Wouldn’t it be great if we had free preschool in Australia? That is the view of some advocates of a UK system who spoke at a national childhood conference in Hobart earlier this year. The work of UK academics even prompted the British government to offer free preschool to all children, a program that has now been in place for more than a decade. Bedrock Journalist Alex Leggett spoke to some of the advocates in favour of the model and the potential implementation of free preschool in Australia.
Executive Director at Parent Infant Partnership UK, Clair Rees, spoke at the Coming Together for Australia’s children conference on encouraging governments to focus their health, social and education policies on the start of children’s lives, from birth to toddlers.
She said brain development happens dramatically in the first two years of life and it is the challenge of all governments to invest in this crucial stage of learning.
Professor Edward Melhuish from Oxford University also spoke at the event, highlighting the need for play-based learning and investing in childcare. His studies (The Effective PreSchool, Primary and Secondary Education (EPPSE) project) have shown children who attend preschool and play groups had much better education outcomes later in their school life with more advanced social skills and were less prone to anxiety.
“Preschool education shows one of the best returns on investment that any country can make,” he said.
“All children benefit from early years education in terms of their educational, social and economic success later in life, therefore it makes sense to have universal preschool education. They are able to communicate better with their peers and are more likely to do well academically.”
“In the UK, the Labour Government in 2004 realised the benefits of preschool education and made 15 hours per week of universal free preschool education available for every child from age three.
“The Conservative Government from 2010 also got the message, kept the universal free preschool provision, and extended this down to age two for the 40% most deprived. Then this year, they further extended it up to 30 hours per week.”
Professor Melhuish said developed countries around the world that are making long term plans for economic success realise the critical role of population skills and already have or are in the process of developing universal preschool education.
“The debate at government level about the preschool provision is about getting more women into the early childhood workforce. Those in government need to realise that children also matter, as they are the future of the country and preschool education will help all children,” he said.
CEO of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY), Dr Dianne Jackson, said the Australian Government should also provide free preschool and she says there are many people in Australia advocating for it.
“ARACY is a national neutral organisation, so that means we aren’t playing one policy over another. It is what the evidence says is best for the wellbeing of children in this country,” she said.
“The evidence is clear that we need to be investing more in the age groups of zero to three and three to five years.
“Advocates in this area have taken important steps to up the ante in this debate, but we are still a long way behind other countries.
“Many Australian childhood experts want free education for all early childhood and want to increase the hours from 15 to 30 hours for Australian children in early childhood education and care.”
Dr Jackson said from a Gross Domestic Product (GDP) perspective, investing early and universally means our country has the best chance to succeed and see the benefits 20 or 30 years down the track.
“Social interaction happens from birth and it is in this critical environment that development with significant others such as early childhood educators is fundamental to the development of children,” she said.
“We also understand the importance of the home learning environment and how early childhood education supports positive learning at home.
“All the evidence points to the fact that we need to invest in the early education of our children, and the only way to do that is to provide the access so everybody can take it up, not just those who can afford it.”
“We need a united voice for children’s wellbeing. We need to think how we send messages around the values and the rights of children in this country, because we aren’t following the leads of other nations.
“Politicians and teachers need to be viewing all Australian children as our most important assets.”