Government response to final report recommendations

The State Government has released a response to the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) final report and committed to action on all recommendations.

A new Office for Early Childhood Development (OECD) has been established to support the government response in partnership with stakeholders including the Department for Education.

Key recommendations for the Department for Education are around universal 3-year-old preschool, OSHC reform, greater supports for Aboriginal children and Children in Care and growing our workforce.

Effective immediately, Aboriginal children and Children in Care in government preschool settings who are accessing 12 hours per week, will be able to access an increase to 15 hours per week.

Three-year-old preschool will be rolled out in stages from 2026 to 2032, with a staging plan forthcoming in mid-2024.

This will ensure that workforce and infrastructure are in place to support the reforms, which will be a key part of the work undertaken by the OECD.

Read the full state government response to the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and care report (PDF 6 MB) .

Kindy Care

In response to recommendation 43 of the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care, a new model of wrap-around care, Kindy Care, will be trialled at 20 South Australian preschools from July 2024.

Kindy Care is designed to provide greater flexibility, accessibility, and support for families, by increasing care outside of the regular preschool operating hours.

Three operational models will be trialled in different communities and service settings, including:

• the department operating the service (similar to rural care)
• third-party providers to provide the service
• in-venue family day carer to provide the service.

For more information see Kindy Care trial to begin in South Australia.

Background

On Sunday 27 August 2023, the Commissioner the Hon Julia Gillard AC handed down the final report outlining the findings and recommendations of the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care in South Australia.

In conducting its inquiry, the Royal Commission was tasked to hear the voices of parents and caregivers from diverse backgrounds, experts in early childhood development, service providers in the first 1000 days, leaders of early childhood education and care services, relevant unions, and providers of Out of School Hours Care.

The Royal Commission focused on 3 key areas:

1. The extent to which South Australian families are supported in the first 1000 days of a child’s life, focused on opportunities to further leverage early childhood education and care to enable equitable and improved outcomes for South Australian children.
2. How universal quality preschool programs for three and four year olds can be delivered in South Australia, including addressing considerations of accessibility, affordability, quality and how to achieve universality for both age cohorts. Consideration of universal three-year old preschool should be undertaken with a view to achieving this commencing in 2026.
3. How all families can have access to out of school hours care at both preschool and primary school ages, including considerations of accessibility in all parts of the state, affordability and quality in public and private settings.

You can read the Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care final report on the Royal Commission website.