Early Learning for Three Year Olds initiative

EL3 Trial Sites at East Devonport, Bruny Island and Fingal (Break O’Day) will begin operating in Term 1 2025. These trial sites are all unique and responsive to community need in areas where there is little to no access to early learning.

DECYP has worked in partnership with ECEC services (as the preferred provider), families, communities and other early years services to establish the Trial Sites, through a place-based approach to make sure the services meet community needs and build on community strengths.

East Devonport
The East Devonport Trial Site will commence in early Term 1, 2025 as a regulated ECEC service under a partnership model between Uniting Vic/Tas Early Learning, the East Devonport Primary School and Child and Family Learning Centre.

Bruny Island
The Bruny Island Trial Site will be located at Bruny Island District School during school terms. It will begin in Week 2, Term 1, 2025. The Trial Site is an outreach service from the Saltbush Child and Family Learning Centre and will include a range of early learning opportunities and supports for children from birth to 4 years with priority for three year olds. Supports include drop-in and play sessions and Adjunct Care while parents or carers engage in a range of activities on-site.

Fingal (Break O’Day)
The Fingal (Break O’Day) Trial Site will commence in Term 1, 2025 and will be an expansion of an existing service at the Fingal Valley Neighbourhood House which currently offers 1 day of Occasional Care. The Trial Site service will offer an additional day to the original service for three year old children, regulated under the Tasmanian Child Care Act and delivered by qualified ECEC educators.

Other communities that are working together to establish EL3 Trial Sites are:

• Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island (Flinders LGA)
• Queenstown, Strahan, Zeehan and Rosebery (West Coast LGA)

Further information will be made available to communities in early-2025.

For more information on any of the EL3 Trial Sites please contact el3@decyp.tas.gov.au

• Universal Early Learning for Three Year Olds – Co-Design Planning Group (PDF, 650KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – Feb 2023 (PDF, 465KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – April 2023 (PDF, 465KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – July 2023 (PDF, 485KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – Oct 2023 (PDF, 465KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – November 2023 (PDF, 146KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – February 2024 (PDF, 126KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – April 2024 (PDF, 128 KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – June 2024 (PDF, 128 KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – August 2024 (PDF, 115 KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – October 2024 (PDF, 157 KB)
• Early Learning for Three Year Olds – November 2024 (PDF, 143 KB)

The first ECEC Roundtable for the Early Learning for Three Year Olds initiative (EL3) was held on 14 December 2023.

The second ECEC Roundtable for the Early Learning for Three Year Olds initiative (EL3) was held on 1 July 2024 in Campbell Town. Thank you to Ernst & Young for facilitating this Roundtable.

Presentation notes and summaries are provided below; :

• ECEC Roundtable Presentation 1 July 2024 – Presentation PPT Slides (PDF, 3.08MB)
• EL3 ECEC Roundtable 14 December 2023 – Presentation PPT Slides (PDF, 1.35 MB)
• EL3 ECEC Roundtable – Summary of Discussion Questions and Feedback (14 December 2023) (PDF, 227kB)

Development and implementation of the EL3 initiative is guided by the phases of a co-design process:

• Phase 1 – Start up and engage, define and discover 2023
• Phase 2 – Gather, explore and connect 2023
• Phase 3 – Understand, imagine and create 2023/24
• Phase 4 – Test, evaluate, refine and review 2025/26

A Co-Design Planning Group, with ECEC, Independent, and Catholic sector representatives provided advice and guidance throughout Phases 1-3.

In September 2023, the Co-Design Planning Group was re-convened as the EL3 Advisory Group to provide advice and guidance for Phase 4 of the project.

In September and October 2023, Local Enabling Groups (LEGs) were established in each of the trial site communities where ECEC services, families and community representatives have worked together on the design of potential service models to test in communities.

Broad community engagement continues including 75 meetings since the start of EL3, which includes 32 community workshops in Phases 1 and 2, and 43 community workshops and Local Enabling Group (LEG) meetings held in 2023 and 2024 in Phases 3 and 4 so far, to work towards establishing the EL3 trial sites with each community.

On 10 August 2023 the Tasmanian Minister for Education announced stakeholder engagement to be undertaken in Hobart and Launceston to better understand the supports and action needed for further expansion of early learning for three year olds across Tasmania now and into the future (also known as the Research and Development Project).

DECYP  engaged Ernst and Young in 2024 to undertake stakeholder engagement and economic modelling to better understand issues, barriers to ECEC service expansion and opportunities to overcome them, including in Greater Hobart and Greater Launceston. Findings from this project will inform actions toward the long-term goal of Universal Access to early learning for three year olds in Tasmania, and is an important part of the partnership approach between the Tasmanian Government and the ECEC sector to achieve this goal.

Guided by the EL3 Advisory Group the trial sites are being co-designed by each community to tailor the services to each individual community’s needs. DECYP will continue this work based on recommendations from community LEGs and in partnership with ECEC services, the Independent and Catholic education sector, and other key early years services.

Communities that are working together to establish EL3 Trial Sites are:

• Break O’Day / Coles Bay region
• East Devonport
• Flinders Island and Cape Barren Island
• Bruny Island
• West Coast region

With ongoing input from the LEGs the trial sites will commence to test the EL3 service models following the completion of the following process and project milestones.

A summary of key implementation steps and current activities is below: