Listening matters: Embedding the voice of the child in ECEC settings

Children’s perspectives often provide the clearest path to enhancing early services and outcomes. The Voice of the Child toolkit a robust, rights‑based framework developed by the Centre for Community Child Health and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute,  offers early childhood education and care (ECEC) teams practical, ethical guidance to meaningfully involve children under 12 in service planning, delivery, and evaluation.

ECEC services honour both a duty of care and a commitment to respectful partnerships with families. Embedding children’s voices particularly those under 12 in decisions that affect them represents more than compliance; it advances rights, inclusion, and richer outcomes for learning and wellbeing. The toolkit emphasises involvement that is ‘with’ or ‘by’ children, not merely ‘to’, ‘about’, or ‘for’ them.

At the heart of the toolkit are values grounded in children’s rights and evidence‑based research. These include the recognition that:

• All children have the right to be heard.
• Children offer unique perspectives that enhance understanding.
• Children should be active contributors, not passive participants 

The toolkit outlines nine key principles to translate those values into practice, such as creating safe, inclusive spaces; ensuring ongoing consent; sharing power; being transparent; and working toward meaningful outcomes that benefit children directly.

Practical Application: From Planning to Pedagogy

The toolkit offers structured guidance across four key stages:

1. Foundations – Establish values, purpose, and ethical parameters.
2. Planning – Assess readiness and design inclusive approaches (e.g. using Lundy’s Voice Model).
3. Implementation – Engage children using creative, inclusive strategies.
4. Activities and Methods – Offer age‑appropriate, playful tools (art‑based tasks, storytelling, photovoice) to encourage expression and participation

ECEC services can draw from this to embed voice‑centred decision making into everyday practice, through collaborative story‑telling, child‑facilitated choices in routines, or co‑designing aspects of their play environment.

ECEC leaders and educators can use the toolkit to elevate how they involve children:

• Start with reflective planning: assess organisational readiness, allocate time and resources, and train teams to listen with intention.
• Design child‑friendly participation: whether through mini advisory groups, creative activities, or storytelling sessions.
• Use team and governance structures to share insights from children and support meaningful change.
• Participate in broader learning communities (e.g., webinars) to stay informed and contribute to emerging practice.

Embedding children’s voices in everyday practice is a core expectation of the Child Safe Standards, not an optional extra. Standard 3 emphasises that children are empowered about their rights, participate in decisions that affect them, and are taken seriously.

The Voice of the Child toolkit has been developed to support services in this work, offering:

• Rights-based foundations that align with the National Principles for Child Safe Organisations,
• Practical tools for engagement to strengthen children’s participation in daily decision-making, and
• A structured process for refinement and sector testing, ensuring the tools remain relevant across diverse settings.

By positioning children as collaborators in both learning and environment design, services can create experiences that are more inclusive, responsive and impactful. Embedding children’s voices in this way not only strengthens trust and relationships but also upholds regulatory and ethical responsibilities for safeguarding.  Access the voice of the child toolkit here.