SDN Children’s Services
Level 3, 19-37 Greek Street, Glebe NSW 2037
PO Box 654, Broadway NSW 2007
t 1300 831 445
sdn@sdn.org.au
children’s.sdn.services
ABN 23 000 014 335
www.sdn.org.au

Submission to the Inquiry into the Thriving Kids initiative

October 2025

Contact:
Kay Turner
CEO
SDN Children’s Services
P: 1300 831 445
redacted

About SDN Children’s Services

SDN Children’s Services (SDN) is a not-for-profit, established 120 years ago, and currently a provider of early childhood education and care (ECEC), early childhood intervention for children with developmental delays and disability as a NDIS provider; and family preservation and support for families experiencing disadvantage and where children are at risk of harm. We have a long history of delivering inclusive, evidence-based programs for children and families across New South Wales and the ACT. Our services include mainstream preschools and long day care, autism-specific preschool and supported playgroups with a strong focus on relationship-based, family-centred, and play-based practice. SDN’s approach is underpinned by a commitment to inclusion, cultural competence, and the rights of all children to thrive.

We welcome the opportunity to contribute to this inquiry and note the terms of reference.

Our recommendations draw directly on our knowledge and experience gained from working alongside families over many decades and learning from them, and evaluations of some of our work, addressing elements of the Terms of Reference where we have expertise and focussing on specific program examples. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.

In making recommendations SDN fully supports the National Early Years Strategy and the recently released National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention.

SDN is a member of the Early Childhood Intervention Best Practice Network, the Early Learning and Care Council of Australia, and National Disability Services.

Recommendations

Thriving Kids must:

have a well-developed logic with clearly articulated outcomes specific to the program, with success indicators that can be measured
ensure broad and inclusive access to identify and support all children with developmental vulnerabilities.
include in-community, relationship-based supports using play, routine, and social interactions
be family-centred and informed by ecological systems theory
layer specialised strategies and adaptations onto typical family life and recognised, mainstream educational pedagogies
draw on multiple professional disciplines as equal partners
recognise early childhood teachers as identifiers of developmental concerns and as early intervention implementers
address intersectional risks by supporting holistic, family-centred models that build resilience, social capital, and sustainable family wellbeing.

1.  Thriving Kids must have a well-developed logic with clearly articulated outcomes
     specific to the program, with success indicators that can be measured

Quality programs are built on robust program logics that clearly articulate the needs, inputs, processes, outputs, and outcomes for children and families.

A Thriving Kids logic will:

make assumptions explicit, showing the reasoning behind why certain activities are expected to lead to specific outcomes
show how resources are allocated to achieve measurable results
provide a structure for monitoring progress and reporting on outputs and outcomes, making it easier to demonstrate impact
guide implementation ensuring activities are aligned with intended outcomes.
help to identifies gaps and risks: potential barriers, or areas needing more attention
build shared understanding and help to communicate the purpose
link activities to outcomes so that it’s possible to evaluate whether the Thriving Kids is achieving its goals and why.

For example, the SDN Beranga Autism-Specific Preschool Program logic demonstrates a clear theory of change: children with developmental and learning disabilities, including autism, benefit from specialist, intensive support in their early years, which leads to better developmental, social, and educational outcomes.

SDN’s Autism Specific Preschool program is integrated into two of our mainstream long day care centres and our PlayLinks program delivers supported playgroup for families concerned about their child’s development.

Logics for these programs are attached to this submission, and not to be published.

2.  Thriving Kids must ensure broad and inclusive access to identify and support all
    children with developmental vulnerabilities.

This requires an approach that is designed to identify and support children with a wide range of developmental vulnerabilities and their families, not just children with a formal diagnosis. For example, the PlayLinks program is a mobile, supported playgroup that welcomes families with concerns about their child’s development, as well as those waiting for assessment or therapy. This broad funnel ensures early identification and implementation of practical strategies and support, reducing the risk of children “falling through the cracks.” (Cumming & Wong,2008).

For ThrivingKidsto be effective it must offer flexible, community-based entry points, not rely solely on early learning or health service access. Many children are first reached in natural, integrated settings, and timely support in these spaces is key to equitable outcomes. Early intervention must meet families where they are, with the right support at the right time.

3.  Thriving Kids must include in-community, relationship-based supports using play,
    routine, and social interactions

Play, routine, and social interactions are core to building children’s capabilities and capacity to participate.

