The majority of 3 year olds are already accessing some kind of approved early education and care settings (across all provider types). The process elements of quality in these settings varies, but all are generally consistent with the Early Years Learning Framework, which provides broad guidance and practices that support and promote learning. Individual services may also apply specific curriculum, pedagogical approaches or practices to the learning programs developed and
implemented by teachers and educators. Some states have their own early years’ curricula, which all align with the Early Years Learning Framework.
Aside from national minimum standards set out in the National Quality Framework in relation to educator qualifications and ratios, there is also significant variability in the structural quality, particularly qualifications and the dosage experienced by 3 year olds accessing early education and care. Children access early education and care in different ways, for example:
22.5%
20.4%
63.9%
58.9%
24.9%
21.4%
21.6%
24.3%
17.7%
24.7%
3.1%
4.3%
34.7%
34.1%
12.9%
12.3%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
2011
2014
2011
2014
3 years
4 years
%
o
f c
hild
re
n
No preschool or LDC
LDC (no preschool program)
Preschool in LDC
Preschool (only or plus other)
Long Day Care: Children accessing programs in approved Long Day Care will generally have a
Diploma qualified group leader, supported by a Certificate III qualified assistant. Some educators may be still studying to complete these qualifications. In some locations, such as New South Wales or where children are accessing preschool programs for 4 year olds, programs may be delivered by a qualified Early Childhood Teacher, with educator to child ratios consistent with the NQF (either 1:10 or 1:11). The group size will be generally
consistent with these ratios, usually with 20-22 children and two educators. Children attend these services for between one and five days per week, with daily hours varying depending on family needs. The preschool program is sometimes delivered during set hours each day.
Sessional preschool: Three year old children accessing state and territory-based preschool
programs through early entry or targeted cohort arrangements will generally have their program delivered by a qualified Early Childhood Teacher with a Certificate III or Diploma qualified assistant. The ratio requirements are consistent with the NQF and group size is also usually 20-22 children with two educators. If the program is delivered as part of a school, the group size may be larger. Children may attend these services for up to 15 hours per week, 40 weeks per year with daily hours and number of days attended matching sessional preschool programs for 4 year olds or the school term.
Family Day Care: Children accessing programs in Family Day Care will usually have a
Certificate III qualified educator supported by an overarching Family Day Care coordinator holding a Diploma qualification. The educator to child ratio in Family Day Care is 1:7, with no more than four children preschool age or under. Generally, children attend these services for between one and five days per week, with daily hours varying depending on the family’s needs.
In the literature, there appears to be limited formal differentiation between learning programs for 3 year olds and 4 year olds. Children have different developmental milestones across this age range, and teachers and educators generally develop their programs and practices to meet the emerging learning and development needs of the children in their care, consistent with the overarching Early Years Learning Framework.
Usual practice in states that provide for 3 year olds to access the 4-year-old preschool program, such as in Victoria and South Australia, is for individual services and teachers use their
professional judgement to design learning programs that are responsive to the needs of
individual children and that consider individual service group dynamics. Similarly, within sessional preschools, eligible 3-year-old children are likely to simply attend the 4-year-old program, with educators adapting intentional teaching experiences to meet the developmental needs of individual children.
In general, Long Day Care services will have an established preschool or kindergarten room for 4- year-old children in the year before school, with a program delivered by the Early Childhood Teacher, as well as a room for 3 year olds. However, consistent with variability in children’s development, many services have ‘mixed age’ groups that have a combination of children aged between 3 and 5 years and children may move up and transition rooms part-way through the year. Variable attendance patterns by individual children resulting in different groups of children attending on different days adds further complexity that educators in Long Day Care settings have to accommodate through their programming.
As noted in the previous section, research on the impact of different curricular approaches, as well as the broader evidence on developmental processes for 3 and 4 year olds, suggests that a more focused approach to supporting the learning and development of 3 and 4 year olds would be beneficial. This is important given the varying range and pace of children’s learning and development between the ages of 3 and 5. Educators need to be able to adapt the program for
children who are advanced in some areas of their learning and development, as well as for children who might have additional needs.
The variability in the current provisions for 3 year olds reflects the diverse mix of providers and settings within the early education and care landscape in Australia (Figure 15), essentially operating in a mixed market that includes for-profit and not-for-profit Long Day Care, sessional preschools and kindergartens, state and territory and local government providers, the non- government school sector and Family Day Care.
Figure 15: Providers of early education and care services 2016 (ACECQA 2016b, p. 7)
It is clear that an efficient and cost-effective implementation of a preschool program for 3 year olds would require different strategies for each sector and jurisdiction. Currently, all 4-year-old preschool programs are centre-based, delivered primarily through sessional/school-based preschools (49.5 per cent) and in Long Day Care settings (50.5 per cent). The pattern of delivery differs significantly in each jurisdiction, with Long Day Care representing 66.8 per cent of
preschools in New South Wales and 5.3 per cent in Tasmania (Steering Committee for the Review of Government Service Provision 2016b, p. 3.6).