[On-screen text: The Education State
Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework
For all children from birth to 8 years]
[On-screen text: Catharine, Hydon, Director, Hydon Consulting]
Catharine Hydon: Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework information session for approved providers. My name is Catharine Hydon and I'm very excited to be here to explore the updated version of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework for you as approved providers.
Before we get going, I'd like to pause for a moment to acknowledge the traditional owners on whose country we're collectively meeting today across the Kulin nation. I particularly pay my respects to Elders past and present, and thank them for the way they have supported us to learn and understand what it is to grow and play and learn and thrive on country. I particularly wanted to draw your attention, as approved providers, to the acknowledgement of country that's in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework updated version.
It's a fantastic commitment here to our engagement with reconciliation and the way that we engage with First Nations stories across Victoria, the land of the Kulin nation. I also really encourage you to have a look at the word and the phrasing, because this is a fantastic way for us to support commitments to self‑determination and treaty and truth‑telling.
Today is a fantastic opportunity for you as approved providers to engage with the updated framework. For those of you who have already been using the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework to inform your strategic, operational, organisational and teaching and learning decisions, congratulations. There will be lots of things in here that you're deeply familiar with, and this is an opportunity to recognise that work over a number of years.
For those of you who are new to the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, welcome to an exciting opportunity for you to think about the ways these big ideas and concepts that are in the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework inform your decisions moving forward. Today is a fantastic opportunity for you to engage with those ideas and to think about what they mean for you as we move into the implementation phase between now and the beginning of 2028.
So importantly too, for those approved providers engaging with this, you might have a copy in front of you, and you can have a look as we have a discussion here about the updates, what's familiar and what's changed. Also, it's important to note that as part of funding agreements this is going to be part of your conversations, but we'll tell you a little bit more about that as we progress. We'd also love to hear from you.
So on your screen you'll see an opportunity to share questions. So any questions that you have or thoughts you have about implementation, we'd love to hear from you. These questions and comments will be used to inform thinking about resources and other supports that you will be accessing over the next 18 months and beyond. If you could share those questions, that will be fantastic. At the end of today, we'd also love to hear your feedback about this information session.
And those questions are going to be really important, I think, as we progress. So please think about those questions that you might include also by using the website and the email address for the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. So importantly now I'd like to introduce our panelists to you. We'll be having a discussion around the updated framework, and we'll include a conversation around some of the ways that you can, as an approved provider, use the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development in your everyday decision‑making. So it's my great pleasure now to welcome Jed Gilbert to our panel.
Jed has had a range of experience and roles in education, policy and evaluation and professional learning, and more recently has been a part of the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Learning, and now is the Director of Early Learning Professional Practice for the Victorian Department of Education. It's fantastic to have you on the panel. Thanks for joining us. Of course, Dr Jane Page. Thank you so much, Jane, for once again joining us.
It's fantastic to have you here. You're a Professor and you're a member of the team at the REEaCH Centre, and let me tell everybody what that is. The Research in Effective Education in Early Childhood at the Faculty of Education at the University of Melbourne. Jane, you've had a long experience with early childhood education and, indeed, the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework over 38 years, focusing on generating new ideas and new knowledge that makes an impact on children's education and learning over a long period of time, particularly in the early years. So it's fantastic to have both of you here.
We're going to have a conversation and a discussion today about the updated framework. It's something that you might like to have in your own context. You might like to watch the recording that will be available both on the website and in the hub, and you can perhaps use some of the questions that we talk about today and some of these as a provocation for your own deliberations and your own reflections. So we hope that the opportunity to think about your role as approved provider will help you to figure out what you'll do over the next 18 months as you engage with this important update. So one of the important features that some of you may have already noted around the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework is the positioning of the cultural knowledge stories, and we're extremely fortunate to have a bit of video footage here to share with you that comes from our amazing esteemed colleagues who have been working in this space.
Dr Sue Atkinson, who has really importantly shared a cultural knowledge story, and Annette Sax, who many of you might know, who has also helped with those stories and shared the images that you see all the way through the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework. Let's hear from them.
[intriguing bright orchestral music]
[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 such a privilege to hear that amazing commentary from Aunty Sue and Annette, such a powerful set of stories, and I really invite all of you as approved providers to take up the opportunity to think with your teams about the way those cultural knowledge stories inform our shared practice. There's lots to explore there and I look forward to what the next 18 months of implementation and consideration leads to and, of course, the way that you implement those opportunities throughout your everyday practice in your services. So one of the things we might do right now is to talk with Jane about what a framework does. I think there's a really important opportunity for us to think about that. Of course, as approved providers you play an incredibly important role in supporting the implementation of frameworks to guide practice.
