VEYLDF – Educational Leaders
[On-screen text: The Education State
Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
For all children from birth to 8 years]
Catharine Hydon: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Information Session.
Our focus particularly this time on the role of educational leaders.
My name is Catharine Hydon. It's an absolute pleasure to be with you as we explore the updated Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
[On-screen text: Catharine, Hydon, Director, Hydon Consulting]
Before we get started, I would like to pause for a moment and acknowledge the traditional owners on whose country we are all gathering across the Kulin nation.
And I particularly want to pay respects to Elders past and present for all of the work that they have done to support us all to understand what it means to learn and grow and play and thrive on country.
I particularly want to draw your attention, as educational leaders, to the Acknowledgement of Country at the beginning of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
It's an important reminder of our collective commitment to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and to reconciliation.
I'm really drawn to the way that it words ideas around recognition of First Nations People as our first educators, our first artists and our first scientists.
And also the shared commitment that we all strive for about the commitment to self‑determination and truth and treaty.
Today is an opportunity for you, as educational leaders, and other colleagues who might be joining us today, to think about the way that we can support the engagement and participation in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
For those of you as educational leaders who have been very familiar with the VEYLDF over the last little while, congratulations for the work you've done.
I hope that what you will see in this update is lots of material that you're very familiar with, and also will be a recognition of the fine work you've done with your colleagues over a number of years.
For those of you educational leaders who are new to this framework, then welcome.
This is a fantastic opportunity to find the connections with your existing practice and also opportunities to grow and to stretch your thinking.
Again, welcome to you all.
If you haven't yet, perhaps, downloaded a copy and have it handy, we encourage you to do that, because you can read along and have a look at the documents that we're talking about as you go.
You also might want to think about the way that we're talking today as an opportunity to also have these sorts of discussions and reflective dialogues with your colleagues in your own setting.
Before we get too far into our conversation, I wanted to also invite you, as educational leaders, to share your thoughts and perspectives.
On the screen in front of you you will see a button. If you press that button, that will take you to a space where you can share your questions, your ideas, your thoughts.
We're really keen to hear from you.
While we won't get an opportunity to address those questions as a panel, those questions, those comments, and those wonderings will be all used to support further resources, and the development of a frequently asked questions page that you will be able to look at on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework web page, which we'll talk to you a little bit about as we go.
Let us know what you're thinking and I will remind you a couple of times to share some of those perspectives.
Before we get started, I would like to take a moment to introduce our panel to you.
It's going to be really exciting. I'm pleased we're going to have a conversation we would like you to be a part of.
Hello, Pippa, very nice to see you.
Pippa has had a range of related roles in education and early childhood education and strategic development and implementation over a number of years.
She's worked at an executive level in various government roles, both here and in the United Kingdom.
You're currently, Pippa, the Executive Director Early Learning Practice and Participation for the Victorian Government.
That role supports quality early childhood education no matter where children are.
Thank you, Pippa, we look forward to having a conversation.
Pippa Procter: Thanks, Catharine.
Catharine Hydon: We're also joined by Professor Jane Page.
Some of you, again, might know Jane, and seen her present multiple times.
Jane is an Associate Director of the REEaCh Centre.
The REEaCh Centre is Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood at the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne.
Jane has been a teacher and a lecturer and a researcher and a thinker around early childhood education for over 38 years.
And your focus in your ongoing research is about generating new ideas around early childhood education and particularly the factors and the processes that drive high quality early childhood education.
Thank you, Jane, for joining us.
Professor Jane Page: Thank you, Catharine.
Catharine Hydon: Before we get started, and before we have a conversation around some of the aspects that are going to be really important, familiar parts of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, as well as the things that are new and elevated, I would like to draw your attention to the Cultural Knowledge Stories that feature throughout the updated framework.
For those of you who have already taken a moment to have a look at the framework, you will notice that those stories and the images have now got a much stronger role within the framework.
And we're very fortunate to have some video footage recorded by Aunty Sue Atkinson and also Annette Sax.
Let's hear from them now.
[On-screen Text: Cultural Knowledge Story: Ochre Artwork
Cultural Knowledge Stories read by Annette Sax
Image Credit: Ochre Artworks by Annette Sax (Taungurung), developed in collaboration with Dr Sue Atkinson AM (Yorta Yorta)]
[On-screen Text: Dr. Sue Atkinson AM Author]
Dr. Sue Atkinson: I would like to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land and waters that we are speaking from today, the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people, and their Elders, past, present, and emerging.
The Wurundjeri calendar is made up of seven seasons.
I would like to thank the Wurundjeri Woiwurrung people for sharing their knowledge of these seasons with us and acknowledge their wisdom in looking after the land and waters in harmony with these seasons by being observant of the types of birds calling, plants flowering, the lifecycle of animals, and the appearance of the sky including the stars and the phases of the moon.
My name is Sue Atkinson, I’m a Yorta Yorta woman with ancestral ties to the Wemba-Wemba people.
I have been involved in the Early Childhood field for 50 years, I taught across the preschool, TAFE, and higher education sector before retiring.
