Early Childhood Update - November 2025

Dear colleagues

We begin this month’s edition by acknowledging all the finalists for the Victorian Early Years Awards, which took place last week, and congratulating the winners. You should all be proud of your professionalism and the impact you have on your colleagues, peers, and the children and families you work with. Thank you for all the work you do. This year marked the 20th anniversary of the awards which is a remarkable achievement. Over the past 20 years, we’ve celebrated more than 200 finalists and 120 winners, each making an incredible difference to the lives of children, families and communities across Victoria.

Child safety updates

This is a landmark month for child safety reform in our state. The Victorian Government has introduced legislation to make changes to the Education and Care Services National Law. This includes: mandatory training, enhanced regulatory tools and increased penalties.

Legislation has already been introduced to establish a new independent early childhood regulator. The Victorian Early Childhood Regulatory Authority (VECRA) will commence operation on Thursday 1 January 2026. As part of the Rapid Child Safety Review recommendations, this underpins the work of strengthening child safety safeguards.

Once established, VECRA will work with the sector, providers, services, staff and families to improve the safety and quality of services and help rebuild community confidence.

As part of the reforms, Quality Assessment and Regulation Division (QARD) will transition to the new independent regulator. Ahead of these changes, QARD will continue to assess, monitor and undertake compliance checks as normal. All work currently with QARD, such as proposed visits and assessments, will transition over to VECRA at the start of 2026.

The Victorian Government has also introduced legislation to strengthen the Working with Children Check (WWCC) scheme and the Social Services Regulator.

The WWCC, Reportable Conduct Scheme and Child Safe Standards will be brought into the Social Services Regulator. Mandatory child safety training and testing will also be introduced for all WWCC applicants, along with a new complaints function to give families a clear pathway to raise concerns.

We will share more information once the Bills pass Parliament, along with a clear roadmap of the next steps. We’re committed to keeping you updated as we implement these important reforms. Thank you for your ongoing commitment to child safety.

Other important information

Meanwhile, the 2025 Early Childhood Education and Care Staff Survey is open until Monday 15 December. Educators, teachers, managers and directors are encouraged to take part. It takes about 10 minutes and will help shape the future of the workforce.

We recently celebrated World Teachers’ Day by recognising the dedication, skill and care early childhood professionals bring to shaping children’s futures. We hope you were able to take some time to reflect and celebrate the occasion with your colleagues.

Bronwen FitzGerald
Deputy Secretary
Early Childhood Education

The new Kindergarten Audit and Assurance Program (KAAP) has been designed to strengthen funding compliance in the kindergarten sector and ensure children and families get the full benefit of the Victorian Government’s investment in early childhood education.

It complements existing kindergarten monitoring activities and supports the continued rollout of the Best Start, Best Life reforms, including Three-Year-Old Kindergarten, Pre-Prep and Free Kinder.

Focus on how services use their funding

The KAAP will ensure that funding is being used appropriately and that services are being delivered in line with the Kindergarten Funding Guide and Service Agreement contractual requirements.

The KAAP commenced in October 2025. Throughout the first year around 100 providers, responsible for about 420 early childhood services with funded kindergarten programs, will be audited. This represents more than 1 in 10 funded kinders in Victoria, including a cross-section of large, mid-sized, small and single service providers.

Professional services firms EY and McGrathNicol will deliver the audits. They will work with the department to assess how providers are using kindergarten funding. Through this process, the department aims to build a clearer understanding of how services are meeting compliance obligations. The process will also identify common challenges and barriers providers face so tailored supports and education can be provided.

Helping strengthen trust and confidence

The overarching goal of the KAAP is to ensure that families and children receive the full benefit of kindergarten funding. By reinforcing expectations around the appropriate use of funds and addressing issues, the program will help strengthen trust and confidence in the kindergarten sector. It will support providers to deliver quality outcomes for their communities.

This will also support broader work to strengthen child safety in early childhood education and care services.

Find out more

For more information, contact your local Early Childhood Improvement Branch.

