More young children set to thrive thanks to new alliance of sector leaders
- News
4 min read
Social Ventures Australia (SVA) today announced a new initiative, the Early Childhood Development Field Catalyst, which will for the first time bring together leaders and researchers from across children and family services to reengineer and disrupt the current fragmented early-years system so that all Australian children get what they need in the early years, when they need it, to have the best chance in life.
The group of 13 leaders driving this process will work to foster a system-wide approach to addressing the root causes of disadvantage for young children from birth to 5 years. This will include supporting the development, adoption and implementation of an Early Years Blueprint to overhaul the way that the system operates, along with how services are funded, regulated and delivered.
This initiative is enabled through an investment of AU$1 million from the BHP Foundation to pioneer and test this Early Years Catalyst approach over 18 months.
‘Systemic change requires evidence, innovation and collaboration’, say James Ensor, BHP Foundation Chief Executive. ‘And through this initiative, collective action across the early years sector has the potential to significantly improve the lives of young children in Australia, which aligns with the Foundation’s ambitions to give young people every chance to fulfill their potential.’
The leaders come from across the spectrum of sectors that interact with children including: early childhood education and care, child and maternal health, mental health, family support, housing, social services and child protection. The alliance was formed following the National Early Years Summit in March 2020 which brought together approximately 550 experts across diverse parts of the system.
Project co-chair and CEO of Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth, Penny Dakin, believes that this approach will be crucial to developing a system that works for children and for driving change across the system.
‘We need a circuit breaker. We have excellent and growing evidence of what children need to be able to thrive, but the system is not set up to allow us to work together across the different services to ensure supports are available to families before they hit crisis point.’
Project co-chair and CEO of The Front Project Jane Hunt added: ‘We know that 90% of a child’s brain is grown by age 5. This makes early childhood a critical period in a child’s development that has consequences for the rest of their life.’
‘We can make lasting, positive change in early childhood through better understanding of the constraints in the way the system currently operates that are leading to poor outcomes for children, and what needs to change to see more of our children flourishing.’
During the 18-month test period, SVA will provide the backbone for the initiative and manage the project on behalf of the alliance. The group of experienced sector leaders aim to deliver improved early childhood outcomes in Australia by:
- Bringing different parts of the sector together to allow them to work more effectively to support young children and design new solutions that better meet children’s needs
- Developing and supporting the sector to embed a National Early Years Blueprint for improving the lives of young children
- Advocating for policy change and evidence-informed approaches where it’s identified the system is failing children
‘All children should be able to thrive, and live happy and fulfilling lives. We see a very different reality in Australia now with nearly 1 in 5 children living in poverty,’ says Emma Sydenham, Director of Early Childhood at SVA.
‘We know from our work at SVA that not only is early childhood the best time to maximise social impact, it’s also the most cost-effective investment which saves governments and communities many millions of dollars in reduced health, welfare and justice expenses.’
‘SVA is delighted to be part of this coalition and to be convening and managing this collaborative, evidence-based approach to adapting the early childhood system to enable all of our children to reach their potential.”
‘We are embarking on a project which will need to adapt as we learn more about the current systems and as changes are made by Commonwealth and State Governments.’
As its first task, this collaborative group will come together to map the current system to better understand the root causes of problems, and identify the leverage points for change. The mapping project will look at the interconnected systems that impact the early years, including early childhood education and care, child and maternal health, mental health, family support, housing, social services and child protection.
This will be followed by a longer process to seek to change elements of the current child and family system and inform future policy to allow more young children to thrive in Australia.
About Social Ventures Australia
Social Ventures Australia (SVA) is a not-for-profit organisation that works with partners to alleviate disadvantage – towards an Australia where all people and communities thrive.
We influence systems to deliver better social outcomes for people by learning about what works in communities, helping organisations be more effective, sharing our perspectives and advocating for change.
About the BHP Foundation
The BHP Foundation works to address some of the world’s most critical sustainable development challenges.
By working in partnership with others we seek to raise the bar, find new solutions and set new standards for the future.
We are a charitable organisation funded by BHP, a leading global resources company, and our programs are designed to enhance the contribution the global resources sector can make to the achievement of many of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
About the National Early Years Catalysing Group
Members of the group include: The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), The Centre for Community Child Health @ the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute , The Centre for Policy Development, Every Child Campaign led by The Benevolent Society, Families Australia, The Front Project (TFP), Goodstart Early Learning, Logan Together, The Parent-Infant Research Institute, Queensland University of Technology, SNAICC – National Voice for our Children, Social Ventures Australia and Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership. Project Co-Chairs are Penny Dakin (ARACY) and Jane Hunt (TFP).
