Early Years Education Program (EYEP)™

EYEP was initiated by Kids First, previously the Children’s Protection Society (CPS), an independent not-for-profit child and family services organisation based in the north-east of Melbourne which was founded in 1896. The program was designed and implemented by CPS in collaboration with Associate Professor Brigid Jordan and Dr Anne Kennedy.

For six years, Kids First trialled a unique Early Years Education Program (EYEP)™ at our West Heidelberg Children’s Centre.

The EYEP™ was designed to support the emotional, social and cognitive development of children who had experienced acute disadvantage, including living with significant family stress and at heightened risk of, or having experienced, abuse or neglect. Its overarching goal was for vulnerable infants and young children to commence school developmentally equal to their peers, and with the knowledge, skills and attributes needed for ongoing successful learning.

The program had a dual focus: firstly, addressing the consequences of significant family stress on children’s brain development and emotional and behavioural regulation; and secondly, redressing learning deficiencies.

The EYEP involved direct intervention with children to address their identified needs, reverse developmental delays, and reduce the impact of risk factors and adverse events. The program sought to build children’s cognitive and non-cognitive skills recognising the critical role that both types of skills play in subsequent development and lifetime outcomes.

Ranging from infants under 6 months through to 4-year-olds, the children who participated in EYEP™ were offered three years of care and education (50 weeks per year, five hours per day each week). Key features of EYEP™ were high staff/child ratios, qualified and experienced staff, inclusion of an infant mental health consultant as a member of the staff, and a rigorously developed curriculum.