Best Practice for Who? The role of national guidelines in best practice guidance in early childhood intervention

Abstract

In early 2023, Reimagine convened a National Taskforce to provide insights into updating the ECIA National Guidelines on Best Practice in Early Childhood Intervention (2016). The taskforce meeting was chaired by the University of Sydney and comprised of members from 14 early childhood organisations and identified a set of principles to apply to review of guidance. The Centre for Disability Research and Policy at the University of Sydney partnered with Reimagine to develop a vision and a set of considerations that can be taken into account in the review of best practice guidance in early childhood intervention in Australia. A best practice consultation was undertaken which consisted of 14 online focus group sessions and 5 individual interviews (conducted April to August 2023) with 105 unique participants. Participants included those working with children with disability in allied health, early childhood education and care, community services, government and non-government organisations, and with families. A set of 19 recommendations were drawn from the consultations and were socialised with the early childhood community at the ReImagine Conference in November 2023. This report summarises the findings from each phase of the process to grow the discourse around guidance for all stakeholders in supporting children with development delays, difference and disability and their families.