The Payment by Outcomes social impact investment will change the life course of hundreds of Tasmanian children, many of whom start behind and stay behind at school.
Over the next three years, Save the Children will deliver Play2Learn+, a specialist early childhood and parenting service, to 300 children in at least 13 school districts in Hobart.
The service will target children aged 3 to 4 years old from low socioeconomic backgrounds in the lead up to their commencement in kindergarten and formal education. It aims to drive improvements in child development and wellbeing; build capacity and confidence in carers to support children’s learning and development; and sustain educational engagement at critical transition points.
In a first for early childhood, the full funding potential will only be realised when Save the Children Australia delivers these outcomes for Tasmanian children and their families.
Save the Children’s Executive Director of Australian Services, Matt Gardiner, said:
“It’s no longer good enough to have good intentions,” said Mr Gardiner.
“We know that investment in early childhood development and school readiness gives all children the best start in life, but despite the best intentions some children still miss out.
“With payments based on outcomes, rather than activities or how many staff we hire, we are holding ourselves to the most important accountability standard. We will need to demonstrate real time impact for the children and families we work with.”
“We’re starting in Tasmania, but we have plans to take this approach to all States and Territories so that every Australian child has the opportunity to start ready for school.”
“We worked really closely with the Tasmanian Government to make sure this service is being directed to the right children in the areas that most need it.”
Paul Ramsay Foundation’s Chief Portfolio Officer, Abhilash Mudaliar said that supporting the Payment by Outcomes model was a good example of how philanthropy can help fund innovative approaches to improving outcomes for children.
“Play2Learn+ has enormous potential in giving kids an early ‘off ramp’ off the cycle of disadvantage, before they’ve even set foot in a school.
“This innovative partnership will improve early childhood engagement, attendance in early childhood education, and broader developmental outcomes for many of Tasmania’s youngest children.
“Our hope also is that this program will provide new evidence on what works and enable expansion of the approach to other geographies.”
Save the Children currently delivers Play2Learn in communities across Australia through home visits and playgroups run by specialist early childhood educators and parent coaches.
Play2Learn has been shown to improve early childhood engagement, attendance and developmental outcomes prior to entering kindergarten.
To be eligible, children must plan to attend one of the 13 specified schools in greater Hobart, have a parent who holds a Concession Card, be at least 3 years old and attending less than 10 hours per week of childcare.
