When it comes to the integration of early childhood services, Australia is leading the world, an international early childhood development expert says.
Research Professor Joseph Sparling from Georgetown University, Washington DC, was in Canberra as part of a month-long Australian tour examining early childhood initiatives.
Professor Sparling was keen to be in Australia at a time when early childhood education was at the forefront of local and federal government priorities.
''It is quite exciting for us, we wanted to come see for ourselves,'' he said.
Professor Starling has studied the effects of high-quality early childhood education for more than 30 years.
He and his colleagues followed the progress of children from ''vulnerable families'' who, without the early education intervention given, were predicted to not achieve as well in school, life or continue on to university as other children.
''But my research shows that if you invest in the first five years of life, with certain kinds of high-quality programs for those kids the outcome is very different,'' Professor Sparling said.
''For me to have studied that and know that early childhood makes a strong and lasting effect and then to see a whole political system [in Australia] that is ready to go ... that is very exciting.''
He was particularly impressed by Canberra's four new Early Childhood Schools which cater to children from birth to Year 2 and have integrated health and child-care facilities.
''Centres like this makes life so much more meaningful for parents, to come to the one place where there is health care and parent groups, child care and pre-school and your kid can go up to second grade basically,'' he said.
''It is an exciting concept.''
Professor Sparling also favoured the centres' birth-to-eight-years age-bracket over ending early childhood services at five years, which is common in the US.
''Your program here is very logical ... five is an awkward time to cut off a program because children are in the middle of a process, at eight they are ready to begin another set of academically-orientated experiences,'' he said.
Mingling with children at Southern Cross Early Childhood School on Friday he gave the soon-to-be completed facility the thumbs up.
''It is not even fully finished or populated with children [but] is the most beautiful facility we have seen not just in Australia but period,'' he said.
The centre at Scullin is one of the four Early Childhood Schools to open across the territory this year.
The other centres will be at Lyons, Isabella Plains and Narrabundah.