And congratulations for all of you who have been thinking very deeply about that over a number of years. Again, as I said at the beginning, there's lots of people who have been implementing these ideas really strongly and have a very clear understanding about the way that the framework supports their everyday practice and delivers outcomes and quality for children and families in various settings across Victoria. For those of you who are new to this, I think it is helpful to have a conversation around what a framework does and how it supports approved providers, along with their teams, to make effective decisions. It's important to note that approved providers have a really important responsibility to guide practice, and they set the conditions for engagement with the framework so that, in turn, it can lead to implementation of practice, which we'll get to. So Jane, can you help us with this?
What does a framework do and how does it help approved providers to deliver quality?
[On-screen text: Professor Jane Page OAM, REEaCH Centre, Faculty of Education, University of Melbourne]
Jane Page: Well, Catharine, I think you mentioned it serves as a guide. And I think that is such an important notion. I've had the absolute privilege of working alongside teachers and educators since the introduction of the VEYLDF in 2009. So what I'll share now is some of the perspectives I've heard around how the VEYLDF has supported deeper understandings. So if we think of the notion of a guide, what I have heard is that it really supports teachers and educators to think about their planning and their everyday practice with children and families.
It's also supported reflection, both as individuals but also in teams. So the content within the VEYLDF has guided very rich and meaningful conversations. Conversations with colleagues about how children learn, about the role of the teacher, the child and the family in the learning process, but also how to optimise children's learning through everyday practice. And I think through the process of reflection, teachers and educators have spoken to the vision within the VEYLDF that it has supported a common language and vocabulary within teams. But I think it's more than having a shared language and vocabulary.
It's also about delving deeply and having shared meanings and a shared vision around early learning for the children within your communities. So the other aspect that I'd like to reflect on is that teachers and educators have said it's really built their confidence, their confidence as teachers, their professional identity, their sense of self‑efficacy. And that's, in part, because it distils the research evidence around why early childhood matters, what learning and development looks like, and how we can optimise learning for young children. So if we think about the why, the VEYLDF really outlines the importance of the early years and how they are foundational to children's learning in the present and in the future. It also speaks to the rapid brain development that occurs in the early years and the critical importance of optimising opportunities to have warm, responsive relationships with children and to build concepts early in life.
And I think if we flip that over, research will say if we don't do that, that's a missed opportunity. But it also calls out the vital importance of teachers and educators in children's learning and development, that the interactions that we have in the everyday with children, how often, and what we say and do in those interactions really matter. And then it speaks to learning as relational and dependent on the adults around them but the relationships between the adults. So teachers' relationships with parents matters, teachers' relationships with other professionals matters. And you can build rich, nuanced understandings of children when you have those strong partnerships.
Then it also has a really strong image of young children, that is informed by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, as having strong capabilities and being able to engage in their learning. And when you embed an image like that, it also supports to think about how we can involve children in their learning. And then the "what" is what children learn, what does learning look like across the five learning and development outcomes, and the "how" is the practice principles. What are proven ways of engaging with children to optimise children's learning, safety and wellbeing? So I think I also would just like to reflect for a moment on the fact that the VEYLDF has been updated twice.
So we spoke about it initially being released in 2009, then in 2016 it was updated, and now in 2026 we have another updated version. And that provides us with a sort of great opportunity to reengage with research and test the content, and does it reflect contemporary research, but it also provides that opportunity to draw on the lived experiences of teachers and educators using the VEYLDF. So you will see some changes to the formatting and the language of the VEYLDF. It's very accessible in this version. So I think the VEYLDF is such an important document and I think, as approved providers, really encouraging engagement with the VEYLDF and having it as that key source of truth to engage in the everyday and to revisit over time.
Catharine Hydon: Yeah. And I think for approved providers who are joining us, understanding the way that this anchors their decision‑making and anchors the practice decisions that they're supporting in everyday practice is such a powerful idea. And I think those approved providers who are already very familiar with the previous edition and, indeed, sometimes the previous edition to that from 2009, will recognise the way that they've made decisions over a number of years. I think it is very important for approved providers to know what the content is. Absolutely, lots of approved providers and leaders are not in everyday practice with children and families, but they are providing the conditions for all of the things that you've just said.
And also, as decisions are made, resourcing decisions, as operational decisions are made, as strategic, longer‑term decisions are made, recruitment decisions are made, very familiar territory to all of the people who are joining us, it's a way of coming back to a source of very clear evidence‑informed understandings, and you can be really clear about the way that that supports everyday practice. Jed, I might come to you. I think one of the things that we know, too, in the current context of policy reform, but also in people's pursuit of continuous improvement, is that the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework has a role in quality uplift. So it's not just about where we are now, but where we could be. And approved providers, again, have a really significant role there.
