Leaders gather for ECEC discussions

Local leaders discussing the challenges of rural ECEC at the roundtable at Warracknabeal

In late October, By Five along with our friends at the North Central LLEN, hosted an ECEC for Rural Communities Roundtable in Warracknabeal. There were discussions around the well-documented barriers to access in small rural communities, but more importantly the opportunities we can create here and now, along with articulating the policy changes required to support all levels of government in an approach driven by equity not viability.

As well-known Australian of the Year, Professor Fiona Stanley stated in her recent submission to the Commonwealth Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care;

‘There is no redo of the early years, and how those years are invested is critical to every aspect of children’s lives and to our collective future’.