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Building evidence

Our team is skilled at generating, synthesising and evaluating evidence. We focus on presenting results in meaningful and useable ways.

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Service: Building evidence

Our work with Uniting NSW.ACT

Our rigorous evaluation skills were called on to understand the impact of an innovative navigator program designed to increase child enrolment in early childhood education and support families experiencing disadvantage in overcoming access barriers.

Harness evidence to showcase your program

About the program

Equal access to early childhood education

Uniting NSW.ACT operates the Links to Early Learning program in Campbelltown and Coffs Harbour/Nambucca Heads. The program is designed for families with children who aren’t enrolled in early childhood education and are part of a priority group (for example, families who are unhoused, or asylum seekers, or those with chronic illness).

Uniting staff, called ‘Linkers,’ help families navigate the early childhood education system and address any barriers they encounter. A primary goal of the program is to get vulnerable children into early childhood education, and for them to remain engaged until they transition to primary school.

What we did

Measuring program impact and value

We used a quasi-experimental design to assess the outcomes of families participating in the Links to Early Learning program and compared these results to outcomes from a group of similar families not participating in the program.

We asked caregivers in both groups to complete surveys at the beginning and end of the evaluation, which helped uncover differences between the groups and determine whether outcomes improved over time.

We partnered with advisory firm Think Impact on assessing the program’s cost-effectiveness, and we also analysed data collected by Linkers about the access barriers families experienced.

What we found

Clear value in program outcomes

Our evaluation found Links to Early Learning is helping families address access barriers and is achieving its primary goal of seeing children enrolled in early childhood education.

The program also resulted in meaningful improvements in child attendance at early childhood education services and it supported families in knowing more about early childhood education and improved caregiver confidence in getting children ready for school.

Our evaluation provides Uniting NSW.ACT and funder Paul Ramsay Foundation with further robust evidence of the Links to Early Learning program’s success and cost-effectiveness. This information guides future program planning and builds on knowledge that supports positive developmental outcomes for all children and families.

Photo of Dr Tom McClean
Photo of Dr Tom McClean
Photo of Dr Tom McClean

The independent evaluation of Uniting's Links to Early Learning (L2EL) program, led by the Parenting Research Centre in collaboration with Think Impact, provided robust evidence that L2EL is effective for improving enrolment in early childhood education for families for whom multiple barriers block the path to accessing early learning.

Dr Tom McClean, Head of Research and Social Policy, NSW.ACT

The evaluation findings contribute to the emerging evidence base that can support current and future investment in the L2EL model. The inclusion of the cost-effectiveness analysis also provided valuable information that can support scaling of the L2EL model.

Dr Tom McClean, Head of Research and Social Policy, NSW.ACT

We also greatly appreciated how the Parenting Research Centre, and their evaluation partners, Think Impact, listened and responded to our practical concerns around data collection throughout the evaluation. They were a pleasure to work with.

Dr Tom McClean, Head of Research and Social Policy, NSW.ACT

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