in an early childhood learning program with the introduction of free kindergarten. Our additional investment of $645 million and $189 million per annum ongoing, takes the total investment in kindergarten to $2 billion over 4 years, and provides 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year of free kindergarten for every 4-year-old child, regardless of whether they attend a sessional kindergarten or kindergarten in long day care.
Our free kindergarten initiative enables equal opportunity by removing financial barriers for vulnerable Queensland children, supports Queensland families by relieving cost-of-living pressures and assists parents in their return to work.
In 2024–25, we will further support children to access quality kindergarten programs through delivery of initiatives in the Queensland Government's Putting Queensland Kids First plan, including extending free kindy to up to 30 hours per week for 4-year-olds in discrete communities, establishing family and early years school-based hubs at Aurukun and Kowanyama and embedding early childhood coordinators within existing child, family and community services.
More information about
free kindergarten is available.
Rural and remote access to kindergarten
We continue to support rural and remote children to access a free kindergarten program with ongoing delivery, oversight and governance for
State Delivered Kindergarten (SDK) and
eKindy.
SDK is offered in schools located at least 40 kilometres by road from the nearest approved kindergarten, in a selected, discrete Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community or other selected communities where there are barriers to accessing kindergarten.
In 2023–24, we continued to enhance SDK with the launch of the SDK video series, focusing on the foundations for a quality SDK and how to embed these standards into everyday practice. Our continued focus on SDK is creating lifelong learners across 137 locations, ensuring more than 850 children receive a strong start to their learning journey.
eKindy supports children to access a free kindergarten program by distance education in circumstances where they are unable to easily attend an SDK or early childhood service due to distance, a medical condition or itinerant lifestyle. In 2023–24, the program supported over 150 children to access an 'at-home' kindergarten program for 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year.
Early Childhood Workforce Strategy
In 2023, we released the
Queensland Early Childhood Workforce Strategy (PDF, 4.7MB) to deliver a sustainable, qualified early childhood workforce that is prepared and confident to meet the diverse needs of every child.
Under the strategy, $120 million is being invested over 4 years (2023–24 to 2026–27) in a comprehensive suite of initiatives designed to build capability, attract new talent and retain existing educators. The strategy will see $80 million invested to support initiatives to attract, retain and develop workforce capability, and $40 million to attract and retain early childhood teachers in outer regional, remote and very remote communities, benefitting more than 300 kindergarten services.
Key initiatives in 2023–24 included:
- scholarships and wrap around coaching and mentoring under the Qualifications Pathways Program, enabling educators to complete qualifications at Certificate III, Diploma, Bachelor or Graduate Diploma level
- funding the Practicum Placement Scheme pilot for educators to receive renumeration while they attend early childhood career placements
- funding the early childhood planning subsidy for long day care educators to dedicate 2 days in 2024 to planning kindergarten sessions
- professional learning grants to support staff working in schools delivering a SDK program with the cost of studying an approved early childhood qualification.
The strategy also focuses on First Nations educators, children and families by developing partnerships to embed cultural perspectives and enhance outcomes for First Nations educators and children.
We are committed to creating local solutions that meet changing community and workforce needs, providing culturally safe and inclusive workplaces, and supporting equal opportunities for all Queenslanders to enrich the learning of every child.
The strategy builds upon the Queensland Government's
Workforce Strategy.
Kindy uplift program expanded
In 2023–24, our
kindy uplift program continued to provide funding for evidence-based workforce capability initiatives that lift the outcomes of kindergarten children. Participating services were also supported through collaborative discussions about teaching practices and using data driven decision-making.
Successful delivery of the program continues to positively influence participation numbers, with the number of services participating more than doubling, from 930 to over 2,000, since 2023.
Kindy uplift contributes to the department's commitment to Closing the Gap. The program is creating culturally safe, inclusive and responsive kindergarten programs through strengthening engagement with Elders and community members and building relationships to embed Aboriginal people's and Torres Strait Islander people's perspectives in kindergarten programs.
Kindergarten Inclusion Initiatives
A range of initiatives targeted at improving the access and participation of children with diverse and complex support needs has been delivered in kindergartens and regulated services in 2024.