The Victorian Government has announced the recipients of the 2024-25 Toy Library Grants Program. Forty-three not-for-profit toy libraries across Victoria will each receive up to $10,000 to update their toys and equipment.

Two new toy libraries will also be established, each supported by $40,000 in funding:

• Northern Schools Early Years Cluster Inc will create a toy library at Roxburgh Park Primary School Kindergarten
• a toy library at the Seymour Presbyterian Church in the Mitchell Shire.

Toy libraries are welcoming spaces where children and families can borrow educational toys at little to no cost. Through play, children can explore, imagine and problem-solve. This helps build important skills for learning and life.

Many toy libraries also have specialist play equipment for children with disability. This includes weighted animals, fidgets, headphones and visual calming tools. This helps to ensure all children can experience the joy and benefits of play.

The Toy Library Grants Program aims to grow and improve toy libraries across the state. It supports families with cost-of-living pressures and helps parents and carers create strong home learning environments. The grant supports organisations to buy more educational toys, equipment and resources.

Applications for the 2025-26 grants will open in the coming months.

Find out more

For more information, refer to Toy Library Grants Program.

For further enquiries, contact: toy.libraries@education.vic.gov.au

The child safety and Best Start, Best Life reforms are an opportunity to create a stronger early childhood system, where every child’s experience is high quality and safe.

As more services prepare to deliver Pre-Prep next year, and as Pre-Prep starts across Victoria for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, children from a refugee or asylum seeker background and children who have had contact with Child Protection services, look for ways your service can further embed a child safety culture.

What you can do

To enhance child safety and wellbeing ahead of Pre-Prep starting for children from a priority cohort, you can:

• check the School Readiness Funding Menu for child safety and wellbeing programs and supports. These include body safety education and trauma-informed practice
• familiarise yourself with how to respond to and report child abuse in early childhood
• review your mandatory reporting responsibilities and legislation
• revisit the Child Safe Standards and discuss with your teaching team how they are reflected in your practice
• use resources and webinars on children’s safety and safeguarding on the Early Childhood Australia Learning Hub
• read the National Quality Framework Child Safe Culture Guide. It includes ways to create, maintain and improve a culture of child safety, and reflect on your role in taking action.

It’s important to talk to families about your commitment to child safety. You can reference the Child Safe Standards and National Quality Framework and give examples of how your service keeps children safe. This can include measures such as the restrictions on personal devices.

Further resources available

• Child safe practices for digital technologies and personal electronic devices
• Rapid Child Safety Review
• Expanding your early childhood education programs — Change management toolkit
• Delivering Pre-Prep to children from priority cohorts

Find out more

For further enquiries, contact the Child Safety Taskforce by email: childsafetyreform@education.vic.gov.au

With the introduction of Pre-Prep as part of the Best Start, Best Life reforms, team teaching approaches can help some services to offer a 30-hour kindergarten program.

The 2026 Embedding Team Teaching Program has been designed for services delivering a state-funded kindergarten program that may be facing changes or challenges or need support to adapt their practice to deliver the increased program hours.

About the program

The program will help teams of early childhood teachers develop, refine and embed team teaching approaches. This program will build capacity through a multi-tiered coaching model and access to an evidence-based learning program. It will support teachers to extend their practice, explore new ways of working and build a strong culture of collaboration.

Drawing on an in-service coaching model, the program offers different levels of support to services over a 2 to 12-week period, with in-service and online coaching delivered by Monash University.

To apply, refer to: Embedding Team Teaching Program. Applications close Sunday 30 November 2025.

Find out more

For more information, refer to: Embedding Team Teaching Program.

For further enquiries, contact the Professional Practice Programs Unit by email: team.teaching@education.vic.gov.au

Educators, teachers, directors, managers and coordinators working in an early childhood education and care (ECEC) service in Victoria are invited to take part in the national 2025 ECEC Staff Survey.

The Commonwealth Department of Education has engaged ORIMA to conduct the survey. Your answers help governments develop policies and programs to better attract and retain ECEC professionals, and to monitor the progress of the National Children’s Education and Care Workforce Strategy.

