Early Learning

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1. Australian Government Bodies :
• Community.gov.au - Child Care Sector
  A federal government site which provides information relating to child care.
• Early Childhood
• Family Assistance Office
  Find out if you are entitled to benefits to help with child care and how much you are entitled to, if you are.
• National Childcare Accreditation Council
  ‘Work[s] in partnership with families, services, government and other key stakeholders to facilitate and support continuous improvement to the quality of child care provided for children in Australia.’ It employs reviewers and moderators who work throughout Australia to ensure standards are maintained. Important pages which form part of the site include :
• National Standards for Child Care Services
  ‘Jointly developed national standards for child care services. These standards express a national view about the level of care all Australians should expect to find in the different kinds of child care services available to them.’ Covers Centre based care, Family Day Care and Out of School Hours Care. Downloadable in .pdf and RTF formats. Also has links for the Child Care Service Handbook and other information for providers.
• Links and
• Useful Resources
• new !Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care
  ‘The Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care has been established within the Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. The Office will work towards providing the leadership to achieve a nationally-consistent system of quality, accessible and affordable early childhood education and child care for all Australian families.’. You can also access the new !Early Childhood Learning Resources Project, which has a range of specifically developed resources available for download. There is a range of .pdf downloads and Flash videos.
• State Child Care Peak Bodies
  A listing of links to all the major child care bodies in each state and territory.
2. Child Care Providers - the list includes both regional and national child care providers as well as listings of these :
• ABC Learning Centres
  Nationwide early learning centres catering to a range of age groups and also catering for before, after and vacation school care.
• Building Blocks
  Very secure, using the most modern technological safety systems. Based in New South Wales.
• CareforKids
  ‘Offers parents greater flexibility, gives you more choices and allows you to make informed decisions about who cares for your children by matching your needs and the needs of your children to quality agencies, carers and child care centres you can trust.’
• CFK Childcare Centres
  Found across New South Wales, but primarily in Sydney.
• Kindergarten Union
  General information, tips for parents on selecting a suitable child care program, other sites provided and a link to all their Kindergartens in the greater Sydney area.
• McArthur Children’s Services
  While primarily an employment group they would be able to provide information re their pre-school, day care centres, etc..
• SDN Children’s Services
  Another of the employers but, also able to provide information re services.
3. General Information - includes links, resources and more :
• Affordable Child Care Policy
  The new Federal Government’s policy for this area, downloadable in .pdf format.
• ARACY
  [Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth]
  ‘ARACY encourages collaboration between researchers, policy makers and practitioners from a broad range of disciplines. ARACY’s founders believed that by working together we are more likely to uncover solutions to the problems affecting children and young people than by working in isolation.’ Multiple sections to investigate.
• Australian Early Development Index
  [Building Better Communities for Children Project]
  ‘The AEDI is based on the Canadian Early Development Instrument [EDI] and is a population measure of young children’s development from a teacher-completed checklist and measures five developmental domains : Physical health and wellbeing, Social competence, Emotional maturity, Language and cognitive skills and Communication skills and general knowledge.’
• Bub Hub
  ‘Invaluable when trying to find products, services and things to do with our kids. When we started the research for this site, we were amazed at the fantastic services and stores available to Aussie parents if they only knew where to look. The site is written by parents for parents.’
• Cinderella’s Babysitting and Domestic Help Services
  While not specifically early learning, this could prove of help for those with young children.
• Cyfernet
  Covering Child Care Best Practices in a range of directories from ‘Developmentally Appropriate Practices’ through to ‘School-agers’.
• Development Checklist
  ‘Most parents wonder at times if their child is growing and developing like other children the same age. All children develop at different rates. Here are some guidelines for you to see how your child is developing.’ Developed by an educational unit in the US, it can be seen to provide a starting point with general guidelines up to the age of 5.
• Early Childhood Connections
  Lots of information especially links for both professionals and parents. This goes direct to the Links page.
• Early Childhood Education in Australia
  Information on all the ages for early childhood education in all states and territories. Done by Western Australia, it compares these against the ages in Western Australia.
• Early Childhood Facilities Design
  ‘NCEF’s resource list of links, books, and journal articles on preschool learning environments, including design guidelines, quality indicators, and safety requirements.’ While US based and oriented, the ideas would be well worth viewing.
• Early Childhood Research & Practice [ECRP]
  ‘A peer-reviewed electronic journal …, covers topics related to the development, care, and education of children from birth to approximately age 8.’ Both abstracts and full text articles.
• new !Early Years Videos
  From Teachers.tv, comes 54 videos you can watch online or, if you register [Free], you can download for later viewing. There is a wide range of topics from research to resources.
• Harvard Family Research Project
  A range of information and publications for the Early Childhood area [select from listing], most of which are Free to access.
• Kids Count
  Part of the ‘Every Child is Important’ campaign and developed by the Australian Childhood Foundation. Some wide ranging resources and information.
