Kate E Williams

This Early Childhood Report uses qualitative and quantitative data, collected during the first 14 waves (yearly assessments) of the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC), to explore early childhood experiences, and the ways these experiences relate to later outcomes (during middle childhood and adolescence) for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families. It includes stories from families and community members who took part. Knowing more about what helps children from their early years right through to their teenage years means communities can feel stronger, and services can be better planned and supported. These are the main things we found:
• Where children grow up (geographic location) shapes their developmental experiences, during early childhood and the years beyond.
• Early connections to culture, Country, language, and feeling proud and strong in identity, and belonging to Mob are important for childrens' wellbeing as they get older.
• When parents feel good and have support, their children grow up stronger.
• Going to pre-school or playgroup, and time spent interacting with family (e.g., reading, playing, and singing together) helps children learn important early skills like talking (language), writing and drawing, and paying attention. These early skills help children do better in school as they grow.
• Good relationships with teachers and feeling confident about classroom learning in the early school years helps children stay connected and interested in school, right through primary school and into high school.
• Having safe, early access to technology and the internet at home helps children feel confident and skilled with technology as they get older.

Executive summary

This project aimed to identify current and future opportunities to effectively translate neuroscience to early childhood education in Queensland. Five research questions were each addressed in turn with key findings identified or each, informing a final roadmap for future work in this area.

Question 1: What are the evidence-based key messages from neuroscience that can be distilled and usefully applied to practice for Queensland early childhood education (ECE; birth to school entry)?
A narrative review of recent research worldwide identified several evidence-based key messages from neuroscience which could be distilled and usefully applied to practice in Queensland early childhood education and care services. These are detailed in Chapter 2 and include nutrition, sleep, exercise, relationships, play, oral language, understanding adversity, stress, and neurodiversity, and being cautious and aware in relation to neuromyths.

Question 2: To what extent is neuroscience represented within education and developmental policies relevant to the Queensland ECE sector?
A review and analysis of Australian early childhood curriculum frameworks and policy documents identified any neuroscience-based messages guiding practice. There were almost no explicit references to neuroscience-based terminology and practices up until the very recent 2022 releases of the updated Early Years Learning Framework, and the draft Statement of Play released by Early Childhood Australia. In these two documents, neuroscience is positioned as central to early childhood practices. This demonstrates increasing awareness of the importance of early years brain development, and an appetite for enhancing knowledge and practice in this area.

Question 3: What approaches have already been used internationally to translate neuroscience to ECE, what is the evidence for their effectiveness, and what can we learn from them?
A systematic literature review identified 15 works that met the inclusion criteria for this review which aimed to understand the approach and effectiveness of existing interventions that endeavoured to translate neuroscience to the early childhood sector. Key findings indicated that interventions at helping educators translate neuroscience knowledge to practice are very recent and have mixed outcomes. Interventions showed better outcomes when educators had “stuck to the program” rather than innovated, adapted, or tailored material, showing fidelity to a manualised program is important. Some interventions and evaluation designs were complex and resource intensive.

Question 4: How well represented are evidenced-based neuroscience key messages in existing preservice courses for the ECE sector?
A desktop review of all early childhood education training courses in Australia revealed limited representation of evidence-based neuroscience messages. No VET courses currently contain any content on neuroscience/brain development, and only 20% of approved initial teacher training education courses (Bachelor level) contain at least one unit with some focus on neuroscience/brain development. In-service training (i.e., continuing professional education or professional development) was not included as it was not within the scope of this project. However, it is acknowledged as an influential but largely unregulated source of workforce training and quality. Recommendations include to increase the level neuroscience-based content across all pre-service courses, to align with updates to the national curriculum framework, and to introduce an accreditation process for monitoring and oversight of early childhood education in-service training to ensure content is evidence-based and aligned with workforce needs.

Question 5: What are current knowledge and attitudes to neuroscience in ECE, and what enablers and barriers can be identified in terms of future implementation?
A survey of the early childhood education workforce was undertaken in 2022, with 563 educators and teachers participating. Overall findings showed mixed understandings of neuroscience facts and myths. On average, the workforce held strong positive attitudes toward the use of neuroscience in their work, and moderate self-efficacy in understanding and applying neuroscience knowledge. A significant majority (92%) reported they would benefit from additional neuroscience-based professional learning, with less than a quarter (23%) believing they received adequate neuroscience content in their pre-service training.