So the Victorian framework's role in quality uplift.
[On-screen text: Director Professional Practice]
Jed Gilbert: Yeah. Thank you. And how wonderful to be sitting with you both this morning and talking to you all. It's such an amazing opportunity to be able to work in early childhood because, as you were just saying, it's such a critical period for brain development.
And the VEYLDF is unique in that birth to 8 frame. As we're going through the update, it was the evidence that reconfirmed that birth to 8 frame. So I will talk quite a bit about the brain science that sits behind the VEYLDF and why the outcomes and the practice principles are grounded in that evidence and what will make the most difference for children, because I know that's why we all come to work each day. As I was preparing for this ‑ you know, I'm not a neuroscientist, but I don't think anyone else on the call would be a neuroscientist either. Yet what we're doing is trying to locate the evidence that's coming out of brain science and neuroscience and what that means for us in our everyday roles, for me in central government, and you as approved providers.
And for teachers and educators who are shaping the children's brains every day as they interact and lead teaching and learning. So the quality uplift is really grounded, as Jane was saying, in that critical period of up to the age of 8 years old. It's critical for cognitive, social, emotional and physical development. What we've learnt over the last 10 years since the last update is a lot of it has reconfirmed what's in the VEYLDF. That's why not a lot has changed, but it has informed some of the updates that we'll talk about a bit more later.
So if you let me go into a little bit of the detail, it's where the brain is highly plastic and responsive to change in that birth to 8 window. You know, there are billions of integrated neural circuits that are established through the interaction of genetics, environment and experience. So the brain's prefrontal cortex is not yet rigidly fixed. Children under 8 absorb information organically from their environment without needing the structured intellectual effort ‑ that we all tried to do this morning ‑ that adults need to do to learn. So in more technical terms, it's a period where a child's procedural memory system, learning through immersion, through play and doing, it develops much faster than their declarative system, the conscious facts‑based learning that we rely on as adults.
So during this period the brain grows to roughly 90% of its adult size. Optimal brain development is fostered by all of the things Jane was just talking about, that stimulating environment, the safe, nurturing, rich relationships with adults who care and the social interaction with their peers. And to call out some specific skill development examples from the research, talking about literacy, such a core skill for lifelong engagement, according to linguistics and neurological research, children between the ages of 2 and 7 possess a unique window to effortlessly decode language patterns and achieve native level fluency. I'm trying to learn French. I wish I still had that.
You know, this natural proficiency drops around the age of 8. Executive function, critical for so much of the success of learning, in early childhood but then later in schooling and later in life, the neurological ground work for memory, for focus, self‑regulation and emotional control is all anchored by the age of 8. So they provide the cognitive tools necessary to handle formal schooling. So we have learnt more about this critical window and that has informed some of the changes in the framework. And it is really driven by the quality of those everyday interactions that all of you, I know, care deeply about and want to work with your services on.
And the key is to make these experiences intentional and responsive to children and families and their interests. For those rich serve‑and‑return interactions that we know make such a difference for brain development. Thank you, Harvard, for all of the work that we are leveraging here in Victoria. So whether you've been working in it for a long or a short time, as you were saying, Catharine, the updated VEYLDF will help all professionals working with children in this critical period of growth. It doesn't presume you're a neuroscientist.
It gives very practical ways in which you can apply the evidence into what makes the most difference for children. And it means that you're working towards a shared framework birth to 8, with the other professionals that you will be engaging with. And it gives you the tools to support collaboration, continuity of learning, and strengthen that transition to school, and really keep the focus on children's holistic developmental and long‑term outcomes. I think for approved providers, it's really how you translate through ‑ as you were talking, Catharine, it's how you translate that through into the everyday practice, give opportunities for educators and teachers, and teaching teams and services to think that through and use it as a new jumping‑off point, a new reflection point to look at some of the changes, and what that means for established practices and where you might be able to reflect and improve. And really, it's around building that consistent, quality uplift across your services that I know you all care so deeply about.
Catharine Hydon: And I think the opportunity for approved providers to think about the ways that they were already engaged in some of these ideas is really powerful. And this, of course, for all of you ends up in translation into quality improvement plans, assessment and rating opportunities, but also to celebrate locally with your teams and the families and the community that you're part of, other colleagues, et cetera, the strength of your everyday work.
And knowing some of those really important underpinning research ideas that have been informed globally and, indeed, nationally here in Australia, locally, and to know that and feel confident about that I think leads to a high level of confidence across the service provision, and then I think better programs that are actually about supporting the learning and development of young children in particular contexts. I think what is really a fantastic opportunity here is for people to relaunch, as you say, reconnect and have that opportunity to enthusiastically engage over the next little while as people implement. Jane, we might do a really practical thing here ‑ and again, those people who are reading along as we are talking and might want to use some of this conversation in provocation with leaders and other key approved provider representatives and participants to help understand what the dimensions of the framework is.
I think that's a really important opportunity. Remember, we'd love to hear your questions. If you are putting your questions in there, anything you want to practically know about, but also your wonderings around how this might look for you as an approved provider, we really welcome those. Use the button on the screen to share some of your questions. Jane, we might now go into a conversation about what's changed and what's stayed the same.
Could you do a little bit of navigation for us about what's changed, and what we might look for in the differences that are in this update?
Jane Page: So I might begin with what stayed the same, just to follow on from Jed, because I think it's important to note that there are many aspects that you would have noted, Catharine, that are familiar. The VEYLDF has maintained the birth to 8 focus. It has maintained the five learning and development outcomes and the seven practice principles. And it's also maintained a component on transitions, but strengthened it through a deeper engagement with continuity of learning.
And we can unpack that a bit later. What has changed? Well, there's been a deepening and extending of First Nations' perspectives through the cultural knowledge stories that we heard about at the beginning of our session, and the artwork, the powerful artwork that is woven throughout the VEYLDF. Integrated teaching and learning practices have been elevated alongside the planning cycle. And I think that's an interesting thing to reflect on in the light of what Jed has shared, that we know that teachers' interactions with children really matter, have a great impact on children's learning and development.
So unpacking what those opportunities look like, in terms of teachers' leading, learning, children leading, learning and together guiding learning is right at the front of the VEYLDF. And I think that helps us to really reflect on our practices and the ways we are interacting with children, what we feel comfortable with, and what we'd like to learn more about. But having that alongside the early years planning cycle I think is quite powerful as well, because our interactions are guided by our observations and our analysis of children's learning and development and our planning. So to see how they come together I think is a powerful piece at the beginning and the outset of the VEYLDF. In addition, there's been a strengthened emphasis on child safety.
So there's much that's familiar, but there's been an uplifting and strengthening of certain components of the previous VEYLDF to help us reflect deeply on our role as a community of teachers and leaders and providers. How can we come together to reflect on what we do and how do we embed that in the everyday and how is that reflected in the document, in our vision, in our KQIP and our strategic planning.
Catharine Hydon: I think you mentioned before the actual look and feel of the document has substantially shifted, and I think approved providers might really engage with that because it's a way of communicating to their teams. And we know that many approved providers have very small teams and other approved providers have very large teams, and that means that there's lots of different opportunities to support people at various levels. So can you sort of identify a couple of things ‑ you know, you mentioned it before ‑ that were really helpful in terms of the look and feel of it?
Jane Page: Yes. What I really love with all the practice principles ‑ and here I am going into it because I just love looking through it ‑ the tables that have been embedded into the document. So you have the description of the practice principles, and then you have these tables of in practice of the do, see, reflect. This is such a tangible opportunity to read the content and then come together and think, "Well, what can we do, and what are we doing and what could we uplift to support children's learning and what do we observe and look for? And what are some of the questions we could ask of ourselves over time to deeply embed these practice principles?" And I think that's been a wonderful addition to the actual VEYLDF.
And the look and feel is just beautiful, isn't it, with all the images and the stories that help us to think more deeply about the work we do.
Catharine Hydon: And the good news is that approved providers will be getting a copy. So you will get a hardcopy, which is fantastic. I know lots of you will be celebrating that. And there will also be some printed copies delivered to actual sites.
So look out for that in the next little while. Again, one of those decisions that approved providers need to start to think about is how they support educators to engage with the components and the aspects of the updated framework, and to think a little bit about what's going to be most meaningful in their context, and how they might think about those, particularly given the children and families they're working with, the educator teams they're working with, the size and scope of the approved provider. Some of you might be working in Local Government, others of you might be, as I said, small providers. So lots of different spaces there. I think there will be lots of familiarity and lots of opportunity for stretch and growth.
I think that's an important thing for approved providers to think about as you move forward, going into this about identifying the key aspects that have changed and what's not changed, and that you find familiarity with, and then you can decide what your next plans are going to look like as you move forward into 2027 and beyond.
