The Digital Hub

The department is introducing a new centralised system for collecting data, reporting and administering program funding for early childhood education and care (ECEC) providers in NSW.

When it is fully implemented, the Digital Hub will become the primary platform for interaction between ECEC providers and the department, meaning significant time-savings and improved access to funding for services.

A better system for everyone

The Digital Hub will be used to collect information to support all funding activities by the department. It will make the annual preschool census a lot easier and it will support the delivery of the National Preschool Reform Agreement (PRA) and other department funded ECEC initiatives.

The Digital Hub will:

  • streamline data collection into one location

  • improve services’ access to funding

  • improve reporting of funding outcomes for children and services.

Importantly, the Digital Hub will reduce the administrative burden for services by eliminating the duplication of information (and effort).

The Digital Hub will be a stable, secure, fit-for-purpose platform that will provide a more streamlined and user-friendly experience for everyone.

What will change

Once an ECEC provider has fully transitioned to the new Digital Hub, they will no longer need to manually report information to the department.

Some service data such as staff qualifications will require entry into the Digital Hub periodically, and the new system will reduce the duplication of data entry into multiple systems by enabling information to flow electronically from sources such as the National Quality Agenda IT System (NQA ITS).

Providers will enter their regular enrolment, attendance, service and fee information into their child care management software (CCMS) system, and the department will work with CCMS system providers to ensure selected data can be electronically transferred from each system directly to the Digital Hub.

The department will capture data from the CCMS for use in the funding process, and services will benefit from streamlined applications, adjustments and acquittal processes. Providers will be able to verify the information which is captured in the Digital Hub.

The Digital Hub will replace ECCMS

Over time, the Digital Hub will replace the Early Childhood Contract Management System (ECCMS) which has been used to manage funding and contracting arrangements between the department and ECEC providers for over a decade.

ECCMS will be phased out when functionality is replaced by the new Digital Hub system and users are progressively onboarded.

The new system is being developed in close consultation with ECEC services and the data collection component is being worked on in partnership with child care management software (CCMS) system providers.

Timeline

2024 is the year for services to get ready, with support to be provided by the department from the start of the school year, so services can make informed decisions about their technology needs and get the support they need to be ready by 2025.

Support for services to get digitally ready

If your service is using a paper-based enrolment and attendance tracking system, it is time to adopt a digital child care management software (CCMS) solution. If your service is already using a CCMS, it is time to review your system to ensure it meets the right specifications and is being used to capture child information, enrolment, fee, service and attendance data so that you can transition smoothly to the Digital Hub when it becomes the primary platform for accessing funding from 2025.

For services experiencing unreliable internet connections, there are some CCMS systems that allow for data to be captured while offline and then automatically transferred once an internet connection has been restored. Services are encouraged to speak to CCMS vendors about whether their system allows this functionality.

The CCMS technology selection guide has been created to help services choose the right software and hardware. Please refer to the essential selection criteria to know what to look for.

Learn more about the benefits of adopting a CCMS

Find out more about how your community preschool can benefit from CCMS.

Thank you for watching this video. I'm here to provide you with an important update about a new centralised system for collecting data, reporting and administering programme funding for early childhood education and care or ECEC providers in New South Wales.

The Digital Hub will be rolled out in 2025 and will introduce several improvements, including upgrades to the way attendance and enrollment data is collected, support for funding delivery, and a more user-friendly programme funding and grant application processes.

The key benefits include improved access to funding and reporting of funding outcomes. Time saved by allowing ECEC providers and the department to connect swiftly. It will help support the department in meeting its reporting requirements under the National Preschool Reform Agreement and other initiatives to support 600 hours of preschool education in the year before school. And because data will be collected centrally, services won't need to enter data manually into multiple systems making administration and reporting such as the Annual Preschool Census much easier.

To prepare for the rollout of the Digital Hub services currently using paper-based attendance and enrollment tracking systems are encouraged to adopt childcare management software, also known as CCMS. This will make data management easier for services by simplifying data transfer to the department via the Digital Hub, reducing the burden of manual reporting to the department and minimising the need to enter data into multiple systems.

In 2023, several preschools adopted a CCMS and spoke to the department about their experience. Carly Jones is the director of Warialda Preschool in the states far North West. Ms Jones told us that most families were really impressed by how easy it was to adapt to the changes they experienced after implementing a CCMS. She said, "They just love seeing their documentation at their fingertips, lying in bed, scrolling through, and seeing what their child did that day."

Meanwhile, for Tom Devlin, CEO of Inverell Group of Preschools, implementing a CCMS translated to better relationships with his families and better communication. He told us it was about being able to have more live, easily accessible and relevant data about our services and who is in attendance at any time, particularly off the back of recent natural disasters and events like that.

Other benefits of implementing a CCMS include saving time by eliminating manual handling tasks and sharing important details with our families, like their child's meal and medication times. In 2024, the department is working closely with the ECEC services and CCMS system providers to develop, test, and trial the system to ensure it is user-friendly and meets the needs of services and the department.