More recently, I spent 10 years as a volunteer on a variety of committees, including Action on Aboriginal Perspectives in Early Childhood, AAPEC.
Currently, I occasionally work as a freelance writer, and at the moment, I’m working on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, VEYLDF.
[On-screen Text: Annette Sax Aboriginal Early Childhood Professional Yarn Strong Sista]
Annette Sax: Wawa, my name is Annette Sax, a proud Taungurung woman, artist, educator and cultural storyteller with more than 35 years experience in the early childhood profession.
As one of the two VEYLDF artists whose work complements that of Aunty Dr. Sue Atkinson, Cultural Knowledge Stories, and the VEYLDF Ochre Artist and Designer, I am honoured to contribute artwork that reflects Aboriginal perspectives, identity, culture, and connection to Country.
My work is guided by the cultural knowledge and stories generously shared by my Taungurung Elders, with their permission to pass this knowledge on respectfully.
[intriguing bright orchestral music]
[On-screen Text: Cultural Knowledge Story: Ochre Mountain
Practice Principles - how educators work with children and families]
Annette Sax: Bunjil the Eagle and Waa the Crow represent Aboriginal culture and partnerships with families.
The water hole symbolises reflective practice; the gum leaves with their different patterns and colours represent diversity.
The stones underneath the leaves represent equity and inclusion.
They reflect the additional support put in place to help all children achieve.
The child and adults standing on Ochre Mountain symbolise the high and equitable expectations we hold for children and adults.
The family standing on and looking out from Ochre Mountain reflects assessment for learning and development.
Such assessments draw on children’s and families’ perspectives, knowledge, experiences, and expectations.
The child and adult figures also represent partnerships between professionals.
The land symbol as mother Earth represents the basis for respectful and reciprocal relationships.
The symbols for land, water, and people signify holistic pedagogical practices based on connections to Clan and Country.
[intriguing bright orchestral music]
[On-screen Text: Cultural Knowledge Story: Scar Trees and Message Stick
Learning and Development Outcomes - what children learn over time]
Annette Sax: Gum leaves as bush medicine symbolise connection to wellbeing.
The yam daisy represents the survival of a strong Aboriginal identity.
The yam daisy was central to the diet of Aboriginal Victorians.
It was almost wiped out by colonisation, but has survived.
The family sitting under the scar trees with a message stick and coolamon symbolises communication.
The family seated on the land symbolises the child learning through their connection to and involvement with community.
A scar tree is also known as a canoe tree and is a significant artifact.
Aboriginal people used the bark of the tree to make a canoe or boat.
[intriguing bright orchestral music]
[On-screen Text: Cultural Knowledge Story: River Stepping Stones
Transitions - how learning continues across settings and stages]
Anette Sax: The river stepping stones represent children and families in transition.
The footprints and wheelchair tracks symbolise all abilities.
Animal footprints show children and families walking proudly with culture in transition.
Educators must engage with such pride in culture, with respect and authentic understanding, thereby promoting positive transitions.
Sue Atkinson: Thank you for listening to my Cultural Knowledge Stories and connecting to Annette Sax’s, Taungurung, artworks throughout the VEYLDF.
[intriguing bright orchestral music]
[On-screen text:
The Education State
Victoria State Government Logo
Department of Education
vic.gov.au/education]
Catharine Hydon: It's so fantastic to hear from Aunty Sue and Annette.
I encourage you all to have a look at those Cultural Knowledge Stories and think about opportunities for your teams to engage with those stories and make the connections between those stories and our lived experience on Kulin country across Victoria.
There'll be more opportunities to explore those stories and the ways that they interweave with some of the big ideas in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
I look forward to having conversations about the rich meaning that they offer to us.
So quite a unique feature of this framework.
Of course, one of the things we want to do in our panel discussion today is explore the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework; think about the things that are new and the things that are familiar.
And I want to particularly congratulate all of you for your active participation in the review of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
There's lots of ideas that have been shaped into this document which come from our dialogue and our lived experience and our practice experience.
Again, congratulations for that.
And also thank you for actively being a part of the implementation of previous Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework documents.
So one of the first things we want to do here is to think a little bit about what a framework does, because there might be people here online, as educational leaders, who are relatively new to this.
Importantly, for you as educational leaders, one of the key roles you have is to help guide your teams in understanding why we have a framework, what it does, how it supports our work.
So Jane, can you, in the first instance, take us in the role of a framework and why and how it supports our everyday work?
Professor Jane Page: Absolutely.
You used a very important word just then, "guide".
The framework, in essence, serves as a guide.
I've had the privilege of working alongside teachers and educators and educational leaders since the first version of the VEYLDF was released in 2009.
So I've heard a lot of rich stories around how the VEYLDF, as a framework, guides and supports both practice and planning with children and families and other professionals.
What I've heard is it also supports rich reflections and conversations with peers and others about why we do what we do and how children learn.
What is our role as a teacher, as a leader working alongside children and families to support children's learning and development?
How do we optimise individual children's learning progress across a year?
And now with the introduction of universal three‑year‑old kindergarten, across two years.