The Roadmap
Distilled from these findings, a roadmap has been developed to address the overall aim that neuroscience is effectively used to support positive outcomes for all children in ECE, and to support the ECE workforce. Objectives and action recommendations are provided across three pillars of research and evaluation; partnerships and policy; and workforce development and support. Overall, this project has found that appetite and aspiration for embedding neuroscience in ECE high, as demonstrated through significant changes in the updated version of the Early Years Learning Framework that bring brain science to the fore, and through the responses of our workforce survey. However, there is much work to be done to ensure that adequate training is embedded in preservice courses, and quality-controlled evidence-based approaches to professional development are delivered.

The Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC; also called Footprints in Time) is the only longitudinal study of developmental outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children globally. Footprints in Time follows the development of Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to understand what Indigenous children need to grow up strong. LSIC involves annual waves of data collection (commenced in 2008) and follows approximately 1,700 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children living in urban, regional, and remote locations. This LSIC Primary School report has been produced following the release of the twelfth wave of data collection, with the majority of LSIC children having completed primary school (Preparatory [aged ~5 years] to Year 6 [aged ~12 years]). Primary schools play a central role in supporting student learning, wellbeing, and connectedness, and the Footprints in Time study provides a platform for centring Indigenous voices, connecting stories, and exploring emerging themes related to the experience of Indigenous children and families in the Australian education system. This report uses a mixed-methods approach, analysing both quantitative and qualitative data shared by LSIC participants, to explore primary school experiences from the perspective of children, parents and teachers. Analyses are framed using a strengths-based approach and are underpinned by the understanding that all aspects of life are related. The report documents a range of topics including teacher cultural competence, racism, school-based Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education activities, parental involvement, engagement, attendance, and academic achievement.

Supported playgroups are implemented by a range of not-for-profit organisations, community services and government agencies as part of their suite of inclusive early childhood services. They are a unique early learning and development opportunity, bringing together children, parents/carers and community. Shared play is used as the foundation to support children’s learning and development, strengthen parenting capacity and build strong family and community relationships.
This practice guide for facilitators and companion resources are grounded in evidence from years of combined experience and a formal review of the supported playgroup model in Queensland.
These resources aim to support families, communities, facilitators, and organisations by: • encouraging good practice and achievement of outcomes through a consistent, evidence informed approach • building the capacity of facilitators and organisations to purposefully achieve child learning and development and parenting outcomes • supporting engagement with families in diverse contexts and communities.

Sing and Grow (Sing&Grow) is a federally-funded music therapy program with key objectives to develop positive communication and social experiences for parents of young children through group musical interventions. This report details a national evaluation project conducted in 2019. The research questions were:

1.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report increased parenting self-efficacy over time?

2.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report increased parenting responsiveness over time?

3.Do Sing&Grow parent participants report an increase in home uses of music with children?
4.Do Sing&Grow child participants show improvements in parent-reported self-regulation over time?

5.How do past participants describe the impact of Sing&Grow on their family and their child’s transition to school?

Two phases of the study were conducted:

Study Phase A - the Quantitative stage – collected pre and post survey data from 318 parent participants. Findings included statistically significant improvements from pre to post intervention for:•two parenting self-efficacy scales of discipline and play•parental use of music at home•children’s cognitive self-regulation.


Study Phase B – the Qualitative stage – collected interview data from 10 participants through telephone or online video link, using semi-structured interviews of approximately 20 minutes duration. The findings suggested that participation in the Sing&Grow program encouraged social connectedness through promoting inclusivity, belonging and confidence boosting. Positive relationships were evidenced by improved bonding, and stronger relationships between siblings, caregivers and children. Parents believed the program educated them about child development, culturally accepted parenting and gave them parenting tools. Parent-reported benefits for children include developing confidence, social skills, language and communication, motor skills, self-regulation and other attributes necessary for successful participation in more formalised learning environments such as school. The participant who attended the Sing&Grow Off to School transition program unreservedly endorsed the program for inculcating the necessary skills for successful school transition for her son and herself. Parents were unanimous in their advocacy of the program as a positive intervention in their family life.A number of recommendations for the program are provided in the report.

