- Research Validated Developmental Screening Tool - Submission to the House Standing Committee on Health, Aged Care and Disability -
Targeted Motor Control
A.B.N. 16 675 247 908
PO Box 434 Randwick NSW 2031
P 0402 646 232
E. info@targetedmotorcontrol.com.au
W www.targetedmotorcontrol.com.au
From: Targeted Motor Control (TMC) Date: 7/10/2025
1. Executive Summary
The Australian Early Development Census (AEDC, 2024) reports that 1 in 5 children commence school developmentally vulnerable. These vulnerabilities are often detected late - after school entry - when intervention is more costly, less effective, and inequitable.
Targeted Motor Control (TMC) is a developmental screening provider that has designed a scalable, standardised, research validated screening tool for 3-4-year-olds. TMC has been specifically designed for early childhood educators to use to detect vulnerabilities in developmental skills, in particular, motor skills, without requiring specialist equipment or clinicians on site.
We propose that TMC’s screening should be considered for inclusion in the Thriving Kids initiative as an embedded model for early detection across early learning and preschool settings nationally.
2. The Problem: Late and Inconsistent Detection
- AEDC data (2024): 22% of children enter school developmentally vulnerable, with higher rates in regional and disadvantaged communities.
- Current detection models: Fragmented, subjective, reliant on referral pathways, inconsistent across jurisdictions, or heavily dependent on scarce allied health professionals.
- Consequences of delay:
- Increased demand on the NDIS and remedial education.
- Entrenched inequities in learning and wellbeing.
- Missed opportunities for low-cost, high-impact early intervention.
3. The TMC Solution: Standardised Developmental Screening
Key Features of TMC’s model:
- Research Validated: Research validated screening tool that early childhood educators can use effectively.
- Our Published Research: https://doi.org/10.1093/ptj/pzae071
- Standardised: Consistent, repeatable assessments to ensure equity of access.
- Practical: Designed for use by early childhood educators in familiar environments.
- Efficient: Screens children in 15-20 minutes with automated reporting.
- Scalable: Suitable for implementation across early learning centres, kindergartens, and preschools.
- Accessible Nationally (including regional communities): Simple, fast and digestible online training and resources for early childhood educators ready for deployment across entire Early Childhood Education (ECE) industry from major city centres to remote regional communities.
- Direct access to experts: Access to expert consultation in roll out and administration of our product and with adapting teaching environment for children’s specific needs.
Targeted Motor Control
Impact:
- Feasibility study completed and nearing publication: Findings demonstrate practicality and effectiveness in early learning settings along with confirming scalability and impact.
- Early identification of children at risk of developmental delay.
- Immediate referral pathways for further assessment and intervention.
- Opportunity for immediate low-cost adaptions to teaching environment for children with low to moderate support needs.
- Aggregated, anonymised data to inform government policy and planning.
4. Alignment with the Thriving Kids Initiative
TMC directly supports the Terms of Reference by:
- Early identification and intervention: Providing a standardised tool to detect developmental vulnerabilities before school.
- Equity and access: Ensuring all children, regardless of geography or socioeconomic status, have access to screening.
- Reducing system costs: Preventing late identification reduces future demands on NDIS, health, and education systems. Provides opportunity for immediate low-cost adaptions to teaching environments for children with low to moderate support needs.
- Strengthening data for policy: Enabling national consistency and robust reporting on developmental vulnerability trends.
5. Case for Immediate National Implementation
TMC is ready for national rollout as part of the Thriving Kids initiative. A completed feasibility study demonstrates that our screening process is both practical and effective in early learning environments, with strong engagement from educators and clear benefits for children and families.
Key enablers of national implementation:
- Demonstrated practical feasibility: Feasibility study across multiple centres and states has been completed and is awaiting publication.
- Alignment with government priorities: Screening at age 3–4 directly supports federal and state early childhood outcome strategies.
- Workforce readiness: Our model empowers educators to deliver consistent, standardised screening without requiring onsite specialists.
- Fast deployment time: Due to our user-friendly software integrated design, simple, digestible, comprehensive online training and no required specialist equipment (only requires classroom items).
- Political and sectoral support: Engagement is already underway with senior state advisors (QLD Department of Education and NSW Department of Education)
Targeted Motor Control
6. Implementation Pathway
A comprehensive feasibility study has already been completed across four centres and two states, hence, rather than conducting further pilots, we propose that TMC be embedded into the Thriving Kids framework immediately as a national standardised screening approach.
Scope of implementation:
- Rollout across early learning centres nationally.
- Target cohort: Children aged 3–4 years.
- Implementation timeframe: Staged national rollout within 2–3 years.
- Real-time monitoring of implementation performance and feedback via our online forums and direct support.
Objectives:
- Deliver immediate early detection benefits to children and families nationwide.
- Provide government with standardised, real-time developmental vulnerability data to inform policy.
- Reduce downstream costs in NDIS, health, and education by intervening earlier.
7. Recommendations
We respectfully recommend that the Committee:
- Recognise developmental screening at age 3–4 as a core pillar of the Thriving Kids initiative.
- Adopt TMC’s research validated, standardised screening tool for national rollout.
- Embed scalable, research validated screening tools into the national framework for early childhood outcomes, ensuring consistent early detection across Australia.
8. Conclusion
The Thriving Kids initiative provides a historic opportunity to ensure that every child is supported to start school ready to thrive. Standardised, scalable, embedded screening is the missing piece in Australia’s early childhood system.
Targeted Motor Control (TMC) is uniquely placed to deliver this capability — research validated, practical, and aligned with national policy goals. We look forward to working with the Committee and government to demonstrate the benefits of this approach.
9. Contact Details:
Targeted Motor Control Pty Ltd
E: info@targetedmotorcontrol.com.au
P: redacted
W: www.targetedmotorcontrol.com.au