So in those conversations many teachers and educators have said that it helps to build a common language and vocabulary which the VEYLDF speaks to.
But also, in so doing, supports these rich reflections on learning and development, and builds, in turn, shared meanings and understandings.
I think back to some early work on leadership by Iram Siraj and colleagues in the UK, and they spoke to the importance of having a shared understanding of pedagogy, how that really supported effective practice.
So as a leader supporting those rich conversations around what do we believe, why do we believe this, how do we enact this in practice, I think is so vital.
And the framework supports us to do that.
Teachers and educators have also shared with me that the framework as a guide supports them to make professional judgments in the everyday with confidence.
That confidence very much comes from the fact that the framework distils contemporary evidence of learning and development and early years education.
So the VEYLDF speaks to ‑ and many of you will be really familiar with this ‑ the importance of early years education, the foundations that are laid in the first eight years of life.
But it also speaks to the fact that children's brain development is incredibly rapid in these early years and their brains have plasticity, and the opportunities that provides for embedding concepts and rich learning early in life.
And Pippa, I know this is a passion of yours, and you will speak to this even further.
And distilling that sort of evidence really supports us to think deeply about how we contribute to that as adults working alongside each other.
But the VEYLDF also gives a nod to the importance of adults, and particularly adults in optimising children's learning and creating the optimal conditions for children's learning.
It speaks to the importance of relationships and partnerships, and how the relationships we have within teams and with families and with other professionals really matters.
Children grow and learn and thrive in multiple contexts.
That enables us to come together and build a holistic picture of children, a more nuanced and multifacetted picture of every child in our learning community.
I think, importantly, also the VEYLDF has a very strong image of young children in it.
And it draws from the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, and really positions children as social actors capable of engaging in learning.
That then provides the opportunity to think about, well, when we engage with children, how can we support learning?
So that's the why.
The what is really what we see in the learning ‑ you know, what is learning and what does it look like across the five learning and development outcomes.
And the how is the practice principles that remain embedded within the VEYLDF.
And how do we engage with children and families to really create those optimum conditions we spoke about to ensure children's learning, sense of belonging, safety and wellbeing.
I guess I just want to pause for a moment and just reflect on the fact that this is the third version of the VEYLDF.
So we've spoken to the fact that it was initially released in 2009, updated in 2016, and now we have the 2026 version.
And what that means is it's really like a living document.
It has provided the opportunity for government to look and revisit contemporary research evidence, and test that what is in the VEYLDF still stands strong.
But it also provides the opportunity to think more deeply about issues and elevate certain aspects of the VEYLDF in relation to what the research says.
But as you've also highlighted, Catharine, this has been drawn ‑ you know, the VEYLDF research also in terms of the lived experiences of teachers, educators and leaders in the sector.
So the fact there's been so much engagement by you in the document means that it also speaks to your experience of using the VEYLDF over time, and I think the new version really reflects that as well.
Catharine Hydon: I think it's very helpful for educational leaders to think about this framework being something that helps them understand the why.
So you're communicating and bringing along your educator team, and you're also communicating with families, as educational leaders.
And you're also working alongside multiple other colleagues, you know, people who are allied health professionals, your colleagues in the beginning years of school, for example, and your broader community.
It helps people understand why.
It is also an opportunity to reboot your why.
So your why might have, you know, been assumed for a little while and you might be feeling like there's a big operational task in the provision of early childhood education which is critically important.
And this is an opportunity for you to come back into why, to align your philosophical statements with this work and to consider how your practice is emerging.
I think then to think about it from a what perspective helps you to understand again what those outcomes are saying to us.
Really important questions there.
We'll come back and explore that in a bit more detail.
And then to understand that there's a how element as well.
So if you are guiding, which I know many of you will be doing in terms of your educational leader role, guiding people into this guide.
And it's helpful to talk about it in a way that is really clear for your audiences.
And those people are different.
So it's going to be families, it's going to be educators, it might be beginning educators as well.
So a great way to frame it, I think.
So thank you for that.
Professor Jane Page: My pleasure.
I think the why, what and the how are all evidence‑informed.
They all come from research.
So it's not just the why, it's also the how and the what, which is really reassuring as we think about optimal outcomes for children and families.
Catharine Hydon: And I think educational leaders really benefit from feeling a strength about that in their role and it helps to build that confidence.
So that phrasing might be something that you might want to consider.
Pippa, we're also very mindful, of course, that this is a Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
So we are interested in the way that this framework, in its updated form, supports quality and quality uplift in the Victorian context.
Can you talk to us a little bit about its role in driving up quality outcomes for our young children and families in Victoria?
[On-screen text: Pippa Procter, Executive Director, Early Learning Practice and Participation Division, Department of Education]
Pippa: My pleasure. And really, is its core purpose, so very happy to have a conversation about that.
I think one of the things to call out initially is this is a tool that focuses specifically on children aged birth to 8.
So I wanted to do a little bit of referencing some of the reasons why it does that.
It is very unique to Australia and, indeed, internationally to have this particular focus on this age group and period of development for children.