Executive Summary Introduction Kyabra community association have run a limited hours child care centre for many years. This report provides an evaluation of the services provided by the limited hours child care centre. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine to what extent attending children showed evidence of growth in important developmental outcomes in the short-term (vocabulary and self-regulation); and to explore current parent perceptions about the benefits of attending the centre and past parent perceptions about the role centre attendance plays in relation to school transition for children. Methodology The evaluation methodology employed quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches to measure child development outcomes and parental perceptions. Quantitative measures assessed children’s development at two time points (Time 1 June 2018; Time 2 October 2018). Measures included: • Teacher report of child social emotional skills and self-regulation skills using the Early Years Toolbox (EYT) child Self-Regulation and Behaviour Questionnaire (CSBQ) (Howard and Melhuish, 2016) • Direct assessments of expressive vocabulary using the EYT expressive vocabulary test (Howard & Melhuish, 2016) and visual motor skills using the Design Copy task from the Early Screening Inventory (ESI-R; Harrison, 1990) A facilitated survey with current parents at Time 1 only, collected information about their recent experiences at Kyabra. Qualitative interview data was collected with three past families who accessed the service in 2017 to develop narratives about their transition to school experience following Kyabra attendance. Findings The findings are presented across three key areas, children, parents and the centre, with the family narratives about their perceptions of attending the service a key source of information. Children • At the group level, there were no significant improvements over time in any of the developmental measures. • At the individual child level there were substantial gains for some children in expressive vocabulary and self-regulation skills. Children who showed the most improvements were those who were identified as at-risk by early measures (using comparisons with Australian norms). These are important factors which influence school transition. • Individual growth trajectories showed the equivalent of one to two years of growth through the testing period for these children who were initially at risk. • A number of children moved from the at-risk range in relation to self-regulation and behavioural skills, to the normative range for Australian children in their age group. Parents • Families primarily used the service to support their child’s development, growth and transition to school. • Around half of the families surveyed would not send their child to another ECEC setting such as long day care. Carer to child ratios was considered an important factor in this area. • Families were highly satisfied with the Kyabra service. The Centre • Service is welcoming of diversity. • Service builds trusting partnerships through open communication and collaborative decision making. • Service provides holistic care by understanding the whole child and their connections with their family. • Kyabra is a learning place, a place where parents build parental capacity and learn how to assist their children with transitions such as going to school. • Sense of community created through connections for families and children which transcends generations and socio-economic status. • Connections included links with other family members and parenting services provided including parenting capacity training and playgroup. • The community volunteers and local high school students were strongly valued by past and present families. Recommendations • Kyabra should continue to operate the limited hours service in its current form. • Continue to offer a range of services to support families parenting needs. • Continue with practice of embedding high school work experience and trainee students in the service. • Consider differential pricing structure based on financial circumstances. • Strengthen promotion of the service through positives identified by families. For example, community connections and play based learning with a holistic focus on families and children.

Research Questions:
1. What associations exist between teacher ratings of children’s early development on the AEDC, at school entry, and children’s academic achievement on Year 3 NAPLAN?
2. Which children who are vulnerable at school entry show academic resilience and better-than-expected academic outcomes on Year 3 NAPLAN?
3. What child, parenting, school and engagement factors are associated with ‘closing the gap’ and being academically resilient at Year 3?

Supported playgroups are a uniquely Australian model of low cost, light touch parent support. Supported playgroups are designed to support families with young children who are disadvantaged or marginalised in order to enrich children’s early learning and developmental opportunities. Supported playgroups are funded across Australia through national, state, and local governments. Despite high community acceptance and government investment, there has been limited research to assess the effectiveness of the sup ported playgroup model. This evaluation of supported playgroups was conducted from July 2014 until July 2016. It was funded by the Queensland Department of Education and Training (DET). Evaluation methodology The evaluation design was driven by a set of re search questions regarding the effectiveness of supported playgroups for enhancing children’s early development and learning; parenting confidence and skills; and , social connectedness. The evaluation also explored the nature of playgroups’ role within communities. In addition, the evaluation aimed to explore the features and success factors that affect the delivery of the supported playgroup model. The evaluation design had four phases. These included: - Phase A: A systematic literature review of national and international literature on playgroup - type programs for parents of young children; - Phase B: An Effectiveness Study which had two components : a repeated measures survey with 212 supported playgroup parents and a single survey with 34 facilitators; - Phase C: A multi - site case study of practices in eight supported playgroups involving interviews and observations; - Phase D: Secondary analyses of quantitative datasets which examined the impact on young children and parents of participation in playgroups. Data used were drawn from the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) combined with Playgroup Queensland membership data; the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC); and the Longitudinal Study of Indigenous Children (LSIC).

