The Paul Ramsay Foundation is dedicated to breaking cycles of disadvantage in Australia, recognising that for many Australians this cycle begins at birth.

Early childhood education is critical for giving children and their families a strong foundation for all future learning and the opportunities which flow from that, but access to quality early learning is uneven.

With a strategic focus on education as a key for breaking cycles of disadvantage, the Paul Ramsay Foundation has funded Links to Early Learning from June 2018 to December 2021. Links to Early Learning aims to improve access to early learning for children and families experiencing significant disadvantage. It is run by Uniting NSW/ACT (“Uniting”) and operates in a broad catchment area in South Western Sydney.

Earlier this year, the Paul Ramsay Foundation commissioned dandolopartners to evaluate the impact of the program. The Foundation provided inputs into scoping and direction alongside dandolo and Links to Early Learning, and the evaluation was carried out independently by dandolopartners.

The Foundation has made insights from this evaluation public as a contribution to the broader evidence base around breaking cycles of disadvantage through early childhood education. The views expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Paul Ramsay Foundation.

The Foundation would like to thank Links to Early Learning for its contributions to this evaluation.