Once we've completed testing, providers will be invited to join the Digital Hub in stages from 2025. To get ready for the Digital Hub, some ECEC services will need to review their enrollment and attendance tracking systems. This includes adopting a childcare management software (CCMS) system for the first time, or reviewing existing CCMS systems. Over time, the Digital Hub will replace the Early Childhood Contract Management system or ECCMS as it's known. Which has been used to manage funding and contracting arrangements between the department and ECEC providers for over a decade.

Thank you for watching. To find out more about the Digital Hub or for one-on-one help selecting the right childcare management software or hardware for your service, contact the Digital Hub team via email at digitalhub@det.nsw.edu.au. Or via the Digital Hub Technology helpline on 1300 412 367.

Learn more about how to select a CCMS for your community preschool.

- [Announcer] Choosing the right child care management software or CCMS and hardware for your service will help prepare for the rollout of the Digital Hub in 2025. To ensure you make the right choice, it's important you read the CCMS technology selection guide, which can be found on this page. This will help you during the decision making process, so you know what to look for when selecting attendance and enrollment software or hardware.

Each service is unique, so there is no one-size-fits-all answer when it comes to deciding what to buy. However, it is essential that your software can capture child and parent or carer details, enrollment and daily attendance information, service details, and fee and subsidy information. It's also essential to consider what the security features are like.

Is it a cloud-based system hosted in Australia? Does the software have secure logins and authentications for your users? Are there data access restrictions based on role type so you can secure personal data? And is data backed up, and is encryption available as an additional safeguard? The CCMS technology selection guide will help you to consider some optional features and benefits that your service might like to have. If you are concerned about your internet connection or wifi, the guidelines also include some tips on how to improve your internet reliability.

For one-on-one help selecting the right child care management software or hardware for your service, you can contact the Digital Hub team via email at digitalhub@det.nsw.edu.au, or via the Digital Hub Technology helpline on 1300 412 367. Thank you for watching.

Read about other services’ experience adopting a CCMS and the steps to take to adopt a CCMS

Hear from other services on how adopting a child care management system has helped their preschools and find a simple 6 step guide to adopting a CCMS.

One-on-one help is available for ECEC services currently using paper-based solutions or experiencing other challenges with technology by calling the Digital Hub technology helpline.

Digital Hub technology helpline

1300 412 367

Available Monday-Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm.

Find more support resources

Resources have been developed to help ECEC services to reflect on their needs and plan their path towards the Digital Hub and CCMS adoption.

Frequently asked questions

ECEC providers who receive funding from the department will be impacted by the changes, but not all at the same time. Services involved in the initial phases from 2025 are:

  • community preschools

  • mobile preschools

  • long day care providers.

Community and mobile preschools will be first, with long day care providers to follow. The Digital Hub will progressively roll out to other provider types over time.

Affected providers will be notified well ahead of any anticipated changes.

It is highly recommended for services that rely on paper records to opt for a CCMS system to manage enrolments and attendance, ideally before 2025.

By selecting a CCMS system, services can prepare to meet the requirements for reporting of existing and future funding and grant programs.

Shifting to a digital system may reduce the amount of manual effort needed for reporting and the annual preschool census, allowing services to focus more time on their core activities of education and care.

The CCMS technology selection guide (PDF 264 KB) has been created to help services choose the right software and hardware. Please refer to the essential selection criteria to know what to look for.

One-on-one help is available for ECEC services currently using paper-based solutions or experiencing other challenges with technology by calling the Digital Hub technology helpline on 1300 412 367 Monday-Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm.

Providers using more than one CCMS for enrolment and attendance information are recommended to review operational procedures and combine activities into one primary CCMS, ideally before 2025.

If your service is using a paper-based enrolment and attendance tracking system, it is time to adopt a digital child care management software (CCMS) solution. If your service is already using a CCMS, it is time to review your system to ensure it meets the right specifications and is being used to capture child information, enrolment, service and attendance data.

The CCMS technology selection guide (PDF 264 KB) has been created to help services choose the right software and hardware. Please refer to the essential selection criteria to know what to look for.

One-on-one help is available for ECEC services currently using paper-based solutions or experiencing other challenges with technology by calling the Digital Hub technology helpline on 1300 412 367 Monday-Friday 8 am – 4:30 pm.

The new Digital Hub will comply with the privacy and cyber security requirements applicable to all NSW Department of Education systems.

Find out more about the department’s privacy commitment for data collection, storage and usage.

Contact us

Stay in touch with new developments in the Digital Hub by signing up for the department’s weekly ECEC Update. (Follow the instructions on that page to subscribe).

You are also welcome to send us your feedback or ask any questions about the Digital Hub. Email digitalhub@det.nsw.edu.au.

Category:

  • School operations

Topics:

  • Web page

Business Unit:

  • Early Childhood Outcomes
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