The Kindergarten Inclusion Service funds 4 specialist organisations: Down Syndrome Queensland, Autism Queensland, Hear and Say, and SPELD Queensland to provide free practical advice, training and support directly to over 2,100 services to support the inclusion of children with complex support needs in Kindy.
By boosting the skills and capability of educators, the new Kindergarten Inclusion Service supports kindergarten programs to be inclusion ready.
The Kindergarten Inclusion Support Scheme enables providers of sessional kindergarten programs to deliver inclusive programs that respond to their community's diverse needs, including the needs of children with a diagnosed or imputed disability.
In 2024, we supported all regulated service providers to deliver inclusive early childhood education by appointing 2 specialist organisations to deliver the Early childhood guidance pilot. The pilot focuses on enhancing educator capability in positive behaviour guidance and protective behaviours, ensuring children receive support that builds the foundations for their success.
Targeting Quality Program
In 2024, we partnered with the Australian Children's Education and Care Quality Authority to deliver the 3-year Targeting Quality Program (TQP) to support ongoing quality improvement in Queensland education and care services. The TQP is offering intensive and targeted professional learning for eligible services with a national quality rating of 'Working Towards the National Quality Standard', as well as other smaller services in need of quality support, free of charge. The $3 million program is also supporting continuous quality improvement in regulatory practice through the delivery of biannual professional development forums for our regulatory officers.
Regulating early childhood and care
As the Queensland Early Childhood Regulatory Authority, we regulate early childhood education and care services to reduce risk to children's safety, drive voluntary compliance and promote continuous improvement. Our regulation activities include providing information and advice to approved service providers, service monitoring and taking enforcement action as necessary to ensure any issues identified are effectively addressed.
In 2023–24, quality ratings data demonstrated that early childhood education and care services in Queensland continue to deliver safe and high-quality services to Queensland children. Queensland services are some of the highest quality in the nation, with 90% meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard as at 30 June 2024.
Early years service funding
In 2023–24, we invested $40.7 million to support universal and targeted early years services for Queensland children and families. Key early years services programs include Early Years Places (EYPs) located in more than 50 communities, which supported 19,434 children and 15,388 parents or carers during the 2023 calendar year.
There are 21 EYPs located in rural and remote locations throughout Queensland. During 2023–24, $13 million was invested to support their operations and respond to the universal and targeted needs of Queensland children and families living in rural and remote regions.
For 2024–25, a further $13.5 million will be invested to continue supporting the operations of EYPs in rural and remote communities.
Service area performance
Objective: Queensland children engaged in quality early years programs that support learning and development and strengthen successful transitions to school.
Description: Providing children with access to quality early childhood education and care, and strengthening children's transitions to school. Services include the establishment, funding and monitoring of kindergarten and integrated early years services, and regulation (including assessment and rating) of education and care services.
Table 4: Early Childhood Education and Care performance measures
Effectiveness measures Proportion of Queensland children enrolled in an early childhood education program1 | 95% | 100.3% |
Proportion of enrolments in an early childhood education program: | 95% | 110.4% |
Proportion of enrolments in an early childhood education program: - Children who reside in disadvantaged areas1
| 95% | 92.6% |
Proportion of children developmentally on track on 4 or more (of 5) Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) domains2 | N/A | N/A |
Notes:
- Results over 100% are possible as the nationally agreed measure is the number of children enrolled (aged 4 or 5) divided by the estimated resident population of 4-year-old children.
- The 2023–24 Target/Estimate and 2023–24 Estimated Actual have not been included as the AEDC is conducted every 3 years, with the next census conducted in 2024. Results are expected to be made available in early 2025.
- The government expenditure per child—kindergarten measure reflects the Queensland Government's investment in providing universal access to a kindergarten program for children in the year before full-time school. The measure is calculated as the total expenditure for the financial year per child enrolled in an approved kindergarten program and is consistent with the measure used in the report on Government Services. The estimates include the half-year impact of the government's new Free Kindergarten initiative.
Additional performance information
The following data is also available.