The Early Years Learning Framework explained.

The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) is the national curriculum framework for Australian early childhood education. It applies to every approved early childhood service in Australia, including all four of our Eikoh centres. Here's a plain-language guide to what it is, what it asks of educators, and what it means for your child.

What is the EYLF?

Under the National Quality Framework (NQF), the EYLF is a nationally approved learning framework that guides the learning and development of young children from birth to 5 years. The framework was first developed in 2009 and updated to version 2.0 in 2022.

There's also a separate framework for school-age children called My Time, Our Place: Framework for School Age Care in Australia, which covers before-and-after school care and vacation care.

The interesting thing about the EYLF is that it isn't a guide or a set of instructions. It doesn't tell educators what to do. Instead, it asks educators to reflect and use professional judgement to inform how they nurture and encourage children. The framework sets out the values, principles, practices, and outcomes, then trusts educators to apply them in context. This is part of why a Reggio-inspired centre like St Ives Chase, a long day care like Normanhurst, and a preschool-program-led centre like Roseville can all work to the same framework but feel quite different to a visiting parent.

Belonging, Being, Becoming

The framework's vision is built on three concepts: Belonging, Being, and Becoming. These appear at the centre of every EYLF document and shape how educators think about every interaction.

Belonging

We all want to belong, and finding that sense of identity starts in childhood, when relationships with family, friends and educators are formed. Children's sense of belonging shapes who they are and who they will become. This is why our directors and educators stay for so long: a child who arrives in our infant room and walks out of the preschool room 6 years later has built deep, sustained relationships, not a series of one-year stints.

Being

By focusing on "being" and living in the present, the EYLF encourages children to enjoy the here and now, rather than getting caught up in the future. Childhood is a time of being. Of building relationships with self, others and the world. Of experiencing joy, friendship, frustration, sadness, and laughter as they come, not as preparation for some later achievement.

Becoming

The goal of childcare is for children to grow into valued members of communities, with their own identities and beliefs. Early childhood is when children learn to become their own person, embracing themselves and others. The educators document this becoming through observation, photographs, and learning stories, sharing it with families through apps like Owna or Storypark.

The eight principles

The EYLF's eight principles are values and beliefs that educators use to guide their practice:

1. Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships - strong, attuned relationships are the foundation of all early learning
2. Partnerships with families - families are the child's first and most influential teachers; educators work with them, not around them
3. Respect for diversity - every child, family and culture is valued and reflected in the program
4. Collaborative leadership and teamwork - educators, leaders and the wider team work together to support each child's learning
5. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives - First Nations cultures and ways of knowing are respected and embedded
6. Equity, inclusion and high expectations - children of all abilities, backgrounds and circumstances are included meaningfully
7. Ongoing learning and reflective practice - educators continually reflect on their work; read more about reflective practice
8. Sustainability - early childhood services model environmentally and socially sustainable practices

The eight pedagogical practices

While principles are what educators believe, practices are what they do. The EYLF v2.0 sets out eight practices educators draw on every day:

• Holistic, integrated and interconnected approaches - recognising that children develop physically, socially, emotionally and cognitively all at once
• Responsiveness to children - following the child's lead, adapting to their interests and emotional state
• Play-based learning and intentionality - play is the primary vehicle for early childhood learning, but educators also use intentional teaching when it serves the child
• Learning environments - the room, the outdoors, the materials, are themselves a teacher
• Cultural responsiveness - programs reflect the cultures of the children and the wider community
• Continuity of learning and transitions - what happens between rooms, between centres, between centre and home, all matters
• Assessment and evaluation for learning, development and wellbeing - observation and documentation as part of teaching, not as a test
• Collaborative leadership and teamwork - educators learn from each other and work as a team

The five learning outcomes

All early childhood educators work towards five learning outcomes. These are the goalposts educators direct children towards over their time in early learning.

How we apply the EYLF across our 4 centres

Each Eikoh centre interprets the framework slightly differently, in keeping with the EYLF's trust in educator professional judgement.

• Normanhurst Child Care - a play-based program with intentional teaching woven through. Educators document each child's learning individually and share it with families through Owna.
• West Ryde Long Day Care - similar play-based approach with strong program continuity across the 4 rooms. Long-tenured educators support deep relationships.
• Roseville Kindergarten - preschool program with a strong outdoor focus and a project-based emergent curriculum, run inside long day care hours.
• St Ives Chase Kindergarten - Reggio Emilia-inspired program where the EYLF principles are interpreted through the Reggio lens of the child as a capable researcher.

Common questions about the EYLF