And what we've learnt since the last update over the last 10 years has really deepened and reaffirmed, as Jane has said, many of the underpinnings of the framework that we've had.
But I think what we've also seen, particularly through the neuroscience research agenda, which has been something I've delved into deeply in this space, that we really are deepening our understanding and expanding our learning.
So we really know from that research and, indeed, the research from our amazing academic colleagues in the space that this is a unique period of development that is critical for cognitive, social, emotional and physical development.
It's a period, from the neuroscience we really can see, where the brain is incredibly plastic.
By that we mean it's really responsive to its environment, where we've got billions of neurocircuits growing and developing and being pruned, unlike any other period in a human being's life, that basically lay those foundations for lifelong learning, passion for learning and outcomes more generally.
If people will indulge me for a little bit around the neuroscience, I wanted to share some of the things that have really sat with me in this space.
During the period of birth to 8, a child's brain prefrontal cortex is not yet rigidly fixed, so it's still developing.
Because of that, it's a unique period where children take on information organically from their environment without needing, necessarily, really structured effort by those adults around them.
So it is a very unique period of learning and growth in this space.
In some more technical terms, it's a period where a child's procedural memory system, ie, the way they learn is more through immersion, play and doing, develops much faster than their declarative system, which is about the learning we get through conscious attention and fact‑based learning.
Fascinating stats that I love reflecting on is that during this period 90% of a child's brain will be growing.
And that two‑year‑olds in this incredible brain development space have twice as many synapses, so those neural connections, as adults.
What we really do see is an incredible period of pruning that supports children's learning in their brains.
We know that that process requires a really stimulating environment that is underpinned by all of those critical things, like adequate nutrients and comfortable children who are ready to learn, and the social interaction that caregivers give them.
Our teachers and educators, and you as educational leaders, thinking about your role in shaping those everyday interactions which are so critical.
Some more specific things from the research I thought really helpful to share too, particularly around this birth to 8 space in the literacy area, relates to children between the ages of 2 and 7 where they possess a ‑ it is a really unique window where children can effortlessly decode language, which we can all see in our everyday interactions.
They really do have this ability to get a natural level of fluency.
What the neuroscience tells us that noticeably drops at the age of 8.
So a really strong opportunity for us in terms of that early literacy development.
We also know for executive function skills that what happens in this birth to 8 period lays the neurological groundwork for memory, for focus, for self‑regulation and emotional control, and those anchors are really firmed by the age of 8.
So a really critical space that we play in in this period of children's learning and development.
So in terms of your question about how does the updated VEYLDF really help that quality uplift and outcomes, you've already reflected on it, Jane, but it really is talking about the what and an updated version of the what.
So what have we learnt over the last 10 years about what children learn in this really critical period, about how they learn, and it really continues to reinforce the importance of play.
And the most effective things that all professionals can do to support that learning ‑ and so many of you here are not only doing that yourselves, potentially, as teachers but guiding others in this space.
Again, thinking about the quality of everyday interactions, the intentional teaching that frames those, the relationships and the environments that they exist within.
And the key in this, which I've just mentioned, is that intentionality.
In the updated VEYLDF we have elevated the triple helix, we call it in the department, but those three woven strands around the integrated teaching and learning approaches.
So really seeing intentionality in that as a really critical element for professionals to be thinking about, and thinking about how their practice is responsive to children and families so they can get those really rich serve‑and‑return interactions ‑ thank you, Harvard ‑ which tells us makes a real difference to children's learning.
So whether you've been working with the VEYLDF for a short time or a really, really long time, I am very confident that there will be something in this document that will perk your curiosity, that will challenge you, that will give you a launching point to extend your practice and reflect deeply in terms of what you're doing.
Yeah.
Catharine Hydon: And I think one of the key points for our educational leaders who are joining today is to think about asking that very question to their teams, is to say let's look through the framework and see what is sparking our curiosity, and perhaps what is deeply resonating with us, because the link then to your quality decisions, moving forward, is going to be really important.
So again, there's time to investigate and explore the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2026, and we'll tell you a little bit more about expectations moving forward.
But there's an opportunity there for you to reflect on some of those ideas.
And really move then into quality improvement decisions, which I know as educational leaders you are deeply connected to.
It's probably helpful now, at this point, for us to go and have a look at the framework particularly and identify some of the things that have been elevated, some of the things that are familiar, and also some of the things that have changed.
If you have got a copy in front of you because you have already downloaded it ‑ and rest assured, you will be receiving a hardcopy in the mail to your service ‑ and, you know, this is an opportunity for you to investigate and play along.
Again, you might like to do something very similar in terms of our conversation with your own teams.
Jane, can you take us a little bit into things that have been elevated, things that are familiar, have stayed exactly the same, and maybe some things that have changed?
[On-screen text: Professor Jane Page OAM, REEaCH Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne]
Professor Jane Page: Absolutely. Thank you, Catharine.
I think I'll start with the things that have stayed the same.
As Pippa has spoken very eloquently about, the importance of the birth to 8 focus.
So that birth to 8 focus is maintained, alongside the vision and the purpose of the VEYLDF.
As you often will say, it is an anchoring document that supports us to think deeply about our practice.
