Over 500 sign petition to update EYLF documents online

More than 500 early childhood education and care (ECEC) professionals – and counting – have signed a petition to change or redesign Australia’s first document describing the principles, practices and outcomes to support and enhance learning in children aged birth to five years.

Editor of The Framework blog Liam McNicholas has begun a petition on change.org to restore or redesign the Belonging, Being and Becoming – The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), which is available in an amended version on the Australian Department of Education website. The downloadable documents are available in Word and PDF formats, and do not include the images and design elements from the original learning framework.

In a post on his blog, Mr McNicholas says “For many these changes may not seem like a big deal. But the importance of design and readability should not be underestimated. A well-designed layout with relevant images that break up the same pattern from happening over and over again, mean a document is more likely to be read and understood.”

He goes on the say “The Frameworks should be read regularly and often – we want educators to want to pick it up and explore it, to find new meanings, to reflect with their colleagues. We want them to love the Frameworks.”

In a statement on its website, the Department of Education says “For legal reasons, images of children and others in early childhood settings which appeared in the original publication have been removed from the Word version of the document. The content of the published document is otherwise unchanged.”

Mr McNicholas explains that the original printed versions of the Framework were provided to services in 2011, and are “likely being held together with sticky tape and care”. He is concerned that new entrants to the sector will be relying on the online formats of the framework, and will not engage with the documents as they should.

Mr McNicholas plans to use the petition to call on Federal Minister for Education Dan Tehan and the Council of Australian Governments’ Education Council to restore the original designed versions of the framework, or commission a newly-designed version to be made available as soon as possible.

For more information, to view or to sign the petition, visit change.org