Jane Page: I think that's important also because we have new teachers entering the workforce as well as experienced teachers. So together you can build understandings and knowledge as a team, which I know is something I've really valued as a teacher myself in early childhood and I think we would agree we continue to learn, we never stop learning. So coming back into the VEYLDF and reengaging in it is in itself a really powerful learning opportunity.
Catharine Hydon: We would want to encourage approved providers to think about positioning the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework in quality improvement planning.
So where does this sit in your quality improvement plans specifically? Most certainly in quality area 1, around educational program practice and engaging frameworks, but also in quality area 7 around the support of the educational leader in their work. And there will be one of these information sessions designed specifically for educational leaders. But also to think about what that resourcing looks like as we move forward. Jane, I want to now segue into the practice principles themselves.
And there's a suite of practice principles, and people can go and look at specific principles. Again, very familiar territory, but also stretch and a reimagining, I think, and also a articulation of them, which is slightly different, and hopefully will be more accessible to everybody in their team. I think it's helpful for us to sort of play out a couple of ways that those principles really inform practice. Actually, in the last couple of days I've been having conversations with approved providers about some of the complexities of working with families from time to time ‑ and this will be familiar to all of you ‑ that, you know, there are challenges sometimes and complexities, sometimes tricky spaces in navigating families' expectations and what you can deliver in your context. And I found myself going into the practice principles and saying, "Hold on a second, there's actually support in the pages of this document that can help you frame your responses." Now, of course everyday educators are going to be using some of these ideas in their everyday interactions.
But so too can approved providers think a bit more strategically and organisationally about the way that they use these principles. And I think about the principle that really focuses on the relationship with families, the partnership with families, and thinking about some of the wording and the ideas in that, and some of those opportunities to reflect, and what you might see in practice and what you might do every day I think are opportunities for an approved provider to say look at your policy and procedures.
Do they reflect some of the tone and expectations in the principle around the relationships that we have with families, our partnerships with families? You could even think very practically as you're thinking about the phrasing of some of the communications and correspondence. There's a lot of correspondence that goes to families on a regular basis, from the initial discussions that you have with families, what's on your website, what's in your family handbooks, what's in the letters, what's on your front fence, you know, all of the different opportunities to explore and communicate the way that you see that relationship unfolding right from the beginning.
And when there are complexities, to help you understand how to respond to families when there are challenges, it's a fantastic resource to come back here, again, really anchoring your decision‑making, coming back to those principles and saying, "Hold on, how should we phrase this? What should our approach look like? How might we support our beginning teachers, our beginning educators to respond in this way? How might we support our organisational responses to that?" So I feel like there's some reassurance for, perhaps, beginning and new approved providers to really find a really strong place to land. And for those approved providers who have been doing this for a very long time, it's a way of stretching and thinking about where does the quality uplift lie.
You might have families who come from quite diverse culturally and linguistic backgrounds, whereby you need to take some of these ideas and think about them culturally. You might be working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander opportunities. You might be working ‑ I feel like I'm going to another principle there about diversity and equity and looking at children's rights, and, of course, overarching commitment to children's safety. So lots of different ways to weave that in. Have you got another example of using it in everyday practice?
Jane Page: Well, I think the continuity of learning concept is just so powerful. If we think of continuity of learning, that really is that opportunity to create consistent learning for children over time. And in the VEYLDF it speaks to the importance of recognising and building intentionally children's learning progress between settings and contexts. And I think with the rollout of three‑year‑old kindergarten, universal three‑year‑old kindergarten, there is such an important opportunity to deeply understand children and to intentionally plan for children's learning and development over two years and to support the transition into school. And that, to me, is really captured in principle 6, the assessment for learning principle, which is really about capturing what children know, understand, can do and are ready to learn over time.
And really deliberately and intentionally building on individual children's learning and development. And how do we do that? We do that through engaging with the early years planning cycle, which is also embedded in the VEYLDF. We observe children, we analyse the data. We assess, well, what is this child ready to learn?
And then we deliberately plan for children and embed that through different intentional learning experiences and interactions with children. So continuity of learning links to principle 6, assessment for learning, the early years planning cycle. But continuity of learning can also be horizontal, not just vertical, and we can build rich continuity of learning between home learning environments and early childhood contexts. And research will tell us that really matters because children are engaging in consistent experiences and rich learning opportunities at home and in our early learning contexts. And that, of course, links to partnerships with families, which you've spoken so eloquently about.
