Early Years Edit | December 2025

Welcome to the December 2025 edition of the Early Years Edit. In this Edit we cover:

• Kidsafe hot cars campaign
• Mandatory Safety Standards for Infant Sleep Products
• Early Childhood Road Safety Project
• Play Active 
• Summer Safety
• The Office of Early Childhood

Kidsafe Hot Cars Campaign

On a typical Australian summer day, the temperature inside a parked car can rise 20°C to 30°C higher than the outside temperature, and most of that increase happens quickly.

This November, Kidsafe WA launched its Hot Cars Campaign across Facebook and Instagram to raise awareness and prevent incidents where children are left unattended in vehicles across Western Australia.

Every year, around 5,000 Australian children are rescued from parked cars, and three-quarters of those children are under four years old. Alarmingly, up to 75% of the total temperature rise occurs within the first five minutes after parking. That’s why it’s critical to always take children with you, even for a quick errand.

Together, we can ensure no child is ever unintentionally left in a vehicle. To help, Kidsafe WA has created “Do Not Leave Children in Cars” signs that organisations can purchase for car parks, reminding families to take their children with them.

Kidsafe WA has a range of free Hot Cars resources that can be downloaded from their website and from the Kidsafe Australia website. These include fact sheets and videos discussing the importance of never leaving a child in a car, and you can also purchase a sign or download free Hot Cars resources.

Mandatory Safety Standards for Infant Sleep Products 

Keeping babies safe while they sleep is one of the most important responsibilities for parents, carers, and professionals working with young children. In July 2024, the Australian Government introduced two new mandatory standards for infant sleep products to reduce the risk of sudden death and injury. These standards will become fully enforceable from 19 January 2026, giving businesses time to adjust, but families and professionals should already be aware of what’s changing. 

The standards apply to products designed for infants to sleep in, but also includes products babies may lie in, even if it is not designed or marketed for sleep. This includes:

• Household cots and portable folding cots
• Bassinets and cradles
• Inclined sleepers, bouncers, hammocks, recliners, rockers, swings.

Products like car seats, prams, personal carriers/slings, and medical devices are not covered under these standards, as they fall under separate regulations.

The new mandatory safety standards set strict rules for design, construction, performance, and testing. Requirements include:

• Flat sleep surface: No incline greater than 7 degrees.
• Firm and rigid mattress: Prevents suffocation risks.
• Mesh or fabric must be firm enough so it doesn’t cover the infant’s nose or mouth which could cause suffocation and be made of material a baby can breathe through.
• It must not have a restraint system, harness or strap.
• Safe construction: No sharp edges/points or gaps that could trap a baby’s head or limbs.
• If fitted with castors or wheels, at least 2 must be fitted with brakes.

These new standards are a major step forward in ensuring safer sleep environments for babies. Parents and professionals can use this information to guide families toward safer choices and reinforce best practices in infant care.

Visit the ACCC infant sleep products mandatory standards webpage for further information.

Early Childhood Road Safety Project

Every day, families make countless journeys with children aged 0–4 years—to playgroups, schools, shops, and parks. Even short trips can have hidden risks. This WA project aims to understand how families from Aboriginal, Culturally and Linguistically Diverse, and low socioeconomic status communities experience road safety, so programs and resources truly meet everyone's needs.

Playgroup WA are listening to families and stakeholders to learn:

• How children travel safely in cars, on foot, or in playground areas.
• What challenges or barriers families face to keep children safe.
• How road safety information can reach your community in ways that are easy to understand and use.

The project aligns with the Road Safety Commission’s Driving Change Strategy, guiding safer streets, safer vehicles, and safer road users across WA.

Why Your Voice Matters
Playgroup WA want to design resources and programs that truly work for families. Whether sharing as a parent, carer, or stakeholder who works closely with families, providing your insights into the real challenges and many decisions families make every day is invaluable, and will help shape safer roads and better support for families across the state.

Get Involved

• Complete a brief 5–7 minute survey to inform initiatives that make roads safer for children.
• Participate in a local workshop or community engagement session.
• Share your insights and experiences—your perspective helps drive meaningful change.

Playgroup WA invites you to come together to make everyday journeys safer. Scan the QR Code below or use this link to access the survey. For more information, please contact Kristen.soon@playgroupwa.com.au. 

