Professor Collette Tayler Transcript
Total duration: 03(min):02(sec)
Hello I’m Collette Tayler, Chair of Early Childhood Education and Care in the Melbourne Graduate School of Education at the University of Melbourne. I’m also a board member of the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. Today I’m delighted to introduce you to the Early Years Exchange the EYE. The EYE is designed to help you to implement the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
The framework’s purpose is to advance children’s learning and development from birth through to age eight. It is built from an evidence base about how best to support children’s learning and development. Its scope covers an integrated early childhood education and care system including maternal and child health services, child care and kindergarten services and the early years of primary school.
We know from a variety of studies that a collective and cohesive approach to supporting young children’s learning and development makes a positive difference.
We can improve the ways in which early years programs operate together and operate in conjunction with families to raise children’s outcomes from birth across to age of eight. This period, birth to eight, is an important internationally recognised period of early childhood development.
The OECD report, Starting Strong 2, argued for universal programs as being the most beneficial for young children’s learning.
Play based experiences, those that are built around the children’s interests, that are intellectually challenging and that are locally relevant are seen to be most beneficial for children’s learning.
From birth to eight, both child and group outcomes improve when early childhood professionals have high expectations of all children and when they pay particular attention to both the emotional and the intellectual capabilities of each child.
We now have five nationally agreed outcomes for young children across Australia. The Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework builds out of these outcomes and provides a link to the Victorian Essential Learning Standards the VELS.
The Victorian framework recognises the pivotal role that families play in children’s learning. New research evidence and a range of materials will help professionals and families to work together to improve children’s learning outcomes.
This is both an exciting and challenging time in early years reform. I encourage you to consider the content of this the first Early Years Exchange, build on the work you’re already doing, read and stay connected and stay open to new ideas.