“Disadvantaged children are starting preschool and school on an unequal footing compared to their peers. That does not mean that they can’t catch up, but unfortunately, research shows that children who start behind tend to stay behind.
“Ultimately, we need an early childhood education and care system where equity is baked in from the first three years – this is when our research showed that the gaps were appearing,” she said.
The research was taken from a longitudinal study of Australian children, which assesses 10,000 children and their families and measures early cognitive and developmental differences from children aged birth to five years as well as NAPLAN results.
Tham recommended the federal government provide more Child Care Subsidy funding to childcare centres that enrolled more disadvantaged children.
Researchers said some areas still had poor or no access to childcare, and in some cases quality remained an issue, as did price.
“We know that the first years of life are crucial to the development of children. We also know that, without the right supports in place, disadvantages in early life can have a profound impact on a child’s educational journey,” said Tham.
Early childhood education can determine academic outcomes later in life.Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
When Belinda’s son started at kinder, Our Place – which acts as a glue for families and support services – linked her up with a pediatrician, who she saw within the month.
She says the wraparound services changed Hunter’s life. He now sees a speech therapist and Belinda has received parenting support to help manage his behaviour.
“I’m actually enjoying being a parent again,” she said.
She said if parents knew something was wrong, they should ask the right people for help.
“And don’t stop at the first stop, don’t give up,” Belinda said.
Our Place director Elfie Taylor said their end game was better educational outcomes for children.
She said “trajectories are really quite set and locked in from six [years old] onwards”, when prevention was no longer an option.
“Identifying gaps early and working on them earlier would actually lead to changing trajectories,” Taylor said.
Federal minister for early childhood education Jess Walsh said they were focused on ensuring every child got access to the benefits of quality early learning, no matter their postcode or what their parents did.
A Victorian government spokesperson said along with free kinder, they had also invested in a growing network of 13 early parenting centres providing family programs for children from birth to age four.
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