Child’s Voice

Embedding the child’s voice into the way in which we support and are responsive to learning, development and growth in our environments has become increasingly important and more visible in recent years for several reasons. There has been more research into the developing brain of the child; reviews and development have occurred around educational theory in practice; and understanding has increased regarding what opportunities will support children to meet the demands of this rapidly changing world.

Here’s a few ways we can link our thinking about embedding the child’s voice from our sector policy documents. Here’s a snapshot:

• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989) Article 12 asserts that all children have a right to express their views in matters that affect them.
• The approved national learning framework EYLF (AGDE, 2023) extend this belief, regarding children as having the capacity to initiate and lead their own learning by making decisions about how they participate in experiences and engage with others in the service environment.
• The intention behind the ‘Exceeding’ themes of the NQS further adds that a child-focused program that is based on the views, perspectives and input of children enriches each child’s learning and development (ACECQA, 2025).
• The Early Childhood Australia (ECA) Code of Ethics (2016) takes this one step further, suggesting not only that children should have their perspectives included in the learning space, but that they should also have a say in the process of assessing their own learning.

Do a brainstorm with the team about all the ways your service embeds the child’s voice into the service environment. It will help you identify some possible gaps in current practice or things to work towards…see more in Tips for embedding the child voice in your service in our Freebie content…

References:

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority [ACECQA]. (2025). Guide to the National Quality Framework. www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2025-01/Guide-to-the-NQF-250101.pdf

Australian Government Department of Education [AGDE] (2022). Belonging, being and becoming: the early years learning framework for Australia (V2.0). Australian Government Department of Education for the Ministerial Council. https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2023-01/EYLF-2022-V2.0.pdf

Early Childhood Australia (ECA). (2016). Code of ethics. https://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/ECA-COE-Brochure-web-2019.pdf

UNICEF. (2025). A simplified version of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. https://www.unicef.org.au/united-nations-convention-on-the-rights-of-the-child?srsltid=AfmBOorsM_jeGR212gxzqw_NVARlCHiSFvw2zf4DgfXk42Pn1NeMsWE4