As Ginsberg (2007, p.183) puts it: Children’sdevelopmentaltrajectoryiscriticallymediated byappropriate,affectiverelationshipswithlovingandconsistentcaregiversastheyrelateto childrenthroughplay.

Evidence from SDN PlayLinks and Beranga evaluations shows that play-based, child-led, and routine-rich environments foster a sense of safety, belonging, and engagement.

The SDN Early Learning Program funded by the NSW Government prior to the introduction of the NDIS, was an early childhood education and intervention initiative designed to provide high-quality, inclusive, and play-based learning experiences for children from birth to school age who had mild to moderate developmental delays or disability. It included small, supported playgroups and early childhood intervention advice and support for early childhood education and care centres that the children attended.

The program as described in the Wong & Cumming (2008) evaluation was found to be highly effective in supporting children’s learning and development through a play-based, child-led curriculum. The evaluation highlighted that children thrived in environments where their interests over a sustained period of time to build confidence through opportunities to practice. and strengths were recognised and built upon through play and social interactions

The evaluation noted that the ELP fostered a sense of belonging and acceptance for children from diverse backgrounds.

This is strongly supported by international research. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Article 31) recognises play as a fundamental right, essential for children’s development and wellbeing. Play-based approaches are linked to improvements in language, cognitive, social, and emotional skills (Ginsburg, 2007; Whitebread et al., 2017). Routine and predictability help children feel secure, which is especially important for those with developmental vulnerabilities (Dunlop & Fabian, 2007).

A systematic review by Zosh et al. (2017) found that guided play, where adults provide structure but children lead the activity, results in better learning outcomes than either free play or direct instruction alone. Social interactions during play also build children’s confidence, communication skills, and ability to form relationships (Vygotsky, 1978; Weisberg et al., 2016, cited in Cumming & Wong, 2008).

4.  Thriving Kids must be family-centred and informed by ecological systems theory

“Earlyinterventionprogramsoriginatedinthemedicalfieldandweretraditionallychildor client-centredandbasedonadeficitmodel(Allen&Petr1998).AccordingtoDunst(1985, p.166),whenearlyinterventionprogramsforchildrenatriskofdevelopmentaldelayfirst emergedinthe1960s,theseinterventionswereimplementedina“fundamentallysimilar

manner…atargetpopulationofchildrenisidentified.Thechildren(andsometimes families)areevaluatedorassessedtodeterminetheprobabilityorpresenceofdeficitsor weaknesses.Interventionsarethendevisedtopreventoramelioratethedeficienciesandare implementedbyeitherprofessionals,paraprofessionals,ortheparentsofthechild”.

Suchmodelsare“entrenchedinadeficitperspective”(Dunst1985,p.166).Inthelastfew decades,however,inresponsetounderstandingsfromecologicalsystemstheoryaboutthe multiplefactorsthatinfluencechildren’sdevelopment,and,inparticular,greater recognitionoftheimportantrolethatfamiliesplayinchildren’slives,therehavebeen dramaticchangesinthewaysservicesareconceptualised:earlyinterventionhasshifted fromchild-centred,deficit-basedmodelstofamily-centred,strengths-basedmodels(Allen& Petr1998;Crais,Roy&Free2006;McCroskey&Meezan1998).”(Wong, S., & Cumming, T. (2008b).

Ecological Systems Theory highlights that children do not develop in isolation but are shaped by the dynamic interplay of personal relationships, social structures, and cultural contexts, and family-centred practice is based on the idea that parents are the experts of their family, and of what is best for their child in the family context.

“ While PlayLinks is centred on the idea of concerns about development, these themes illustrate the team’s understanding that it is not an assessment, diagnosis and treatment service for children. The focus is rather on family-centred practices that build trusting relationships with families.” (Cumming & Wong, 2008, p.21)

Family-centred practice within Thriving Kids will establish a strong foundation for partnering with families and caregivers. This approach will build their confidence and capacity to continue implementing intervention strategies within the home and the child’s natural environments.

5.  Thriving Kids’ design must layer more specialised strategies and adaptations onto
     typical family life and recognised, mainstream educational pedagogies.