• Minimedia
  ‘The Minimedia website provides resources and articles for parents and teachers wanting tips and information on the toddler/television conundrum. “The site is comprehensive and will be of help to many parents of young children”.’ Also see the link for Bab-e-books on the Early Learning Resources page.
• NIEER
  [National Institute for Early Education Research]
  ‘The National Institute for Early Education Research supports early childhood education initiatives by providing objective, nonpartisan information based on research.’ This is based in the US. Find news, events, media, research, publications, facts & figures and more.
• QikKids
  ‘Contains information on our Australian Childcare and Outside School Hours Care Management software and the range of support services we provide.’
• Symbolic Art Notation™
  ‘An early childhood learning program, which teaches the basics of language, including grammar, without the need to speak, spell or write.’ An online course which may be of interest and/or use.
• UNESCO - Early Childhood
  ‘Early childhood education has vast potential for human development and is vital to achieving Education for all. As learning begins at birth and continues throughout life, UNESCO’s goal is to assist countries in expanding access to early childhood education, improving its quality and ensuring equity at this vital stage.’
4. National Bodies - this list includes a range of national bodies covering aspects of childcare and early learning :
• Childcare Associations Australia [CAA]
  ‘Aims to represent Child Care Service providers throughout Australia.’
• Community Based Children’s Services
  [The National Association of Community Based Children’s Services]
  Is the peak representative body for all Australian community owned children’s services including Long Day Care and Out of School Hours Care services.’
• Early Childhood Australia
  ‘Works with Government, early childhood professionals, parents, other carers of young children and various lobby groups to secure the best range of options and outcomes for children as they grow and develop.’
• National Child Care Peaks
  Links to a wide range of national peak bodies with some level of responsibility for child care.
• NIFTeY
  ‘NIFTeY is the National Investment for the Early Years, which emerged out of the National Initiative for the Early Years that arose as an outcome of a meeting of academics, practitioners and government officials held in Canberra.’ Find state information, newsletter,conferences and other information.
• Playgroup - National
  ‘What is a playgroup ?’, news, contacts, general information, links to state and territory groups, searching for a playgroup and other general links to related areas.
• Raising Children Network
  Everything from newborns to school age [and a section for ‘grown-ups’]. Tools and activities, forums, services, support and a great deal more.
• SNAICC
  [The Secretariat of National Aboriginal and Islander Child Care]
  ‘The national non-government peak body in Australia representing the interests of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and families.’
5. Overseas Programs - programs from a number of countries designed to assist children in the early years, with an emphasis on education :
• Early Head Start National Resource Centre [US]
  ‘The EHS NRC is a storehouse of early childhood expertise that promotes the building of new knowledge and the sharing of information.’ Has activities, products, publications, resources and links.
• Head Start [US]
  ‘Head Start is a national program that promotes school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and families.’
• Sure Start [UK]
  ‘Sure Start is the government programme to deliver the best start in life for every child. We bring together, early education, childcare, health and family support.’
6. Publications - includes articles, journals, reports, research, books and more :
• Australian Journal of Early Childhood
  ‘Australasia’s foremost scholarly journal and the world’s longest-running major journal within the early childhood field.’
• Beginning Reading
  ‘The Beginning Reading What Works Clearinghouse [WWC] review focuses on reading interventions for students in grades K-3 [or ages 5-8] that are intended to increase skills’ in Reading. It covers both commercial products and techniques. There are .pdf downloads for the range of areas covered.
• Early Childhood Education
  ‘The What Works Clearinghouse review in this topic area focuses first on early childhood education interventions [curricula and practices] designed for use in centre-based settings with 3- to 5-year-old children who are not yet in kindergarten or children who are in preschool, with a primary focus on cognitive and language competencies …’ It covers both commercial products and techniques. There are .pdf downloads for the range of areas covered.
• Early Years - Best Start
  While Canadian [Ontario], the facts apply irrespective of where the study was done. A fascinating look at the early years.
• Early Years Literacy and Numeracy Project
  Two volumes and a Guide, all in .pdf format.
• Investing in Children : What Do We Know ?
  [What Should We Do ?]
  A UK developed report by Sheldon Danziger and Jane Waldfogel, available in .pdf format.
• Staying Healthy in Child Care
  [Preventing Infectious Diseases in Child Care]
  Downloadable .pdf document from the National Health and Medical Research Council.
• Towards the Development of …
  [A National Agenda for Early Childhood]
  Started in 2003. The site provides access to information.
• Using ICT to Develop Literacy
  ‘The booklet discusses five areas in which ICT can be utilized in literacy education [enhancing learning; raising access to literacy education; training of teachers; localizing content; and creating a literacy-conducive environment] and provides examples of projects in which ICT has been utilized effectively to improve literacy education.’ Done via UNESCO and available for download either whole, or in parts, in .pdf format.