Early Years Edit - February 2026

In this edition:

•   Safe Sleep Week 9-15 March
•   National Lunchbox Week 9-15 February
•   World Hearing Day 3 March
•   Triple P Strategies for Positive School Experiences
•   Thriving Kids
•   Kidsafe WA Childhood Injury Reports
•   WA Heart Beat Club Grants
•   Fulltime Kindy Trial

Safe Sleep Week 9 - 15 March 2026

During Safe Sleep Week, Red Nose provides research backed advice to support understanding and implementation of safe sleep practices, reminding us of the importance of safe sleep with the goal of reducing sudden unexpected death in infancy. The theme for 2026 is 'Know the Why. Check the Space. Make it Safe.' Visit the Red Nose website to learn more about Safe Sleep Week, including access to research, the safe sleep advice line and resources, such as safe wrapping and visual guides.

National Lunchbox Week 9-15 February

Nutrition Australia promotes a focus on healthy lunchboxes as children return to or start school in early February. There are many influences on what lunchboxes look like, such as time to prepare, resources, culture, children's preferences and allergies. The Lunch Box Week website provides practical lunchbox packing tips and inspiration for making mealtimes enjoyable and nourishing.

World Hearing Day 3 March

World Hearing Day is 3 March. This year, the World Health Organization focuses on early detection of problems to prevent childhood hearing loss and its impacts on development. For screening and support resources, visit the Earbus Foundation of WA and Raising Children Network, including topics on hearing and audiologists.

Triple P Strategies for Positive School Experiences

Creating before and after school and education and care service routines, fostering positive attitudes, and encouraging open communication, all help reduce stress and build children’s confidence. Positive strategies can help when things get tough, learn more about how to help children thrive in Triple P’s recent article and in their free online programs.

Office of Early Childhood - Full Time Kindy Trial

On 2 February 2026, the first-ever group of full-time kindergarteners at WA public schools commenced at five schools across metro and regional WA. The program centres around play-based learning, to foster children’s learning, development and wellbeing. The option of full-time kindy supports working parents to have more flexibility and saves on childcare costs. Schools joining the 2027 program will be announced later this year. Learn more about the program.

Thriving Kids

Updates on Thriving Kids include the release of the Parliamentary Inquiry Report and the Advisory Group Final Report, which includes a proposed national model. You can learn more about the development of Thriving Kids on the Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing website.

Heart Beat Club Grants

The Royal Life Saving WA Heart Beat Club grants are now open to WA community organisations. Grants cover first aid training for families who have children under five and may otherwise have barriers accessing this potentially lifesaving education. Visit the Royal Life Saving WA website for eligibility and application information.

Kidsafe WA Childhood Injury Reports

Perth Children's Hospital Emergency Department data has informed recently released the 2024-2025 childhood injury reports, including summarised annual data, and injuries associated with sport, toys and play equipment. The WA Consumer Product Advocacy Network also recently released the Wheeled Device Injuries Report.

A Little More...

Evidence to action: strengthening children's development, a webinar on 24 March from the Australian Department of Education, Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) Initiative.
Mattering in Early Childhood: Building a Strong Foundation for Life, a working paper from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University.
Mitigating the Impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences, an essay from Anglicare Southern Queensland.

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Early Years Edit Archive

Visit Early Years Edit to find previous versions of the newsletter and Connecting Early Years Networks for more information about Early Years Networks.