Position Statement: Child safety requires a connected early-years system
Playgroup Australia’s response to the ABC Four Corners report Monstrous and the continuing task of strengthening child safety in Australia.
Every child has the right to be safe, heard and supported. Strong regulation of formal services is essential, but it must sit within a wider early-years system that strengthens families, connects services and acts early when concerns arise.
This statement welcomes the child safety reforms under way and sets out four asks of governments:
- Fully implement, resource and independently evaluate current ECEC child safety reforms.
- Give the proposed national early education and care commission a clear connection to the wider early-years ecosystem.
- Establish a shared and proportionate child safety foundation across early-years settings.
- Invest in the preventive and connective contribution of playgroups.
It also outlines how playgroups contribute to safer outcomes for children, and Playgroup Australia’s own national Child Safety Governance and Reporting Framework.
The statement has been provided to Education Ministers and the National Office for Child Safety.
