THRIVE BY FIVE JOINS POWERFUL ALLIANCE OF 30 ORGANISATIONS WHO ENDORSE QLD EARLY YEARS PLAN AND PUSH FOR REFORM
29 November 2023 – Thrive by Five has today joined with 30 organisations working in early childhood education, children’s health and research to call for all parties contesting next year’s Queensland election to introduce a six-point Early Years Plan for the state.
The Queensland Early Years Plan demands:
- Universal access to kindergarten for all children aged three and four;
- A holistic early childhood system that supports child developmental outcomes from birth
to school; - A workforce strategy to attract and retain the best teachers, educators and experts in
Queensland; - Nationally consistent implementation of the National Quality Framework to ensure high
quality services; - Local solutions that are connected to communities; and
- Strong, sector-supported advocacy at National Cabinet.
Minderoo Foundation’s Jay Weatherill said candidates contesting the upcoming Queensland election would do well to heed growing community calls for more government investment
and reform of the early learning sector.
“The community wants our leaders to stop playing politics with the crucial development of our nation’s most valuable asset – our kids – and help make quality early learning more affordable during the ongoing cost of living crisis,” he said.
“The early years have a profound impact on brain development, impacting our kids’ behavioural, learning and physical health as adults. Universally accessible and affordable, quality early learning would also open up choices about workforce participation for parents, return money into household budgets and drive economic growth.
“Queensland has made a good start with the upcoming introduction of free four-year old kindy, now we need a bipartisan approach to deliver more for children and families and help fix a broken childcare system,” Mr Weatherill said.
The Thrive By Five Queensland Alliance 6-point Early Years Plan is available here.