And also partnerships with professionals where we can build rich understandings of children through conversations around children's learning at home, in our early learning centres, our early childhood centres and outside in the community. And I had the opportunity, when universal three‑year‑old kindergarten was rolling out in the early years, to speak to parents around three‑year‑old kindergarten, and I always remember speaking to a parent in a rural community and her son entered three‑year‑old kindergarten. And she said within the first month of three‑year‑old kindergarten, the teacher had recognised that her child was struggling to see things and could also have some support with speech. So very quickly, professionals were engaged. The teacher, the parent, the professionals had regular meetings.
She was so excited because she said, "This is making such a difference. My child literally can see differently already from engaging in three‑year‑old kindergarten, but I know this is going to continue into four‑year‑old kindergarten. But in addition, this kindergarten service has a wonderful relationship with the school. So I know our rich learnings will be shared with the school as well." So those partnerships are so critical, and the importance of building shared understandings across people and places is acknowledged in the VEYLDF, and it speaks to the strengthening of our specialised knowledge and expertise through those professional conversations and partnerships with families. And it's through those conversations that we build those really nuanced and multi‑facetted understandings of individual children.
But as you were saying, Catharine, there are many practice principles that we can go to to reflect on notions like continuity of learning. So I was thinking having high expectations for children, where we're promoting children's learning by acting on their potential, noticing what children are interested in, providing experiences that are challenging and achievable over time. That is a lens through which we can think deeply around continuity of learning. As is equity, diversity and inclusion. How are we consistently supporting every child to access and engage in meaningful learning experiences and learning environments?
So from my perspective, I think the VEYLDF really supports us to think about ideas and aspirations such as continuity of learning through multiple lenses. And I think as approved providers we can create those opportunities to have those conversations. So how do we structure and dedicate time for those meetings to reflect on continuity of learning? Can we share our practices together? How are we supporting transitions and continuity of learning within our service?
Can we set goals for further embedding continuity of learning? How does this align to our priorities and planning and those in‑practice prompts of the do, see, reflect can help us as a team come together and really think about that in very practical ‑ as you say, it anchors the discussions around that. I think allocating time for professional learning to build understandings over time, engaging in networks are also important opportunities. But as Jed said, that really supports us to strengthen consistent, high quality pedagogy.
Catharine Hydon: Jed, I think one of the key features of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework is the commitment to partnerships with professionals, and Jane has talked about that.
I know that many approved providers will be spending significant amount of time thinking about what their relationships are with their local community providers, allied health professionals, their colleagues in the early years of school, maternal and child health nurses, you know, early years planning that takes place in local communities. So Jed, can you tell us a little bit about why that's important, the feature of that, and how that informs our work as approved providers?
Jed Gilbert: Absolutely. So I used to be a leader of the Child Information Sharing Reforms, which I know so many of you will have engaged on. That is really to set the enabling structures to be able to share information and have a community of professionals around the child.
And the VEYLDF is such a fantastic vehicle to be able to support that through partnerships across professionals. It is specifically designed not just for one workforce ‑ and I know we're talking to individuals, professionals, leaders, approved providers today. But your services can't do everything. You know that, we know that. The services need to work in partnership with their local communities.
And the VEYLDF is a jumping‑off point. As you were saying, Jane, it is the ability to create opportunities to build those partnerships, I think the VEYLDF hopefully can really do. And it is specifically designed for that. So it is specifically designed to talk to the whole early years system and not one profession alone. I'm talking, for instance, about primary school teachers, I'm talking about maternal and child health nurses, other allied health professionals.
I am the father of an 18‑month‑old and our early years centre is having a dentist visit next week. There is the play group facilitators, there is the preschool field officers, as well as organisations like the zoo and museum, and so many others who do incursions and excursions and help provide that continuity of learning and new learning opportunities for the children. So while your teachers and educators are one important part of that broader system, and an incredibly important part of that system, no single professional can support all the aspects of the child's learning and development and wellbeing alone. And we know, talking about the brain science earlier, children do best when the adult services and systems around them work together and not in isolation. So the VEYLDF provides an anchor for this work.
You know, the outcomes, it gives services a shared language for the learning and development outcomes that they are working towards for children and, as you were talking about, the practice principles, they set out how those different professionals can aim to work together. I've been involved in some evaluation of collaborative case management models, and what is so critical is to be able to have that shared language, that shared vision of what you're trying to achieve together for the child with the parents included in that partnership.
You know, I'm learning so much from the educators at our early learning centre. You know, last night I was surprised watching the videos of what he could do yesterday. So I think it's about how you set up those sustainable ways of working, because we also know it's incredibly busy, and to manage community expectations and all of those things, hopefully the VEYLDF is a way to create those more sustainable ways of working in partnership with the local community that you're in to distribute effort, to strengthen the team work, and also to improve access for families, children, to professionals and to the local services that are there.