Play Active

The Play Active program – energetic play, every day!

Australia’s early learning sector is leading the charge to tackle one of the biggest health challenges facing our youngest generation: physical inactivity. With parents work commitments requiring many children to spend long hours in childcare, educators and researchers have joined forces to make sure every child gets the active play they need for a healthy future. 

For more than ten years, early learning services have partnered with researchers and families to uncover that while children are active for 60 per cent of their day at childcare, less than one in ten preschoolers reached the recommended 60 minutes of energetic play per day. Physical inactivity in early childhood is linked to chronic disease and poor school readiness. These findings prompted an immediate request for action from the sector which led to the co-development of Play Active. With one million Aussie kids attending early learning, the opportunity for change is enormous.

Play Active was co-designed with educators, parents, health agencies, and play experts, with funding from the Australian Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), Heathway, and the Life Course Centre to offer free professional development for educators and very low-cost memberships for services to create a tailored physical activity and sedentary behaviour (including screen time) policy with access to lots of evidence-based resources and help. 

Can you help spread the word about the Play Active program and the importance of energetic play in young children? Visit the Play Active website and follow Play Active on Facebook or Instagram for weekly energetic play ideas. 

Summer Safety

WA summers create wonderful opportunities for outdoor play and water activities for families—but also increases risks related to sun exposure, water safety, and heat.

Sun Safety 

Children’s skin is highly sensitive to ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and overexposure in childhood is a future skin cancer risk. 

• Babies under 12 months should be kept out of direct sunlight when the UV Index is 3+
• Older children should follow Slip, Slop, Slap, Seek, Slide
• Sunscreen is not recommended for babies under six months.

Early years services are encouraged to adopt SunSmart policies. Find out more on the Cancer Council website, including sun protection for young children, support for early years services and guidelines for sun protection, including how to understand the UV forecast.

Water Safety 

Between 2014 and 2024, 197 Australian children under five drowned—most in home swimming pools or baths.

• Always supervise children within sight and arm’s reach
• Ensure pool fencing and gates meet WA safety requirements
• Never prop gates open
• Enrol children in swimming programs such as VacSwim or Swim and Survive.

Royal Life Saving WA provides resources on swimming skills, pool safety, bath time safety, and more.

Heat Safety 

As well as sun and water risks, the heat itself can pose dangers, making hydration and temperature management another thing for families to consider. High temperatures can quickly lead to dehydration and heat stress in young children. 

• Offer water frequently
• Dress children in lightweight breathable clothing
• Keep babies cool and monitor for dehydration.

Remember: no child should ever be left in a parked car, even briefly.

Offering water frequently, dressing babies in light breathable clothing, and keeping them cool are simple but effective steps. Health Direct reminds us that dehydration can happen in any season and have dangerous implications, see their hydration tips for children, including causes, recommended water intake according to age, and signs and symptoms to look out for. Children should also never be left in cars, as temperatures quickly rise to dangerous levels 20 to 30 degrees higher than the outside temperature.

For families, early childhood centres, teachers and anyone working with children, summer safety requires vigilance to protect children from harmful sun exposure, supervise within arm's reach around water, and keep hydration front of mind. By modelling safe behaviours, consistently reinforcing messages, and sharing helpful resources, parents, carers, and professionals can support families and children to build habits that reduce risks.

The Office of Early Childhood

Hello from the Office of Early Childhood!  The Office has now been established in the Department of Premier and Cabinet to provide policy advice, foster effective partnerships and lead collaboration for the best outcomes for WA children.

The Office of Early Childhood is a small team (6 full time equivalent) and their current areas of work focus on the WA Government’s early childhood reform priorities:

• the Full-time Kindergarten Pilot – commencing at five WA schools in 2026.
• the development of the WA Play Strategy – to champion the value of play for health, happiness, learning and development in early childhood.
• growing the early childhood workforce – because skilled and committed early childhood teachers and educators are essential to high-quality early childhood education.

The Office of Early Childhood were invited to attend the South West Early Years Network’s forum in Bunbury in September and found it wonderful to hear about the work of this network and the South West bucking some of the AEDC trends. 

Find out more information about the Full-time Kindergarten Pilot Program and participating schools here.

To contact the Office of Early Childhood email officeofearlychildhood@dpc.wa.gov.au.

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