High quality early learning at Goodstart

For more than 15 years, Australia’s largest early learning provider, Goodstart – together with its 16,500-strong team of educators and teachers – has made a positive impact on the lives of hundreds of thousands of children and their families through high quality and inclusive early learning.  

And in 2025, that impact continued to grow. 

Across the year, Goodstart strengthened quality across its network, investing further in educators and teachers, and expanding its reach to more children who benefit most from early learning. 

Delivering the best outcomes for children starts with quality. At Goodstart, this is underpinned by what matters most to children’s learning and development. 

All children benefit from play-based and evidence-informed programs, supported by expert designed curriculums.  

In 2025, our teachers and educators began implementing a new curriculum framework designed to support the learning and development of children aged three to five. The 3-5 Outcomes Framework provides a clear, outcomes-based approach to early learning and complements Goodstart’s existing framework for children from birth to age three. Together, these frameworks provide educators with practical guidance to deliver intentional, high quality learning every day. 

Today 99% of the 650+ Goodstart centres meet or exceed the National Quality Standards – outperforming the sector average.  

This level of quality is drive by sustained investment in people and practice. As a not-for profit provider, every dollar we make is reinvested back into improving children’s learning and development.  

At Goodstart, children are at the heart of everything we do – and it is our people who make the difference. We invest in our educators and teams because high quality early learning, which delivers better outcomes for children, is intrinsically linked to a highly skilled and engaged workforce. The ACCC Childcare Inquiry endorsed this approach, finding not-for-profit providers like Goodstart consistently invest more in their people, pay higher wages, provide stronger professional support, and are more likely to retain highly skilled staff. 

Look ahead, Goodstart remains focused on continuous improvement – ensuring every child is supported to get the best possible start as they transition to school and beyond.  

Check out some of many quality achievements over the past year: 

• 99% of the 650+ Goodstart centres meet or exceed the National Quality Standards which outperforms the sector average
• 1 in 4 Goodstart centres have achieved an ‘Exceeding’ rating from the National Quality Standard 
• $37 million invested in quality improvement initiatives, up six percent on the previous year– including $29 million in professional development and qualifications for our people
• Eight centres achieved the remarkable milestone of being assessed as Exceeding in all seven quality areas
• Thriving Teachers program supported over 2,000 Goodstart teachers with tailored professional development
• From 2026, all families have been receiving a ‘What and When Guide’ – a resource connecting everyday child development with the Early Years Learning Framework and the experiences children have in high quality early learning environments.

Need some help choosing a centre? Read this to learn more about what quality really looks like – and why it matters.