So hopefully it's a jumping‑off point. It's a reflection point for some of those partners that you might be working with to think about the continuity of learning, to think about the transition networks with local primary schools, to really build that continuity of learning across rooms in the service within rooms, between services, and then through to those transition points as children grow and develop. So those coherent transitions, the shared ideas, the shared goals, the shared language, more connected ways of working to support the child and the family, rather than operating in isolation. And those partnerships which we know are so important with maternal and child health nurses, other allied health and the primary school colleagues.
Catharine Hydon: I think this is a really important message for our approved providers, is to thank you for the significant work you've done in implementing the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework to date and to think about where those opportunities lie.
Without approved providers being a very important and pivotal part of this, the opportunities are not fully realised. So don't underestimate your role in supporting that work and creating the conditions for the educators, teachers, your decision‑makers, your leaders to be able to engage in this document. The good news, everybody, is that you don't have to do this tomorrow. This is a process where you already are doing a lot of work in this space. And for those services that are in this space as approved providers who don't currently run a funded kindergarten program, a 3 and 4‑year‑old kindergarten program, the opportunities are still here for you to be able to engage with children birth to 3, and across the early years, as also into collaborations with other colleagues, as you've said, Jed.
So many opportunities here. And I feel like there's a very significant opportunity for approved providers to be innovative in this space, to say what else could we think about? And we're right in quality improvement landscape here in terms of the exceeding themes, and those of you who are accessing School Readiness Funding, you can really think about these ideas of supporting some of the ways that you work every day. We want to now conclude our conversation with you today with some practicalities. We want to talk a bit about some of the intersections with other components.
And Jane is going to talk to us a little bit about some of the other things that are happening in this space. And when people get the copy in their hand, the hardcopy, you will see that there's some really fantastic additions to this, which I know everybody has been talking about, which is this opportunity to connect the work we're doing here in the early years with what's happening in our schools in relation to the Victorian Curriculum Version 9, that foundation to year 2 space. Can you talk a little bit about that and also some of the progressions work, et cetera? There is lots of opportunity for intersection here.
Jane Page: So as Catharine said, there are a number of Victorian teaching resources which really support the work that teachers and educators do in the everyday.
I think I want to pause here and really say all teachers and educators turn up to work every day wanting to make a difference. And their work is busy and demanding. So these resources are really helpful for thinking deeply around learning and development. So we have the Victorian Kindergarten Learning Progressions. The VEYLDF provides us with wonderful overall descriptions of learning and development.
That's its role as a framework. Then you have the learning progressions which support teachers and educators to think about what it means to be a confident and involved learner looks like over time. So the learning progressions really support that planning piece of what is a child ready to learn? Those learning progressions are embedded in the Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool. This is a tool that I had the privilege of piloting with over 120 teachers.
And this is a tool that has eight modules linked to children's learning and development that map on to the VEYLDF Learning and Development Outcomes. What's really important about these modules is it draws on teachers and educators' observational evidence to answer a set of questions around learning, what a child is capable of doing, and then it generates learning reports for you that highlights children's capabilities, but what children are ready to learn next.
So really tangible, supportive documents that enable teachers to think deeply around every child's learning progress. It also highlights a range of intentional teaching strategies that can be used to support that next step in learning. So again, a wonderful resource that sits alongside the learning progressions to support teachers to make professional judgments and to deepen their understanding of every child's unique strengths and abilities, and then to tailor the teaching strategies to each child.
There is also an Early Childhood Hub that has a range of wonderful resources on it, including professional learning modules around intentional teaching, and also supporting practice around key learning areas, such as literacy, which Jed spoke to earlier, and executive functioning, numeracy, physical, sensory development and science.
So they support teachers and educators also to engage in deep learning, as individuals but also as a team. So here is another really tangible opportunity where you can come together as a team and reflect on that learning and think about what you are doing well and what you'd like to further embed in practice. And then, of course, Catharine, I know you're very excited about the fact that the VEYLDF also links the early childhood outcomes to the achievement standards in the Victorian Curriculum F‑10. So that is embedded in the VEYLDF, which is very exciting to support that sense of continuity of learning.
Catharine Hydon: Absolutely. And I think there's going to be lots of opportunities for approved providers to find the connections between the initiatives that they're engaging with. And many of you, of course, will be part of the networks and leadership forums that are being run across Victoria. And there'll be lots of opportunities to weave together those important components. Jed, just in terms of other practicalities and expectations, because we should be really clear with our approved providers colleagues here, what are the expectations in terms of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework moving forward?