SDN’s model layers specialised strategies onto everyday routines and pedagogies, ensuring that interventions are both effective and minimally intrusive. For example:

Individual Family Service Plans and Individual Education Plans are developed collaboratively with families, integrating specialist input (e.g., speech, OT, psychology) into daily routines.
Specialist strategies (e.g., sensory integration, functional behaviour assessment, augmentative communication) are embedded within play-based learning and family routines.
The SDN Beranga model integrates NDIS-funded therapy into the classroom and home, supporting generalisation of skills.

6.  Thriving Kids must draw on multiple professional disciplines as equal partners.

SDN’s programs have been delivered by multidisciplinary and transdisciplinary teams, including early childhood teachers, social workers, psychologists, speech and occupational therapists. This approach ensures holistic support for children and families, and enables knowledge-sharing, capacity-building across disciplines and system navigation.

SDN strongly advocates for teachers and social workers to be equal partners in early intervention. The Beranga evaluation and PlayLinks report highlight the importance of collaborative, transdisciplinary teamwork, where educators, social workers, therapists, and families share knowledge and decision-making. Early Childhood Teachers are recognised as experts in play-based learning and child development and are supported to adapt specialist strategies within the educational context, while also building the capacity of allied health professionals to adapt their approaches for a play-based, early learning environment.

Social workers play a vital role in early intervention by supporting families through emotional guidance, capacity building, and connecting them with tailored services that promote healthy child development and strengthen family resilience. This mitigates risks of negative impacts on family functioning when a child is not developing in a typical way, and in particular when the family finds it difficult to understand and meet their child’s needs. with associated escalation to insecure work, housing and /or to the child protection service system.

For Thriving Kids to be effective the entire workforce will require access to relevant and timely professional development and communities of practice.

SDN has developed and implemented a Community of Learners approach. This approach recognises that short-term workshops do not achieve sustained learning and change. It recognises that teachers and educators learn well through collaborative, facilitated problem-solving and by applying new information to real-world case examples. The model also recognises that embedded and invisible values, cultures and beliefs impact attitudes to inclusion and intervention and need to be challenged and explored in facilitated, safe learning environments.

SDN’s Community of Learners is a model funded by the NSW Government prior to the commencement of the NDIS. The SDN Community of Learners is a collaborative approach designed to strengthen workforce capability and foster inclusive, family-centred practices across early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings. A summary of information about this model and outcomes from a small cohort is at Appendix 1. A fuller program description is available on request. SDN also implemented this model targeted to ECEC centres enrolling children diagnosed with Autism and is currently implementing with our own teachers and educators in our integrated centres (described in recommendation 8.)

7.  Thriving Kids must recognise early childhood teachers as identifiers of
   developmental concerns and as early intervention implementers

Early Childhood Teachers and educators are both identifiers of developmental vulnerabilities and implementers of early intervention. Staff are trained to observe, assess, and respond to children’s needs, and to work in partnership with families and allied health professionals. They play an important role in trying different strategies to find the best one for the child and the family. It is critical that early learning centres are not included in Thriving Kids solely as sites for allied health services or solely as receivers of information and adwice. They must be partners working collaboratively with other professionals.

To enable this consideration must be given to the cost of releasing early childhood teachers from direct teaching time so that they can engage with the family and with the child’s team.

8.  Intersectional experience from SDN’s integrated centres: SDN Beranga, SDN Lois
    Barker and SDN Macquarie Park

SDN Beranga is an autism-specific preschool in Rooty Hill, NSW. for children aged 3 to school age who have a diagnosis of autism. The centre supports 27 children daily and integrates early childhood intervention services with high quality early childhood education and care pedagogy.

The SDN Beranga model is built on three layers of practice:

1.  Evidence-based early childhood education and care
2.  Best practice early childhood intervention strategies
3. Comprehensive autism-specific approaches
4.  Family Resource Worker to build capacity of staff and families to understand the
  impact on family functioning and to partner with families in, or at risk of, entering
   the child protection system

SDN Lois Barker is a 44-place early childhood service located in Waterloo, NSW. It offers long day care and preschool programs. A key feature of SDN Lois Barker is its Autism Specific Program, which provides targeted support for autistic children aged 4–5 years. This program runs Tuesday to Friday in a purpose-equipped preschool room and draws on the expertise of SDN’s successful Beranga model. Families can also access on-site therapy services, funded through NDIS or fee-for-service arrangements.

Staff have access to Family Resource Worker to build capacity of staff and families to understand the impact on family functioning and to partner with families in, or at risk of, entering the child protection system.

