Planning

Data is a collection of information gathered by observation, questioning or measurement, to be considered, analysed and used to help with decision-making. Teachers and educators routinely collect data to support children's learning, and it is helpful to use data that is already available from both informal and formal sources.

In Step 1 of Kindy Uplift planning, services should collect data at a child, teacher and educator, service and community level, to use as evidence to identify educational needs and strengths of the service and make informed decisions in Step 2 and 3. Goals should be identified through data analysis, which will lead to your selection of relevant priority areas and applicable funding expenses.

Step 1 can be recorded in conjunction with Step 2 under column Issue identified during self-assessment in the Kindy Uplift 2026—planning QIP addendum template.

Data source categories

Child-level data

Critical reflection of child-level data (such as documented observations of children) offers insights to support children's learning progress and informs practice. Families as a child's first teacher, can provide valuable insights about children's learning and development strengths and needs, when engaged in planning for their child's learning. Child-level data is vital in order to identify effective strategies that can be applied to improve outcomes for learning and development.

Teacher and educator-level data

Analysis of teacher and educator-level data considers the team's capabilities in responding to children's educational and developmental needs. This process allows for an examination of their confidence in implementing the Early Years Learning Framework V2.0; principles for embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into practice; data which identifies areas of Teacher and Educator pedagogy and practice that could be addressed with additional support, or capability development to ensure all children are included and can progress in the learning program.

Service-level data

By considering service-level data, services can make informed decisions for Kindy Uplift expenditure to enhance overall quality and support continuous improvement within their service. Alignment and integration with all other service-level documents is critical and enables Kindy Uplift planning to recognise the holistic, integrated and interconnected approach to learning and teaching.

Community-level data

Community-level data helps services understand factors influencing learning, development, inclusion and participation in kindy. By critically reflecting on insights from community partners, data like the Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) or Australian Bureau of Statistics—Statistical Areas Level 2 (SA2) data reveals key information about children's development, cultural diversity and conditions that create educational advantages within communities. Analysis of this information enables services to identify educational trends and tailor their Kindy Uplift planning effectively. Kindy Uplift services may also reflect on the strength and depth of their own partnerships within the community, the cultural connections they have established and connections to Country.

Supporting resource

• Collect data template
• Supporting resource: Teacher and educator self reflection tool

In Step 2 of the planning, all teachers and educators should collaboratively analyse the data collected from the data categories in Step 1.

Analysis of data provides an opportunity for teachers and educators to question assumptions, critically reflect together and gain clarity and a deep collective understanding of what the data is communicating.

Step 1 and Step 2 can be recorded in conjunction, under column 'Issue identified during self-assessment' in the Kindy Uplift 2026—planning QIP addendum template.

Supporting resource

• Analyse data template

The data collected and analysed in Step 1 and Step 2, will support the prioritisation of need. In Step 3 services must plan and decide on how best to allocate Kindy Uplift funding to address the identified needs relating to the priority areas.

The next step in the planning and implementation phase is to consider how your service will incorporate the identified area/s for improvement including how your service will monitor and evaluate the progress of the identified priority areas in their documentation.

Having a deeper understanding and a commitment to embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives in all areas of professional practice and learning environments will provide a solid foundation for teachers and educators to be inclusive of all cultures, which benefits all children. It is essential that teachers and educators recognise the influence of each child's cultural background and kinship systems on children's identity and sense of belonging.

By learning alongside children, their families, and communities, teachers and educators foster the development of cultural knowledge and practice. When thinking about planning and implementation of this priority area, teachers and educators may provide information about experiences and resources that cater to the diverse needs of children and share how they encourage thinking about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives.

The Kindy Uplift planning process requires services to:

• identify the priority area(s) (as informed by Step 1 and Step 2)
• identify programs, resources, supports or professional development (Step 3)
• estimate the expenditure required (recorded separately to QIP) (Step 3)
• reflect and evaluate (Step 4).

While it is likely that the identified need and priorities will not deviate during the kindergarten year, actions and expenditure plans may require review from time to time due to change of circumstance and/or provider availability. The changes will be documented and reflected in the QIP through the year.

The department recommends seeking advice from your advisory support organisation to support these changes. Kindy Uplift planning does not outweigh or supersede the approved scope of expenditure detailed in the Kindy Uplift Service Agreements and Kindy Funding Essentials.

Step 3 can be recorded in columns 'What outcome or goal do we seek?' and 'How will we get this outcome?'.

Supporting resource

• Kindy Uplift 2026—planning QIP addendum template
• In-scope use of funding
• Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives including reflective questions, links and Indigenous Cultural and Intellectual Property (ICIP)

Quality improvement resources—guide you in this process:

• Early childhood learning trajectories (PDF, 3.6MB)
• Quality Improvement Plan—Australian Children's Educations and Care Quality Authority (ACECQA)

Evaluating and reflecting on your Kindy Uplift planning is essential to ensure the strategies and funding remain targeted, effective, and responsive to the needs of children. Regular review helps your service see what is working well, identify areas for improvement, and adapt to new priorities or challenges. This process strengthens educator capability, supports continuous quality improvement, and demonstrates accountability for outcomes, ensuring that every child benefits from high-quality, inclusive early learning experiences.

Evaluation and critical reflection should include a review of the Step 1 and Step 2 revisiting the data and assessing if this is till accurate for the needs of the children in the current cohort.

Evaluation should include revising the activities (Step 3) undertaken as part of Kindy Uplift and summarising the impact this has made to the children and teachers and educators. On the Kindy Uplift 2026—planning QIP addendum template, there is a column for 'Success Measure' a part of evaluation and critical reflection would be revisiting these and determining if they were accurate and reflected successful change.

Progress notes should be added in the final column of the template, these notes are an opportunity to reflect on the chosen priority area and how Kindy Uplift has made a difference. Including dates allows clear monitoring of process.

Step 4 can be recorded in columns 'Success measure' and 'Progress notes' in the Kindy Uplift 2026—planning QIP addendum template.

Supporting resources

• Evaluation and critical reflection