Recent data has revealed nearly half of all Australian children are not meeting critical physical, emotional, social, and communication developmental milestones by the time they start school.
Concerningly, according to the 2024 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC), a survey of 288,483 children and 16,723 teachers, only 53 percent of children are developmentally on track when they start school. The national survey measured development across five domains: physical health and wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity, language skills, and communication. Alarmingly, the rate of children developmentally vulnerable in two or more domains is at its highest level since the census began in 2009, sitting at 12.5 percent.
These results highlight the urgency for early education supports such as OzChild’s Stepping Stones to School (SS2S) program, a collaborative early childhood transition and school readiness program that enhances relationships and connections between families and education, health, and other community service providers. Aimed at improving outcomes for children, SS2S engages parents, preschools and primary schools – ensuring that children are emotionally and developmentally ready for school, and have a long-lasting positive school experience.
Working with individual children and families, SS2S provides individual family support for transitions to kindergarten and school.
OzChild’s SS2S Facilitator Jess* works closely with families in South West Victoria, and understands just how critical the right support is in setting children up for success in early education and beyond
“When I visit a family, my first step is to understand what’s getting in the way — whether it’s irregular kindy attendance or challenges with making friends,” Jess explains. “From there, we work together with mum, dad, or the primary caregiver, the child, and any siblings to break down those barriers, build confidence and skills, and establish routines they can stick to as a family.
Sometimes that means introducing activities like reading or imaginative play, which not only support skill development but also strengthen their relationships and interactions at home.”
SS2S Facilitators identify barriers impacting a child’s successful start to school, working with each family to improve learning readiness. This looks different for each family – sometimes it’s bringing puzzles, books or craft activities to develop motor skills, language and communication, sometimes it’s connecting the family to supports to find stable housing, other times it could be advocating for additional support at kinder or negotiating with a NDIS service provider to ensure they get the most out of their support plan. This holistic approach helps children and families successfully transition from kindergarten to school, avoiding potentially entrenched educational disadvantage through disengagement and non-attendance.
AEDC data shows significant disparities in developmental outcomes based on geographic location and socio-economic status. Only 43 percent of children in remote Australia were developmentally on track, compared to 50 percent in larger regional areas and 54 percent in major cities. There were also developmental gaps among First Nations students and children from lower-income families, highlighting the need for greater support for the ACCO and ACCHO sector.
As momentum builds for a universal early education system, programs such as SS2S are providing crucial, holistic, family-centred support to help children meet key developmental milestones. This evidence-informed model demonstrates how targeted, community-based initiatives can create lasting change and set children on a path to lifelong learning and success.
*Names have been changed to protect the identity of this family.
Families Australia has announced the appointment of Dr Lisa J. Griffiths as its new Chair of the Board, following the transition of outgoing Chair Deb Tsorbaris to the role of Australia’s National Children’s Commissioner.
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