Community and Impact

An estimated 5,000 children are attending school or early learning at an Our Place site.

There were 39,775 attendances* by adults and children who walked through the doors of Our Place sites to access services and activities.

Over 280 services and activities are currently available at our sites - an average of 26 services or activities per site for children and families to access, delivered in partnership with over 110 providers.

Services previously not located at an Our Place site are starting to frequently report increased usage by children and families since their integration into the school sites.

Long term work to improve the continuity of learning between early years and schools on Our Place sites is yielding results for children’s school readiness. 

All but one of the early learning centres on Our Place sites reviewed in the past two years have found to be ‘Exceeding’ against the National Quality Standards, which evidence shows is directly linked to their potential to improve childhood development outcomes. 

National interest in the Our Place approach and school community platform models has continued to grow including recognition by the Australian Government’s Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee and Independent Panel for the Independent Expert Panel’s Review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System. 

*Tracked attendance numbers are lower than previously reported due to a change in how attendances are being tracked for reporting purposes from 2025. Attendance numbers no longer include a number of events or activities such as Breakfast Clubs, Out-of-School Hours Programs and Parent Information Sessions. Reported figures are therefore an underrepresentation of overall attendances on site.

Emerging Findings Report

The 2023 Our Place Evaluation Review recommended that an Emerging Findings Report be developed to “provide the current, emerging view of implementation and emerging outcomes of the Our Place approach based on evidence collected to date”.

The Emerging Findings Report was completed in 2024 and provides recommendations for the implementation and evaluation of the future Our Place approach. The key findings of the report are:

• Our Place is ‘on track’ to achieve long-term impact and the following early impacts have been achieved:
• Participation and engagement of parents and children in activities aligned with the Our Place approach has increased.
• Sites are increasing their range of service and activity offerings with emerging evidence showing that more families are accessing more of the services they need.
• All sites have collaborative governance structures in place, developed a site strategic plan, and demonstrated implementation practice that is increasingly aligned to Our Place’s Theory of Change.

Partnership Forum
and publication launch

Our Place partners came together at November’s Our Place Partnership Forum to share learnings and strategies to strengthen our collective efforts to improving outcomes for children and families.

The Forum was officially opened by The Hon. Lizzie Blandthorn MP, Minister for Children, while University of Melbourne’s Associate Professor Jon Quach shared latest insights and trends through his keynote speech titled Enabling every child to reimagine their potential.

The Forum also featured a keynote presentation from Berry Street Education Model’s Michele Sampson to launch Our Place’s latest publication, Towards Continuity of Learning: Social and Emotional Learning.

This is Our Place’s third instalment in a series, following on from Continuity of Learning: Pathways from early learning to school (2021) and Towards Continuity of Learning: Rethinking Assessment (2022). 

This third paper explores the domain of Social and Emotional Learning. Consistency and continuity are of particular importance during the period that children move through the early learning and primary school systems. Providing an environment that supports social and emotional development improves outcomes for children and provides foundations for ongoing learning and development.