Please share the survey with your networks and early childhood professionals at your service.

About the survey

The survey takes 5 to 10 minutes.

It asks questions about your:

• satisfaction with the job, employment conditions and workplace culture
• wellbeing
• views on working in the ECEC sector
• attraction to and retention in the ECEC sector.

The survey closes 11:59 pm Monday 15 December 2025. Respondents go into a draw to win one of 50 $200 vouchers.

Participation in the survey is voluntary and responses are private and confidential. Findings will be de-identified.

Find out more

For more information, refer to ECEC Staff Survey 2025 on the ORIMA website.

Early childhood educators and teachers are invited to attend a 2-hour webinar to build their capacity to support the learning and development of children living in out-of-home care.

The session is part of the LOOKOUT professional learning series. It will explore the needs of children in care and share strategies and resources to help them participate in early childhood education.

About the professional learning session

The session will focus on the following topics:

• LOOKOUT centres and the Early Childhood Agreement for Children in out-of-home care
• out-of-home care from a child's experience
• supporting children in out-of-home care in your service
• Koorie cultural inclusion
• trauma, attachment and relationships.

Participation will count towards 2 hours of Victorian Institute of Teaching required learning.

Event details

Date: Tuesday 18 November 2025
Time: 10 am to midday
Location: online using Microsoft Teams
Cost: free.

To register, refer to: Supporting children in out-of-home care in early childhood education and care settings. Registrations close at 11:59 pm today, Friday 14 November 2025.

Find out more

For more information, refer to LOOKOUT Education Support Centres.

For further enquiries, contact the LOOKOUT early childhood team by email: lookout.nwv@education.vic.gov.au

Ballarat and District Aboriginal Co-operative (BADAC) has made history.

It has become Victoria’s first Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisation (ACCO)-led Early Years Manager (EYM).

Established in 1979, BADAC supports local Aboriginal people through health, social, welfare and community development programs. It covers 4 local government areas in the Ballarat and district area.

As a well-established organisation in the Ballarat community with more than 40 years of experience in service delivery, BADAC developed a plan to establish long day care and funded kindergarten programs. This would address a gap in early years education.

Today BADAC operates 3 inclusive, culturally rich kindergartens within the community:

• Perridak Burron Early Learning Centre in Brown Hill
• Yirram Burron Early Learning Centre in Sebastopol
• Yaluk Burron Early Learning Centre in Ballan.

BADAC will also run a new kindergarten opening at Gordon Primary School next year. BADAC is the first ACCO appointed to deliver a kindergarten on a school site.

General Manager of Early Childhood Education at BADAC Casey Brown said the expansion reflects a strong vision for community-led learning.

‘The motivation behind this growth is to provide culturally welcoming, safe and nurturing educational services while hopefully serving as an inspiration for other ACCOs to do the same,’ she said.

By becoming an EYM, BADAC will further enhance its role as a leader in planning and delivering high quality kindergarten services and supporting the Best Start, Best Life reforms. The professional environment that is supported through being an EYM will give staff more time to focus on children’s learning and wellbeing.

‘Educators working within an EYM are provided with further career pathways, professional development and support, and a larger scale 'team' to network, collaborate with and learn from, all within the same philosophy, values and mission,’ Casey said.

She added that becoming an ACCO EYM strengthens BADAC’s role as a committed, trusted and supportive organisation for both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal families.

‘We are providing the wider community with an opportunity for their children to access high quality, culturally informed and supportive educational services, supporting closing the gap and enhancing the local level of reconciliation,’ Casey said.

Early childhood teacher at Perridak Burron Early Learning Centre Bridget Buttacavoli said the change will bring important benefits to educators and the service.

‘It will provide explicit support to mentor our provisionally registered teachers in being proficient in the industry. The ongoing wrap around supports that flow on from becoming an EYM will aid worker retention and systemic growth,’ she said.

Find out more

For more information, refer to the BADAC website.