For more information on partnership agreements with the Australian government. NSW is a party to the 2018-19 National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access, which promotes universal access and improved children`s participation in quality early childhood education in the year leading up to full-time school. The agreement focuses on vulnerable and disadvantaged children and outlines how the Australian government distributes funds for early childhood education to states and territories. The benefits of early learning run deep — the development of children`s social abilities, improved communication, language, development of calculus and pre-calculus skills, among others. The review is seen as an opportunity to provide feedback on ways to improve participation in early childhood education – more importantly, it is an opportunity to let the Commonwealth Government know that security of Commonwealth and state funding is urgently needed for universal access to early childhood education in the year before school. Since 2008, the Universal Access National Partnership (UANP) has set targets across Australia for children`s participation in early childhood education in the year before school. This funding mechanism supported the increase in preschool enrolment in the year before school, from just over 80 per cent in 2008 to more than 90 per cent across the country by 2017. The Universal Access National Partnership is the agreement between the Commonwealth and state and territory governments to ensure that all children have access to at least 600 hours of quality education per year before full-time school. In 2020, it will provide $449.5 million in Commonwealth funding to states and territories, representing about one-third of the costs of accessing 15 hours of early childhood education per child in the year before school. This increase in early childhood education has directly benefited more than 2 million children and more than one million families and has helped reduce the vulnerability of children starting school, as measured by the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC). In recent years, this funding has been provided by short-term financing agreements. It is worth assessing the objectives of the ongoing review, which is being conducted by NOUS Group: THIS will keep you informed, as we move forward – it is essential to make all our voices heard.

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