Preschool Reform Agreement data collection for community and mobile preschools
Overview
The Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA) is a national funding agreement through which the Commonwealth funds 600 hours of quality preschool programs by a qualified teacher for children in the year before school. In NSW, the PRA funding is delivered to community and mobile preschools through Start Strong.
The PRA aims to improve preschool participation and early learning outcomes. Under the agreement, services are required to submit attendance and enrolment data to the NSW Department of ÌÇÐÄvlog¹ÙÍø.
In 2025, the department ran a successful pilot program with 32 community preschools, using the ECEC Digital Hub to capture required data collected via integrated childcare management software (CCMS). This data collection method significantly reduced the administrative burden and services participating in the pilot estimated an average of 12 hours saved.
In 2026, the PRA data collection process is expanding to include over 350 NSW community preschools. These services will be contacted directly by the department. From 2027, all community and mobile preschools will be required to record and submit data via the Digital Hub.
This digitisation of community and mobile preschools’ reporting obligations is an important step and supports NSW responsibilities under the PRA. The Digital Hub will make it simpler and faster for services to complete their reporting activities. The department will provide quick reference guides, webinars, and a helpline to support community and mobile preschools through the transition to digitalise records.
2026 Preschool Reform Agreement Data Collection
Community preschools required to participate in the 2026 PRA data collection will be contacted directly by the department. Participating services will be required to report data for Term 2, from 20 April to 3 July 2026, and submit via the Digital Hub in July to August 2026. This data collection is in addition to the Annual Preschool Census.
To ensure the data collection is as smooth as possible, participating services are encouraged to:
- Review the PRA Data Guide and ensure the information is accurately recorded in their childcare management software (CCMS). Services should refer to their CCMS support team for how to record this information in their CCMS.
- Check that the required data in the PRA Data Guide is accurately displayed in the Digital Hub each week during Term 2 (20 April to 3 July 2026). Where any gaps are identified, please make the required updates in your CCMS, which will then be reflected in the Digital Hub the following Monday.
- Attend the department’s webinar to learn how to complete the data submission in the Digital Hub. Information about the webinar will be emailed directly to participating services.