Welcome

The Office of Early Childhood Development and Learning (OECDL) is committed to supporting schools to provide quality early childhood education from Kindergarten to Year 2, to advance children’s learning and development.

Currently, in Western Australia, the pre compulsory years of schooling include Kindergarten and Pre-Primary (the first year of full time schooling) and both services are provided by the Department of Education. The Pre-primary year is followed by Year 1, which is the point at which school attendance is compulsory in Western Australia.

From 2013, Pre-primary will become compulsory in Western Australia. By making Pre-primary compulsory, the State Government is underlining the importance of ensuring all children have access to high quality, full-time programs.

A renewed Australian Government focus on early childhood development and learning has led states and territories to implement reforms between 2011 and 2020. Reforms include:

• closing the gap for Aboriginal children.
• coordinating Kindergarten and Pre-primary programs with child care services.
• working closely with parents to help with early learning in the home and the transition to school.