The ACT has signed the Preschool Reform Agreement 2022-2025 
(PRA) providing longer term funding certainty for preschool programs across the ACT. The PRA reaffirms a national commitment to providing universal access to, and improved participation by children in free or low-cost quality preschool programs in the year before full-time school.
The objective of the PRA is to facilitate children’s early learning and development and transition to school by:
- maintaining universal access to affordable, quality preschool programs for all children
- improving participation in preschool programs
- maximising the benefit of the preschool year by improving outcomes for children.
Funding follows the child
From 2023 the ACT will implement a Commonwealth funding follows child at the setting level approach. The funding distribution is outlined in the ACT’s bilateral implementation plan available at Preschool Reform Agreement .
Under the Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA), funding will be used to support preschool programs across all sectors. The agreement requires enrolment data to be provided to the Australian Government by 31 January each year to inform the allocation of funds to each sector. The Australian Government has also advised that data limitations mean they are unable to confirm which preschool programs funded through Child Care Subsidy are also eligible for PRA funding, that is a 600 hour a year program delivered face-to-face by a qualified early childhood teacher.
In 2023, for non-government preschools that do not provide data through the ACT School Census, the funding will be used to provide a range of workforce initiatives designed to support educators to enhance quality in preschool delivery, as well as initiatives to increase attendance and participation in preschool programs. This approach has been negotiated with the Australian Government in order to meet the requirements of the PRA while also responding to the sectors request for investment in the workforce. Once data is available from 2024, we will review options for the sector to ensure funding is delivering on the PRA intent.
The workforce initiatives that will be delivered in 2023 are focused in the areas of:
- Training for culturally inclusive and responsive early childhood practices
- Training for educators in planning for and implementing play-based learning with intentionality
- Enhanced coaching supports for educators across the sector.
The workforce initiatives align with the feedback from the sector consultation process held during April to June 2022 on key early childhood initiatives, including delivery of the PRA. Further supports will also be announced in coming months as part of the ECEC Workforce Strategy which is currently being finalised.
More information will be provided to services as these supports become available.
For more information on the implementation of the PRA in the ACT please contact earlychildhoodpolicy@act.gov.au.
Why participating in preschool is important
Children who attend a preschool program are more likely to commence school with the skills they need to learn and thrive, and creates a foundation for lifelong learning, skill development, resilience and wellbeing.
Research shows that access to high quality early childhood education in the two years prior to formal schooling sets the groundwork for children’s social, physical, emotional, language and cognitive development and is a predictor of future success.
All preschools in the ACT use the Early Years Learning Framework to guide their program. The EYLF identifies play-based learning as important for all children’s development as it supports curiosity, imagination, problem-solving and decision-making skills.
More information on the delivery of quality preschool programs in the ACT can be found on the Quality in Education and Care page.
ACT public preschool
Children who turn four on or before 30 April are entitled to 15 hours of free preschool a week at an ACT public school. All four-year-olds are guaranteed a place in a public preschool.
More information on enrolling in an ACT public preschool program can be found on the Enrolling in Preschool page.
More information on supporting your child to transition to preschool can be found on the Preschool Pathways page.
Preschool Outcomes Measure
The Preschool Outcomes Measure (POM) is a key reform of the Preschool Reform Agreement being jointly progressed by the Australian and state and territory governments.
The POM will support high-quality practice by equipping teachers and educators with access to a validated assessment tool for voluntary use to inform children’s learning.
A national trial of the POM will take place in 2025. The Australian and state and territory governments have agreed that a flexible approach can be taken to trial participation.
More information on the POM is available on the Australian Government Department of Education website https://www.education.gov.au/early-childhood/preschool/preschool-reform-funding-agreement
Key elements of the POM
The Australian Government will be approaching the market for the development of:
- New national learning progressions in two domains: executive function; and oral language and literacy. The learning progressions will be aligned with existing benchmarks of quality preschool such as the National Quality Standard and approved learning frameworks such as the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0, 2022, or State approved equivalents.
- A new national formative assessment tool for teachers and educators to measure a child’s learning and development against the agreed learning progressions. The tool will contain resources to help educators and teachers support children’s learning and development.
- Alignment criteria and a process for considering alignment of existing tools against the new national learning progressions for the purposes of the trial.
Timeframe
Development of the POM will be undertaken in the first half of 2024, with the second half of 2024 dedicated to preparing services involved in a national trial. Education ministers have agreed national trial of the POM will take place in 2025.
Benefits for teachers and educators
Early childhood educators in all states and territories draw on a rich repertoire of pedagogical practices to promote children's learning. This includes assessing and monitoring children's learning to inform provision and to support children in achieving learning outcomes. The POM will be designed to assist teachers and educators in this context by:
- Enhancing the teaching experience and supporting them to meet requirements under the National Law to assess and document the assessment of children’s learning.
- Minimising workload by streamlining existing processes.
- Empowering them to use an assessment tool to understand children’s strengths and capabilities and plan for suitable next steps in children’s learning and development.
- Utilising consistent language.
National trial
As the ACT does not currently have an existing tool in place, it will participate in the national trial. Participation in the trial is voluntary and services invited to take part in the trial will be chosen by state and territory governments. The trial will not be used to compare the performance of individual children or services or states and territories.
Consultation
Consultation opportunities on the development of the new national learning progressions and national tool will be open from late 2023 for all key stakeholders, including:
- Teachers and educators.
- Early childhood education and care providers and preschool services, including services in school settings.
- Early childhood education and care representative bodies.
- Educational leaders.
- First Nations communities.
- Culturally and linguistically diverse communities.
- Regional and remote communities.
- Representatives of children with disabilities, developmental delay or additional needs and their families.
Evaluation
An external, independent evaluation of the trial will be undertaken. Outcomes will be considered by education ministers in late 2025.