SDN Macquarie Park is a purpose-built early childhood education and care centre located in Macquarie Park, NSW. The centre offers long day care and preschool programs for up to 90 children with a strong emphasis on inclusion and neurodiversity.

The centre features:

Inclusive design
Autism Specific Program: A dedicated preschool program for autistic children aged 4–5 years, offering small group ratios (1:4) and targeted support to aid school transition.
Children’s Therapies: On-site access to therapy services, which can be funded through NDIS or fee-for-service arrangements.
Staff have access to Family Resource Worker to build capacity of staff and families to understand the impact on family functioning and to partner with families in, or at risk of, entering the child protection system.

SDN’s experience in integrated service delivery demonstrates the intersectional challenges faced by families, including risk of out-of-home care, unstable housing, and family breakdown. The Beranga evaluation notes that many families are at risk of social exclusion, and that SDN’s wraparound, relationship-based approach helps to build social capital, resilience, and family sustainability (Adamson, E., Katz, I., Gendera, S., & Smyth, C., 2022)

Conclusion

SDN Children’s Services welcomes the Senate’s focus on Thriving Kids and urges the Committee to:

Recognise the value of clear, evidence-based program logics and outcomes frameworks.
Support broad, inclusive approaches to identifying and supporting children with developmental vulnerabilities.
Invest in community-based, relationship-focused, play-based supports that are layered, least intrusive, and multidisciplinary.
Ensure that ECEC teachers and social workers are equal partners in early intervention, and that capacity-building is prioritised for both educators and allied health professionals.
Address intersectional risks by supporting holistic, family-centred models that build resilience, social capital, and sustainable family wellbeing.

SDN would be pleased to provide further information or case studies to support this submission.

End.

Appendix 1

The SDN Community of Learners: building the capability of the ECEC

workforce to facilitate positive education outcomes for children with developmental delays and disability.

The SDN Community of Learners program, initiated in 2008 and funded by the NSW Department of Family and Community Services, Ageing, Disability and Home Care, prior to the commencement of the NDIS, enhanced inclusive early childhood education for children with disabilities in the Cumberland/Prospect area of Sydney. The program partnered with preschools and Early Childhood Education and Care centres to promote positive educational outcomes for children with developmental delay and disability through a multi- disciplinary, family-centred approach grounded in a Theory of Change. The Program could not continue once funding ended.

Background and Context

The program sought to partner with early childhood education and care centres to develop inclusive practices that support children with disabilities or developmental delays. The participating centres were required to enrol a minimum number of children with developmental delay /disability to be eligible.

A pivotal innovation was the creation of the “enabler” role to facilitate relationships and support centres in achieving inclusion goals. Participating centres committed to joint documentation, reflection sessions, and family engagement.

Traditionally, early childhood education and early intervention services operated separately in New South Wales, often leaving families to navigate complex, fragmented systems. The Community of Learners program addressed these barriers by integrating services, fostering collaboration, and empowering centres to embed intervention strategies within their programs to increase the “dosage” of support children received. The program also shifted SDN’s role from consultancy to enabling capacity-building within centre.

Program Structure and Core Outcomes

The program’s Theory of Change defines five core outcomes, each with measurable sub- outcomes):

1.  Children with disabilities/developmental delay access early childhood education.
2.  Families are central in making decisions about things that impact their child.
3.  Planning and service delivery for the child is co-ordinated, planned and uses a ‘team
  around the child’ approach.
4.  Planning is focussed on child outcomes.
5.  Children and families are supported during the transition to compulsory education.

Four main activities facilitate these outcomes: enabler visits, Reflection on Practice sessions, joint documentation tools (notably the Child Profile), and an interactive website. Each activity was tailored to the centre’s capability level, assessed via specific indicators for each core outcome.

Role of the Enabler

The enabler role is central and innovative, combining elements of early childhood education and social work with coaching and facilitation techniques rather than traditional consultancy. Enablers visit centres regularly, fostering reflective practice and empowering staff to identify and solve challenges independently. The role has evolved over time and is recognized by centre Directors as a complex but valuable support that builds staff confidence and leadership in inclusive practices.

Outcomes Achieved

Assessments from 2010 to 2011 show that participating centres generally progressed across all five core outcomes. Centres increased efforts to enrol children with disabilities, involve families in decision-making, coordinate services, focus planning on child outcomes, and support school transitions.

