Task 5 from Lingling Hao
I chose ‘readiness for school’ as my focus area.
The importance of the early years is now well known throughout the world. These years are a time
when the brain develops and much of its ‘wiring’ is laid down.
As the organisation Zero to Three says in its booklet titled Getting Ready for School Begins at Birth:
“The brain is the only organ that is not fully formed at birth. During the first three years, trillions of
connections between brain cells are being made. A child’s relationships and experiences during the
early years greatly influence how their brain grows”.
Positive experiences help the brain to develop in healthy ways. Seriously negative experiences such as
neglect and abuse, on the other hand, affect brain development in more harmful ways, and
contribute to emotional and behavioural problems later in life (State of Victoria (Department of
Education and Training) August 2017).
Children who attend preschool for more than a year show a statistically significant performance
advantage in later school achievement than those without preschool attendance (OECD, 2004).
Participation in culturally inclusive, high quality early childhood education programs and care can
assist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children to get the best start in life. These programs build
upon the rich cultural, linguistic and conceptual skills that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children bring to early childhood education and:
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Promote early engagement with learning;
Provide a strong foundation for future educational achievement;
Encourage the social, emotional, physical and cognitive development of children from birth;
Support children in their transition to school (MCEETYA, 2010, P9).
The National Early Years Learning Framework forms the foundation for ensuring that children in all
early childhood education and care settings experience quality teaching and learning. It has a specific
emphasis on play-based learning and recognises the importance of communication and language
(including early literacy and numeracy) and social and emotional development. The Framework has
been designed for use by early childhood educators working in partnership with families, children’s
first and most influential educators.
References:
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Australian Government Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations (2009). Belonging, Being
and Becoming. The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia.
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Ministerial Council for Education, Early Childhood Development and Youth Affairs. (2010). Aboriginal and Torres
Strait Islander education action plan. Retrieved from http://scseec.edu.au/archive/Aboriginal-and-Torres-StraitIslander-Education-Action-Plan.aspx
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State of Victoria (Department of Education and Training) August 2017, making the most of childhood,
retrieved from https://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/childhood/parents/mch/makingmostofchildhood.pdf