And I think as educational leaders, Lynn Kagan used the metaphor of a bridge; you're bridging the research and the theory and practice and supporting your team to get the why, the what and the how.
So there will be familiarity for you in relation to the vision and the purpose.
It also has the same practice principles, the five learning and development outcomes.
And transition still is maintained as a component, but strengthened with a further focus on continuity of learning.
We can chat a bit more about that further.
There's also been a deepening and extending, as you've referred to, Catharine, of the First Nations' perspectives, and which we heard on the wonderful video through Aunty Sue and Annette around First Nations' perspectives, and through Cultural Knowledge Stories and artwork right throughout the VEYLDF.
The language, I think, and the layout is really clear and accessible.
Integrated and teaching learning approaches, which Pippa has spoken to, underpins all the practice principles, but it's really been elevated, I think, in this version because research continues to confirm how important adults' interactions are with children, both the intent and the content.
So that is right upfront alongside the early years planning cycle which supports us to build that evidence of individual children, to analyse it, make professional decisions about how we will plan and teach children to support their learning and development.
And then there's been a strengthened commitment to child safety.
So familiar, but also, as you said, a renewed focus and extension on some concepts which support us, once again, to revisit these ideas.
And in the spirit of continuous improvement, reflect on what that means for our children and families in our learning communities.
Catharine Hydon: I think it goes directly to the role of the educational leader.
Of course, all the people who are joining us now will be very familiar, hopefully, with the role of the educational leader.
We have reference to that at the National Quality Standard level.
Quality area 7 asks us to make sure we are thinking about the role of the educational leader.
And we know there's a deep relationship between that leadership work in quality area 7 and the outcomes for children in quality area 1 and the commitment to educational program and practice.
So the ways that educational leaders think about the components and how they resonate with their work, and also how you can use some of those to reinforce the why, deeply consider the what, what are you focusing on, what are you teaching, what's part of the educational program, and then how are we doing that as you constantly think about and reflect on your practice.
What we want to do now is dive into some of the practice implications in terms of what might this look like in an everyday way for educational leaders and the teams that they work with, just to give people a bit of a sense of how we might start to use this.
For me, I'm drawn immediately to a practice principle in the suite of practice principles.
So there are principles and the first one is reflective practice, which of course makes so much sense that it should be the first one.
Because as educational leaders you have a very significant role in guiding and supporting the engagement with reflective practice and critical reflective practice in the teams that you support.
Not to do that for people, but to bring people into that space.
And that can be really tricky at times.
It's sometimes a difficult process to turn that opportunity to examine practice on yourself and think about who you are, who we are as a team.
But having a practice principle here which, of course, is consistent with the expectations nationally in terms of what we ask of educators in early childhood education and care settings, to think about their work, think about their practice.
In fact, I was having a conversation with an educational leader this morning and she was talking about how well they were going in terms of reflective practice and how it had been a bit of a work in progress, and they had to really be intentional about elevating that role and that process.
If you go into the framework, you could, as an educational leader, explore this with our colleagues, what are we talking about, what does it mean, why.
And then one of the really helpful things ‑ and I know you're going to mention this too, Jane ‑ is that there is an opportunity within each of the suite of practice principles, a way of thinking about what then that might look like, what would we do if we were engaging in reflection and critical reflection in our everyday work, what would we likely see.
Again, this is about how we do it, how we undertake that work.
And then the types of questions.
I think pretty much everything in this document could be converted into a critical reflection question, but to use this as a process.
I think for educational leaders, one of the things that I practically see is that you would eventually, as an educational leader, almost be carrying this around all the time, and then utilising it as that anchoring/guiding document, so that when there were questions from your team about anything ‑ you know, the indoor/outdoor program you think you might want to change, or how you support individual children who might be experiencing a bit of dysregulation in the program, how you're navigating mixed age groups, how you are supporting children in terms of the stretch around perhaps mathematical thinking ‑ you know, there's thousands of things that might come across your thinking ‑ that you would use this on a regular basis to join with your colleagues to say, "I wonder what it says in here and what principles could we use?", and to identify components that actually strengthen and shape the practice.
I think the other thing for me is the more that educational leaders are familiar with this document ‑ and yes, this does mean having a read of it, probably multiple times ‑ the more you're familiar with it, and the more you bookmark things and identify sections that are particularly relevant to you, the more you'll be able to utilise it with your teams and then to bring it to conversations.
In fact, what I would love to see, which I did see in the previous document and the previous iteration, the 2016 version, I saw a lot of copies which looked very, very well worn and well read.
We would love to see that in this document because then it means that it's being used every day to help guide decisions.
And it could also be an opportunity to celebrate, because the reason why a celebratory event happened in your site which everybody really enjoyed with the families coming together, I am going to suggest was because you were actually using some of the principles that are articulated in the suite of practice principles.
Jane, for you, ideas about practice?
Professor Jane Page: I love the in practice and the do, see and reflect.
I guess one thing I would say is to keep returning.
As an educational leader, you can come back to this.
And these questions and these ideas support you to show your impact.
