Early years management

Overview

Early Years Management (EYM) organisations are local government or community-based organisations that provide professional leadership and centralised management of kindergarten services.

EYM organisations provide service delivery according to their regulatory, policy and funding obligations and are required to:

• assume all the responsibilities of an approved provider as specified in the Education and Care Services National Law and National Regulations
• establish and review effective governance practices that support professional leadership and management systems
• contribute to policy development, sector planning, policy reform implementation and service design.

Benefits of EYM

The benefits of EYM are:

• Children benefit from high quality, inclusive services provided by professionals who are well supported to adopt contemporary, evidence-based practices.
• Parents can focus their involvement on supporting their children's learning free of the compliance, industrial, financial and operational obligations required of approved early childhood service providers.
• Staff benefit from organisational structures and processes that support them in their day-to-day work, but also have a view to the future creating career pathways and professional development opportunities that align with their aspirations.

Funding

The 2021-22 State Budget included an additional $31.2 million to support EYM organisations. The current funding rates can be found on kindergarten funding rates.

Become an early years manager

An EYM organisation must:

• be a local government or community-based, not-for-profit organisation
• comprise a minimum of three community-based services, provided by incorporated associations run by volunteer Committee of Management, that offer a funded kindergarten program.

If you're considering becoming an early years manager, contact the nearest department regional office.

Documents

• EYM Policy Framework (2016) (PDF, 4.16MB), EYM Policy Framework (2016) (DOCX, 38MB) - sets out the background and context for Early Years Management.
• EYM Improvement Framework (2021) (PDF, 2.14MB), EYM Improvement Framework (2021)(DOCX, 1.4MB) – supports EYM organisations to use data and other information to find ways to continuously improve.
• The EYM Improvement Framework replaces the EYM Outcomes and draft Performance Framework (Appendix 1 of the EYM Kindergarten Operating Guidelines).
• EYM Kindergarten Operating Guidelines (2016) (PDF, 2.23MB), EYM Kindergarten Operating Guidelines (2016) (DOCX, 19MB) - provides detailed guidelines for implementing the EYM policy framework, for all EYM partners that deliver or intend to deliver kindergarten programs in Victoria.
• EYM Funding Requirements(PDF, 4.16MB), EYM Funding Requirements (DOCX, 38MB) - baseline requirements that EYM organisations are required to comply with as part of their Service Agreement with the department.
• EYM Fact Sheet - Information for Committees of Management (2016) (PDF, 163.16KB), EYM Fact Sheet - Information for Committees of Management (2016) (DOCX, 1.72MB) - this fact sheet contains general information about EYM for parent run Committees of Management who currently operate stand–alone kindergartens and may be considering an EYM partnership.

List of Early Years Management organisations

In 2023–24, we funded 55 Early Years Managers (EYM) organisations to deliver high-quality kindergarten services in Victoria.

Below is a list of funded EYMs in Victoria as of 30 June 2024.