Access and Family Engagement

Centres improved communication with families and early intervention providers, with staff gaining confidence in enrolling and supporting children with disabilities. Families reported appreciation for staff efforts, though some indicated limited understanding of the program itself. Centres also began sharing enrolment information and referring families among themselves, illustrating a shift from competition to collaboration.

Coordinated Planning and Team Approach

While power imbalances with early intervention agencies persist, centres are increasingly confident in liaising with these agencies and advocating for children’s needs. Reflection on Practice sessions have fostered a supportive network among centres, reducing professional isolation and encouraging shared learning.

Child Outcome Focus

Use of the Child Profile documentation has expanded, helping centres record positive observations and share information with families and professionals. The program has encouraged staff to regularly review and adapt practices, improving inclusion and responsiveness to children’s needs.

Transition to School

Centres have developed relationships with local schools and enhanced their knowledge of transition processes, facilitating better preparation and advocacy for children entering compulsory education.

Conclusions

The evaluation indicates that the SDN Community of Learners program is fostering meaningful, lasting change in participating centres. Staff display increased confidence and professional skills in working with children with disabilities and their families. Centres

demonstrate a growing sense of community and collaboration, supported by shared documentation and reflective practices. While involvement from early intervention agencies has been slower than anticipated, signs of increasing engagement are emerging. The program’s gradual, empowering approach is key to its success in shifting entrenched attitudes and practices toward inclusive, quality early childhood education.

Appendix 2

Parent voices drawn from the SDN Beranga evaluation.

1. Communication and Language Gains

Peter’s Story: “My son is 4 and a half. One thing that really changed is his receptive skills …that has skyrocketed this year. Back then [a year ago] he wouldn’t understand whatever you’re saying. He got confused; he didn’t listen. He just gives up to whatever command or instruction you say. But this time around, everyone’s telling me – Beranga, mainstream or whoever – his perceptive skills are very good. You say, ‘Go the toilet, go here, sit here, stop what you’re doing, playtime’. Simple words and he can follow them now. He can just click on and understand straight away. We are still working on the expressive skills, he can’t say ‘hey I need to go to the toilet’.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

Deepa’s Story: “My daughter started last year, the first week of February. Before she was not using any words, now she is using some words. She is going Mon/Tues Beranga and Thurs/Fri at a [mainstream] childcare. At SDN they know how to do activities with children with autism. Yes, and they also use pictures to communicate with her. In the [mainstream] childcare, it is different.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

2. Emotional Development and Behaviour

Belinda’s Story: “SDN has helped him in all the aspects of … to work through all his weaknesses and strengths. Emotionally, yes, of course they have a lot of visual cards to help … visual things to help him with recognise his emotion and act accordingly. As well as given us the strategies to calm him down, to find things that makes him happy when he is having a tantrum.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

Laila’s Story: “As soon as we started with Beranga, it’s been amazing! [My sons] changed dramatically, the changes that they achieved are amazing. They’re actually now … redacted: name 1 is actually starting to talk. He can say two to three words per sentence. He’s actually asking for stuff now. My second child is saying words now. He still chucks a tantrum when he doesn’t get what he wants, but he’s actually not hitting his head anymore. He used to hit his head on the floor. He’s not doing that at least. There’s a lot of things he’s not doing now, that he used to, so there’s a lot of changes that’s happening. […] They couldn’t call me [by my name]. They used to just drag me by my hand. Now, they can say ‘Mum’ or say ‘Dad’, say their siblings’ name. They can say, ‘I want to eat, or just “hungry”’. It’s amazing!” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

Belinda’s Story: “[When we started] my son, he didn’t know how to play in the park. He didn’t know how to use any of the equipment. He would just wander around in the park and walk around. No social communication with peers, no participation in the group activities in his childcare. He was going to another mainstream childcare at that time. So yeah, that’s how he was at the beginning. With [the Beranga educators] they were working on the communication and the turn-taking and playing with peers, practising those skills, they really helped me with it … the educators were really modelling that stuff for him in the classroom, which I think really helped him. […] As I mentioned, socially with SDN and the peer group obviously, they helped a lot. These are issues are more or less the same with children with autism. They have social communication issues.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