And I think that's something in the busyness of early childhood we don't often pause and think about, but as an educational leader you can come back to these do, sees and reflect and say, "Well, what are we doing differently now? What has been the impact of that?"
And you can have those rich conversations with teaching teams to think about the goals that you've set, and what you're embedding, and feeling confident in continuing to embed, and then what are the questions you might have and how that will lead to setting further goals.
But to get to your question, Catharine, I'm looking here at the in practice do, see, reflect in terms of transitions continuity of learning.
And I think continuity of learning is so important because it supports us to have an opportunity to reflect on how we create those consistent learning experiences for children over time.
And in the context of kindergartens in Victoria now, two years, which is really exciting and such an opportunity to recognise and build on individual children's learning over time.
And this can occur between rooms, during sessions, from home to early learning environments across different contexts in which children grow and learn.
So to dig deeply into what we understand is continuity of learning and to unpack that I think has enormous value.
When I looked at it, I became much more conscious of the fact that the VEYLDF is such an integrated document.
In fact, the practice principles and other features of the VEYLDF support us to think more deeply about some of these ideas.
When I thought of continuity of learning, I immediately went to principle 6, assessment for learning.
Here is when we, in an ongoing systematic way, capture through our observations evidence of what children know, understand, can do over time, but also what children are ready to learn, and then to make those professional judgments around, well, how do we plan learning experiences for this child?
And how do we then support this child over time?
What sort of interactions will we engage in?
And what will we say and do in building this child's learning and growth?
And then it took me to the early years planning cycle, because that's really the vehicle and the way in which we achieve that.
Then I thought, well, continuity of learning between the home and early years settings is so important.
We know from some really key research studies that when children have rich interactions, similar, consistent interactions between at home with families and in early learning settings, that that can strengthen children's learning outcomes.
So here is the partnership with families, principle 2.
Also partnerships with professionals, which support us to build rich, nuanced, multifacetted understandings of children.
So the VEYLDF speaks to those shared understandings of a child across people and places, and how that is strengthened when we share specialised knowledge and expertise.
I think as educational leaders we can really set up those opportunities to have those discussions.
And it also, during the rollout of three‑year‑old kindergarten, I had the opportunity to speak with some families about their experience of three‑year‑old kindergarten, and I was really struck by one mother's reflections with me around the importance of continuity for her and her child.
She told a story around her child starting three‑year‑old kindergarten and how very quickly the three‑year‑old kindergarten teacher noted that her child couldn't see things properly and needed some support with that.
But also had some was experiencing some communication challenges, and so brought in a speech pathologist.
And this mother said to me how this had really just changed her child's life.
He was literally seeing the world differently.
But to sit at a table with the teacher and with the speech pathologist and to have these rich conversations around the child to share their knowledge of the child and then to come up with a consistent set of strategies, which would be used in the kindergarten setting as well as at home, was something that the mother really valued.
She said, "I just feel so grateful because I know this will continue into four‑year‑old kindergarten, but also this kindergarten has a wonderful relationship with the school that my child will transition to."
So she saw this sort of future experience as something that was going to be very consistent where she and her child were supported and where they had a voice, an opportunity to engage in the process as well.
And so the practice principles really support us to think about continuity of learning, but I think continuity of learning helps us to think more deeply about some practice principles as well.
Principle 3, having high expectations for children, which asks us to promote children's learning by acting on their potential, noticing what children are interested in, providing challenging and achievable experiences and recognising progress.
So, you know, there's that lovely rich intersection between the two.
Then of course principle 5, equity, diversity and inclusion.
What does continuity of learning look like for every child?
How does every child access learning?
How does every child participate in learning?
And how do we support them to thrive?
So I think the VEYLDF supports us to think about key principles around quality learning and development, and to really think about how we can strengthen consistent, high quality pedagogy.
I think as educational leaders, really structuring those consistent opportunities, whether they be team meetings, to engage and reengage with the VEYLDF is really important to have the opportunity for everyone to come together and share how they're thinking about these ideas and how they're enacting them in practice.
And how services' priorities and plannings link directly to the VEYLDF.
And then, of course, as we said, this setting of goals and then monitoring and tracking how the goals are being achieved in practice.
Catharine Hydon: And I think the educational leaders who are joining us today, they are going to have a range of contexts as well.
So think about what's going on in your setting.
Is it you are working with children birth to 5?
Are you thinking about transitions into outside school hours programs, as well as well as colleagues in the early years of school?
Is it about your collaborative partnerships with people in your local communities?
That takes me very nicely to a conversation with you, Pippa, because I know that there's a practice principle in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework which you are very keen to talk about, which is that one about the partnerships with professionals.
Can you talk a little bit about why that's so important?
Pippa: Underwater, yes. Thanks, Catharine.
One of the strengths of the VEYLDF, and from the very first iteration in 2009 has been maintained all the way through, is that this is a framework for all professionals.
It was never designed to work just for one.
So we are talking not only about you and your colleagues as educational leaders in early childhood education and care services, but we are talking about our Maternal and Child Health Nurses, supported play group facilitators, the incredible allied health workforce, whether that be through School Readiness Funding, or other services children are engaged with, the whole facet of the early years profession, this document really does provide an opportunity to bring those altogether.