Overview This review of research conducted with supported playgroups was prepared for the Queensland Department of Education, Training and Employment (DETE). The report provides a synthesis of the research on the effectiveness of supported playgroups to improve child, parent, and community outcomes and to identify key features of supported playgroups that support effective outcomes. Supported playgroups are community-based services that provide a low intensity parenting intervention, through regular group sessions for parent-child dyads. Supported playgroups target vulnerable families who may benefit from parenting support. Supported playgroups have common goals to enhance children’s early learning and parental wellbeing. Method A search strategy was devised to identify research studies, nationally and internationally, that involved parent-child group programs for families with young children, delivered under the leadership of an employed facilitator. Academic databases and other data sources were explored for studies conducted in the period from 2004 to 2014. Summary descriptions of the research studies were developed; assessment of research methodologies was made; research evidence on the effectiveness of supported playgroups to improve child, parent, and community outcomes was identified; and comparative analyses of the implementation features of supported playgroups were completed. Findings The search strategy identified 34 research publications, reporting on 29 different programs. Twenty-six of the studies report on research conducted in Australia and eight reported on research conducted in other countries, including the United Kingdom, Canada, and the United States. Three clusters of playgroups were identified: Category 1 - Standard supported playgroups; Category 2 - Mobile playgroups; Category 3 – Supported playgroups with specific interventions. The research studies identified encompassed experimental and non-experimental research designs. The studies of standard supported playgroups and mobile playgroups were most often qualitative studies and modest in scale, in terms of the number of research participants. Experimental and quasi-experimental research designs characterised the studies identified in the category of supported playgroups with specific interventions. Overall, the research studies that were categorised as supported playgroups with specific interventions provided stronger evidence for effectiveness to improve parental behaviour in ways that are known to support children’s early developmental competence. Qualitative studies, including case studies and ethnographic research, documented important features of program delivery, such as the importance of facilitators’ interpersonal skills to positive experiences for families in the playgroups; as well as the important opportunities that the playgroups afforded to vulnerable families to reduce social isolation. Conclusions The potential for supported playgroups to improve a broad range of learning and psychosocial outcomes for children and parents was suggested by many of the research studies. However, the nature of the research designs employed means that it is not possible to conclude that there is strong evidence of the impact of supported playgroups on child, parent, and community outcomes. The qualitative studies did provide rich descriptions about the implementation processes of playgroups and also captured the variability in the delivery of the playgroups in terms of who participated, local contextual factors that impacted on the playgroup experiences, and the nature of the experiences of parents within the playgroups. Research methodologies need to be employed that address the limitations of the studies to date. This would provide more defensible evidence that supported playgroups have an impact over time on outcomes for children, families, and communities. Overall, this area of research remains relatively under-evaluated in terms of rigorous research designs. The identified research studies point to some promising research directions but do not yet enable strong claims to be made about the effectiveness of the standard playgroup or mobile playgroup models to impact on parenting outcomes. Data collected from interview and survey methodologies clearly identifies that supported playgroups are highly acceptable to families. Given the popularity of supported playgroups to engage families across diverse communities, and the reported high levels of satisfaction and benefits identified within many of the research studies, it is clear that the provision of supported playgroups is fulfilling an important community need by providing support to parents with young children. However, there is a need to strengthen the evidence base that supported playgroups are an effective early parenting intervention that improves outcomes for children, parents, and communities.

The past decade has seen increasing numbers of government programs funded to support vulnerable families with young children. Supported playgroups are one important strategy in Australia’s current family policies that are provided in all states and territories (ARTD, 2008). National policies have increasingly invested in family support programs, such as supported playgroups. Despite known challenges in engaging vulnerable families in support programs, little is known about the capacity of supported playgroups to effectively engage families to achieve desired outcomes. This project explores family patterns of attendance in supported playgroups and examines the extent to which parental characteristics and experiences of the playgroup explain variations in engagement. The findings can inform the delivery of other family support programs...