Early childhood workforce: Revitalising policy to enable quality

The quality of education and care for children in Australia is at the forefront of public debate. In response to calls for stronger safeguards in before-school settings, governments have introduced new mandatory measures, urgent regulatory changes and funding aimed at boosting workforce capacity.

Three key policies fundamentally shape educators’ practice in the early childhood education and care (ECEC) sector:

• the National Quality Framework (NQF)
• the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
• the modern awards

While the NQF and EYLF promote collaboration and inclusion as hallmarks of quality, modern awards create disparities in pay and conditions, revealing tensions in how these policies intersect in practice.

As part of a PhD study, the first of its kind to explore how educators understand and enact these three policies, Jessamine Giese has identified inconsistencies in how teams interpret and apply policy requirements. Findings show that while the NQF aims to improve quality outcomes, its provisions can be deciphered and applied in varying, sometimes unintended, ways.

Research conducted in four long day care centres in Queensland revealed that teams grapple with aligning legal requirements of modern awards with the collaborative ideals set out in the NQF and EYLF. This complexity creates challenges as educators navigate their responsibilities while striving to make quality decisions for children’s education and care.

Workforce stability remains a pressing concern more than a decade after the introduction of the NQF. Persistent issues, including difficulties in attracting and retaining qualified educators, high attrition and ongoing calls for improved wages, continue to hamper progress. The ECEC Workforce Capacity Study forecasts demand for an additional 54,000 educators and teachers by 2034.

The National Workforce Strategy 2022–2031 addresses barriers to reform through initiatives such as improving professional recognition and supporting workforce development. However, Giese’s research highlights a different barrier: contradictions in how policies are interpreted and enacted within teams.

A fresh perspective on ECEC policy

Three key complexities stand out:

1. Role clarity versus teamwork – Modern awards define hierarchical responsibilities and pay levels, contrasting with the NQS and EYLF emphasis on collaborative teamwork. Policies must better reconcile these differences to support fair distribution of roles while maintaining quality indicators of collaboration.
2. Harnessing degree-qualified teachers – While degree-qualified teachers were introduced to lift early education quality, the lack of clarity around their role in decision-making limits their impact. Policy that explicitly defines their leadership and contribution can maximise their expertise.
3. Strengthening the Educational Leader role – The Educational Leader is central to curriculum and pedagogy but may hold limited authority despite their qualifications. Empowering this position through policy could embed their professional knowledge more effectively in team decision-making.

Looking ahead

Giese’s upcoming strategic plan may present short, medium and long-term actions to revitalise early childhood policy in Australia. By addressing contradictions and clarifying policy intent, the plan aims to create conditions where teams can work cohesively to deliver high-quality outcomes for children.

Jessamine Giese is a PhD Candidate at Queensland University of Technology. 

This article draws on doctoral research supervised by Associate Professor Megan Gibson and Dr Marie White.