A report prepared for the Department of Social Services by the Centre for Community Child Health provides a summary of evidence relating to the long-term impacts of school readiness on health and wellbeing as well as information about the Play2Learn+ program and the cost-benefits of investing in early childhood programs.

Play2Learn+ is a Tasmanian early years service model designed to help children and families experiencing vulnerability to regularly attend preschool programs in the two years before starting school, and build carers capacity to support children’s learning and development.

This is based on the evidence that attending high-quality preschool improves children’s school readiness, and that two years of preschool are better than one.

The Centre for Community Health was commissioned by the Department of Social Services to examine the evidence on:

• the long-term impacts of school readiness on children’s health and wellbeing
• the key elements (or theory of change) of the Play2Learn+ program
• the cost-benefits of investments in early years services.

Tasmanian Play2Learn+ Trial: Evidence Review (PDF)

Summary of the benefits of investing in the early years (PDF)