Dear early childhood education colleagues
It is difficult to start this year’s last edition of Early Childhood Update on such a sad note, but I would like to acknowledge the loss of a respected colleague to many in Victoria’s early childhood education sector.
Eleanor Bryant passed away last month in a tragic accident at Macedon Ranges Montessori Pre-School in Riddells Creek. Eleanor, a talented speech pathologist dedicated to improving the lives of children, was herself a mother of 2, a wife, a friend and a colleague. Her loss is greatly felt throughout her community and the sector. On behalf of the department, I would like to extend my sincere condolences to all who knew and loved Eleanor, as well as to those children and families who benefited from her professional skill and care.
As 2024 comes to a close, I’m grateful for the chance to acknowledge the sector’s achievements over the past 12 very busy months.
Last month, we recognised the outstanding work taking place across the state in early childhood education at the 2024 Victorian Early Years Awards(opens in a new window). The awards are always a bright spot in my calendar, and it was wonderful to be able to put up in lights the work of such brilliant and inspiring early years professionals and the impact they are having on the lives of Victorian children and families.
Your continued support for the landmark Best Start, Best Life reforms has meant Victorian children have benefited on average from more than 13 hours per week of Three-Year-Old Kinder in addition to the 15 hours per week of Four-Year-Old Kinder they will access the following year.
Even as we have expanded service delivery, program quality has remained high with 95 per cent of Victorian kindergarten services meeting or exceeding the National Quality Standard.
These are phenomenal achievements, all which require significant effort and dedication – thank you again for all your work to reach these milestones.
Looking ahead, as these reforms progress and consolidate, we’ll keep the focus on improving access to high-quality education for many more Victorian children, especially those facing barriers and those the evidence shows will benefit most from these reforms.
To this end, next year Pre-Prep(opens in a new window) will start to roll out across the state, and will be available in 6 local government areas. Early Learning Victoria(opens in a new window), which is overseeing the establishment of 50 new government-owned and operated early learning and childcare centres, will also open the doors to the first 4 of its centres.
Across 2025, we will continue to invest in you, the early childhood education workforce, with programs to support your professional development and to continue to grow the numbers of early years professionals.
Thank you once more for your immense contributions to Victorian children and families this year.
I wish everyone a safe and happy holiday period, during which you all enjoy spending time with family and friends and taking a well-earned break.
Jenny Atta
Secretary
Department of Education
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