Jed Gilbert: Yeah. So the VEYLDF continues to be the required approved learning framework for Victorian kindergarten services to use under the national law and to receive Victorian kinder funding. As we've updated it, we have built in an 18‑month transition period, because we know that is very useful, for all of you navigating all of the existing goals and things that you're working on, to be able to think through how best to integrate the updated VEYLDF into that work. So it's designed to give the sector time to build familiarity and confidence. And what it means is that from not next year but the year after, 1 January 2028, all kindergartens in Victoria will be required to use the updated VEYLDF.
Now, of course, if you want to use it earlier than that, you can. But that's when the expectation will be kicking in. And it means, for instance, your NQF assessment and rating will include how you're using and implementing the updated VEYLDF. But you can transition now if you would like to do so. It means that 2027 you can think about that as a transition year and implementation year.
One thing to note is the learning and development maps, as was clear in the letter that went out, the learning and development maps are now almost on the live version on the website. The team have been working very diligently with VCAA to have them included, and they will be in the printed copies that are going out. That you have a hot‑off‑the‑press version there, Jane. Look, the opportunity now is to use these 18 months well, to have good team conversations and embed the framework in ways that genuinely strengthen the quality practice. And while there's those expectations sitting there, I'm so proud of the supports that we're rolling out alongside the VEYLDF.
As you were talking about the early childhood hub, you all would have registered through the hub to access this session. Please spend a bit of time exploring that. It's new from last year. And it has a range of build package e‑learns. And they're not the kind of standard e‑learns you might be familiar with.
They're meant to be interactive. You can dip in, you can dip out. You can do them as individuals, you can do them in teams. It prompts a lot of thinking about intentional teaching. There is some learning on there about the kindergarten learning progressions.
There is learning about the EYALT, the Early Years Assessment and Learning Tool. They can be some really practical ways the way you focus on the outcomes and think through really grounding in assessment for learning and the individual assessments for children to then prompt the further quality planning. And so please look ‑ if you haven't already signed up to the early childhood update, please do that because, as Jane was saying, there will be some new intentional teaching packages that will be on the Early Childhood Hub and we'll promote that through the early childhood update. So, yeah, I think it is about aligning to the goals of your services and connecting in with the supports that we're so proud to be rolling out from the department.
Catharine Hydon: So thank you so much, everybody, for joining us.
It's been great to be able to explore the ideas that are important for approved providers as they, in turn, create the conditions and support their teams, and think about the opportunities to connect with other professionals in your local community. Don't underestimate the importance of an approved provider in this context as they support the implementation of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2026. So we really encourage you to think about what the different opportunities are in your context. This could be about strategic decisions, as we said, operational decisions, ways that you can craft the opportunities for effective and outstanding and high quality early childhood education and care as we move forward from 2026 through the implementation and exploratory year that is 2027, and then to fully implement come 2028. As an organisation, it's helpful to think about the aspects of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework that have particular resonance with you, but also where the stretch is and where the growth might come from.
Think about it from a quality improvement planning perspective, think about it from an assessment and rating perspective. Think about it from your community perspective, what's important to your community and how that might set the tone for the future engagement. Obviously, professional learning becomes a very important part of this process because thinking through the expectations, the reflections and, as Jane and Jed have also articulated, many opportunities through engagement with the resources that are part of the suite of opportunities that can come from the Department of Education. We encourage you to have a look at that and think about where they might fit with the work you are doing locally. Of course, school readiness funding conversations are just beginning, and we again encourage you to think strategically about what that looks like and the opportunities for alignment here.
We encourage you to encourage all of your teams, the educational leaders, and the conversations you're having locally to think about the way that the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2026 informs current and future practice and support educators over the next little while to engage and think about the opportunities. You've heard about some of the key features that are new. So there's opportunities there to understand what that looks like, but also to resource that work, to create, again, the conditions and to anchor your decision‑making in these important spaces. So we encourage all of you to leverage the opportunity to engage with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework, to think about the way you expand your understandings of the work that can make a significant difference in the lives of children and families. Engage with the Early Childhood Hub.
Connect with the website, because that's where all of the resources ‑ you can point to directions there in terms of engagement with different resources. And, of course, use that email address that's on the website to ask questions and clarify anything that you need to know more about. Of course, watch this space. Check out the website on a regular basis, keep informed through the update, because there'll be more information and responses to some of the questions that you posed. There will be a frequently asked questions that will help you to address specific concerns or questions that arise from your teams.
Thank you for joining us at the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 2026 Information Sessions. We encourage you to engage with the document and explore it in your context. If you want to know more, check out the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework web page and use the email address to get in touch. All the best.
[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]
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