Connie’s Story: “Just he’s mature. I don’t know, he’s come out of his shell a lot more. He doesn’t mind sitting with you. Before, he wouldn’t sit with you at all. He would keep running around, all the time. […] He doesn’t like people in general. So, to even have someone sit next to him, it’s a big milestone. I think he understands more now. It’s hard to explain. He is more interactive [with peers and his siblings], that’s the biggest thing he’s gained.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

4. Family Capacity Building and Confidence

Rani’s Story: “[Beranga] have opened my eyes. I read a lot of articles and spoke to all the therapists there, that are specific with dealing with kids with special needs. Especially autism. And it’s been a good journey for me. It’s been a lot of positives for my daughter. She can speak now. She can tell me what she wants without having to throw tantrums or crying or doing anything that makes her excessively uncomfortable. So, they would speak – we try to navigate her ways of doing things. She is a hyperactive child so when we’re […] eating we have to take turns to kind of change [the] environment. If she’s eating few minutes, we have to kind of come up with something else to get her entertained. Potty training was my challenge. They had to give me some videos that I have to let her use in order to address some of her everyday skills, like going to the toilet.” — Parent interview, SDN Beranga

6. Family-Centred, Relationship-Based Practice

Stakeholder Perspective: “The role of the family [is] quite unique here. I hadn’t actively looked to work with families until I came here. And it’s changed my practice, I really want to hear what’s going on for my families at home. You start to understand why we give support, and that’s had an impact for me. And it’s not in terms of fees or being customers, but we fully feel the families are the ones leading the journey. They need to be the ones in charge. And yes, we’re here to capacity build, and that ripples through everything we do.” — Stakeholder 11, SDN Beranga

References

Adamson, E., Katz, I., Gendera, S., & Smyth, C. (2022). Evaluation of the SDN Beranga Preschool: Final Report. Sydney: UNSW Social Policy Research Centre. Retrieved from https://www.unsw.edu.au/content/dam/pdfs/unsw-adobe-websites/arts-design-architecture/sprc/our-projects/2023-03-SDN-Beranga-Report-SDN-SPRC-FINAL.pdf

Australian Government Department of Health, Disability and Ageing. (2025). National Best Practice Framework for Early Childhood Intervention. Retrieved from https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/national-best-practice-framework-for-early-childhood-intervention

Commonwealth of Australia (Department of Social Services). (2024). The Early Years Strategy 2024– 2034. Department of Social Services. ISBN: 978-1-921380-31-0 (Online), 978-1-921380-33-3 (Print). Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Licence. Retrieved from https://www.dss.gov.au/system/files/resources/early-years-strategy-2024-2034.pdf

Cumming, T., & Wong, S. (2008). SDN PlayLinks: Dimensions of a Relationships-Based Service. The Fifth of Eight Reports Investigating SDN’s Child, Family and Children’s Services Programs. SDN Children’s Services Inc., Sydney.

Fabian, H., & Dunlop, A.-W. (2007). Outcomes of Good Practice in Transition Processes for Children Entering Primary School. Working Papers in Early Childhood Development, No. 42. The Hague: Bernard van Leer Foundation. ISBN: 978-90-6195-096-7. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED522698

Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182–191

Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in Society: The Development of Higher Psychological Processes. Edited by M. Cole, V. John-Steiner, S. Scribner, & E. Souberman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Whitebread, D., Neale, D., Jensen, H., Liu, C., Solis, L., Hopkins, E., Hirsh-Pasek, K., & Zosh, J. (2017). The role of play in children’s development: a review of the evidence. The LEGO Foundation. ISBN: 978-87-999589-3-1. Retrieved from https://www.ucviden.dk/en/publications/the-role-of-play-in-childrens-development-a-review-of-the-evidence

Wong, S. M., & Cumming, T. (2008a). SDN Early Learning Program: A Case Study. The Fourth of Eight Reports Investigating SDN’s Child, Family and Children’s Services Programs. Sydney: SDN Children’s Services

Wong, S., & Cumming, T. (2008b). Practice Grounded in Theory: The Theoretical and Philosophical Underpinnings of SDN’s Child, Family and Children’s Services Programs. SDN Children’s Services, Granville NSW.

Zosh, J. M., Lytle, S. R., Golinkoff, R. M., & Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2017). Putting the education back in educational apps: How content and context interact to promote learning. In R. Barr & D. N. Linebarger (Eds.), Media exposure during infancy and early childhood: The effects of content and context on learning and development (pp. 259–282). Springer International Publishing.