One of the reasons it does that is because there is no one professional in this space that can do it all.
Children and family are going through amazing growth and amazing change in this period so they interact with a range of professionals.
So it's a really important thing to be thinking about how we all work together to support children's learning and development in this critical time period.
The other thing that we know ‑ and we've heard this from you through the feedback and our consultations, that is so clear in the evidence that children do best when the adults, services and systems in their life work around them and not in isolation.
So a really critical thing for us to hold and you, as educational leaders, I think, to talk to your teams about this concept and how this relates to their practice and their everyday work.
So in that light, the VEYLDF really aims to provide a really strong anchor for that.
Through the outcomes it gives you and your teams a shared language to talk about children's learning.
When we have those robust conversations and reflect our observations, we learn and grow, we learn new things about children.
When we talk to other professionals who might see children in different contexts, that deepens our understanding and helps you become a better teacher for supporting their learning.
So those outcomes give us a really great shared language.
We've talked a lot about the practice principles, but one of the real strengths of this document is it really sets a common set of expectations that children can experience no matter who they are engaging with and families as well.
And we know that that consistency of experience really helps to anchor those opportunities for them to grow.
We also know there are benefits for you and your teams, that when you work with other people you can create more sustainable ways of working.
You get distributed effort, you strengthen team work, when we have conversations with other people we bring better perspectives into our thinking and we get challenged and curious about a range of other things.
And that's a real opportunity for you and your professional growth that inevitably helps children and families, again, which it keeps coming back to.
I have written down here "continuity of learning".
You have done such a great job, Jane, of explaining that.
Not just thinking about that at that point of transition to school, this is about all of the movements and all of the professionals that work with children and how we support to recognise where children are at and that opportunity for their learning to grow.
So having those conversations to share that work is really exciting.
Just thinking probably the last thing to wrap it up with is that we have such strong services in Victoria.
We have a really unique maternal and child health system who really sit alongside.
We have such strong engagement with our service systems.
And we will have new things coming on board in the coming years with things like Thriving Kids.
Really, as educational leaders, taking the time to use this document, to stop and to think about what networks do we lean into?
What conversations are we having outside our service doors?
How are we bringing those professionals in?
And where are those opportunities to expand that, which we know will yield so much benefit to you as professionals.
Catharine Hydon: There's lots of practical elements, I think, in the work that educational leaders are doing.
And I think one of them is very much in that quality improvement landscape.
So really deliberately looking at this through a self‑assessment and critical reflective lens in line with the expectations around quality improvement, and then finding ways that you can map out what the next 18 months to two years, to even longer, might look like in terms of quality improvement.
I think there's elements in here, particularly the illustrative maps also, is a really important opportunity for educational leaders particularly to think about that trajectory of growth over a period of time, and to support their educators and the teams to understand what they're doing to support children's individual learning.
And I think that's an important thing to investigate.
Again, you will see that in the hardcopy which is on its way to your door.
We wanted to talk a little bit, before we start to wind up, about some of the other initiatives that are taking place in the Victorian context.
These are sort of practical ways that we can utilise the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2026 alongside other elements which improve practice and undertake that quality uplift.
Of course, this is as well as the things that you are doing as educational leaders.
Your philosophy, for example, your policies and procedures, your innovations that you are undertaking, your own quality improvement planning.
Jane, is there some things we want to particularly draw educational leaders' attention to?
Professor Jane Page: Absolutely.
How exciting that the Victorian Government has invested so much in teaching resources, because there are a number of resources that I believe you could draw on in your conversations and work with teaching teams.
Catharine just referred to the learning and development maps, which will be integrated in the VEYLDF, but there are also the Victorian Kindergarten Learning Progressions.
And we've spoken around continuity of learning, the importance of assessment for learning, having high expectations for children.
The Victorian Kindergarten Learning Progressions enable us to think very deeply about what children do know, can do and are ready to learn.
And there's such a wonderful resource ‑ and I think as educational leaders you can really have these rich conversations particularly in relation to planning, around, okay, so you have this observational evidence. What does this mean? And now what is the child ready to learn and how will we plan for that?
Sitting alongside, or deeply embedded in, the early years assessment and learning tool.
So Victoria has the EYALT, which was tested and piloted and developed alongside you, the teaching workforce in Victoria, but also a number of specialists in child learning.
And the EYALT has eight modules related to children's learning and development that map directly on to the five learning and development outcomes.
And it recognises the importance of observational evidence and professional judgment.
So it really speaks to the skills and expertise that teachers bring into the everyday.
So in using the tool, you will choose a module, you will use your observational evidence to answer questions about that child, you can speak to colleagues about that, and then it will generate learning reports which align very closely with the VEYLDF.
So it's another way of connecting to the VEYLDF but thinking very deeply about this child's learning progress.
And then it also has a suite of intentional evidence‑informed learning experiences that you can consider alongside the strategies that you already use for children.
So again, evidence‑informed resources.
