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A new learning journey for Early Years policy: Listening, learning and leading with impact
Fiona Alston
Aug 08, 2025
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A new learning program is inviting how Early Years policy is shaped and delivered. It’s about putting lived experience, peer learning and adaptive leadership at the centre and creating the space for real reform.
Designing Early Years policy that truly works for children and families is complex. Policy development can be affected by factors such as system constraints, limited definitions of evidence, and a lack of diversity in decision-making processes.Change involves both generating new ideas and adapting approaches to listening, collaboration and leadership. The Centre for Public Impact, in partnership with the Minderoo Foundation, has launched a program designed to support policy makers in developing the capabilities, confidence and networks required to shape policy that is responsive and inclusive.Listening before leading
Before shaping the program, the organisers conducted a three-month engagement process with policymakers, evidence specialists, community advocates and senior leaders. Participants identified a range of factors that can influence policy design and delivery, including:
- balancing fast-paced, compliance-driven demands with community engagement
- the gap between consultation and visible change
- limited diversity in decision-making processes
- constraints related to timelines, political priorities and information sensitivity
- uncertainty about influencing established systems.These findings indicate that support for policy work may need to combine practical tools with opportunities for reflection, addressing both operational requirements and broader approaches to policy development.
The program differs from conventional skills-based courses, bringing together a cohort of public servants to examine approaches for shaping policy with adaptability, inclusivity and impact.It will address both the inner work (such as values, beliefs and behaviours) and the outer work (such as strategies, engagement and systems thinking) involved in policy development. Planned themes include:
- understanding and navigating power
- broadening the definition of evidence
- working effectively in complex systems
- applying and testing approaches in live projects.The program is being co-designed with contributors from across the Early Years sector to ensure its content reflects sector perspectives and a range of experiences.
The program is still being shaped and informed by conversations with people across the sector. If you work in Early Years policy and these challenges resonate, The Centre for Public Impact would like to hear from you.
The first fully funded cohort will start in September 2025, with more planned over the next two years.
To express your interest or find out more, contact Keira Lowther at [email protected].
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