And then sitting alongside that are professional learning modules on the Early Childhood Hub.
I would really encourage you to, as you're setting goals for children, look at those resources.
When you're developing shared meanings, think which modules could we engage in as a team, and watch and think about deeply and have rich conversations around, or maybe you will have a colleague who is really interested in executive function or maths and numeracy and you can recommend particular modules for individuals.
So there are a range of modules which, Pippa, you can speak to as well, but intentional teaching and soon to be released, some discipline‑based modules.
So I think these are amazing resources for helping us again to think really deeply about the intentional aspect of our work, but also what is the content, through our conversations and interactions with children, that we embed in the everyday.
So that really practical, grounded in research and just continue to build our understandings of what quality learning looks like.
Catharine Hydon: And educational leaders have a real opportunity here, and a period of time where you can explore exactly what these dimensions are, how they intersect with other initiatives, and then map out what might happen in this 18 months.
Pippa, there are going to be expectations around the use of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
Can you just map that out for us a little bit?
Pippa: Absolutely.
I should say upfront there's plenty of time.
That's the one thing we thought about deeply and learnt from our previous experiences, is giving everyone time.
We genuinely want you to engage with this document and take your time with it and deepen those conversations and learnings that you will draw from it.
So in terms of those expectations, the VEYLDF is our document for our funded kindergarten programs.
So we are very keen to support the sector to engage with this over a transitional period.
And then from 1 January 2028 we will be looking to embed this formally as the required framework.
Obviously, deeply encourage other people in other services, if you are not offering a funded kindergarten, we think this adds enormous value, so really hope for you to lean into the space and see opportunities for you to use that in your context as well.
And to do that through this transitional period, we have got a range of resources.
We've mentioned our amazing Early Childhood Hub.
If you have not logged on, really encourage you to do so.
Have a play around and a look at what's there.
We've had really strong engagement from our sector since we launched it in August last year.
And that hub, in essence, is where you will go to find all of the free professional learning that the department is offering and will expand.
There are offers around team teaching in there, introduction to intentional teaching, there is a specific module on our learning progressions, there is an introduction to inclusive practice.
There are a lot of other things on there that I'm not ruling off right now but, as Jane mentioned, we're growing those over time.
So within a matter of weeks, we will be launching an intentional teaching module specifically for numeracy, followed by one on executive function, then we've got science and physical and sensory development.
So really giving you those tools to deepen that content understanding that Jane has mentioned.
And I think for educational leaders, again, really encourage you, go in and have a look.
These modules were designed to go in and come out.
We know the pressures you're under and the time that you have isn't always neatly chunked up.
So these modules are designed to be used within the context you operate in.
They also give you activities that you can download.
You might think, "Ooh, that's a really great thing in our literacy module we want to pick, and I could put that to the team."
And there is an activity you can run around it.
So it's a really, really great tool for educational leaders to do that incredibly sophisticated work that you do around working with your colleagues to explore ideas, draw on their strengths, and find those places of challenge and growth.
So encourage you to jump on.
And also tell us what's not there that you were looking for.
We are genuinely keen to hear from you about the resources that you need to deepen your understanding, to follow those curiosities.
So send us an email, jump on the hub.
There's a feedback function on that as well.
And we will use that to develop more content to help you in the incredibly important work that you do.
Catharine Hydon: So thank you so much, educational leaders, for joining us, and we wish you all the best as you start to explore this with your colleagues, because you play such a pivotal role in supporting everyday educators in those everyday decisions they are making to engage with this framework.
So moving forward from today, as Pippa has articulated, one of the really important things to do is to remain connected.
And you've got a couple of opportunities to do that.
There's a newsletter that you can access from the Department of Education, so make sure you subscribe to that.
Connect with your local regional opportunities, so there's lots of forums and networks that you can be a part of.
Again, great opportunities to continue conversations around other people's insights into the utilisation of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
Start slowly.
Start to look at the aspects of this which are making particular sense to you.
Celebrate what you're already doing and make sure that those are features of your quality improvement plan.
And perhaps have more strategic opportunities and conversations with your colleagues, but also with your approved provider, and perhaps you are part of a team of Area Managers or other educational leaders, and you could come together and think more holistically about how your approach to the implementation over the next 18 months might look like.
Really important for us to continue thinking together, working together, reading this, but also to use that email that I mentioned before, which is on the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework web page, a dedicated web page, and you will find an email address that goes directly to the team.
If you have questions or thoughts or ideas, or you want to share a story, a fantastic practice, please use that email address to communicate with the department team about your use of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework.
We absolutely appreciate all of your commitments and your energy around this framework and the way that you communicate it to your colleagues.
Thank you for joining us at the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Information Session.
If you'd like to know more, check out the web page and use the email address.
We wish you all the best as you explore the new framework.
[On-screen text: Implementation and support
Printed copies will be distributed to services from Term 3 2026
Implementation period: 2026 to 2028
Professional learning and further resources evolving
Updated VEYLDF will be included in assessment and rating processes from January 2028
Scan the QR code for more information and send questions to: veyldf@education.vic.gov.au]
[End of transcript]
Updated