Australia’s national education evidence body
Promote children's early numeracy skills

Overview

Numeracy is the capacity, confidence and disposition to use mathematics in daily life. Mathematics involves understanding about numbers and quantity, operations, patterns, space, measurement and shapes. Numeracy is the application of these mathematical concepts, with skills developing along trajectories from birth.

Early Years Learning Framework

This topic relates to all outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework – a guide to supporting and nurturing young children's learning from birth to 5 years of age, and their transition to school.

Research

The research supports a number of evidence-based practices for promoting early numeracy in early childhood education and care settings.

Tried and Tested practice guide

This guide outlines key practices that support early numeracy development in early childhood education and care.

Annotated reference list

An overview of the research evidence cited throughout our early numeracy resources.

Using the practice

Evidence-based practices play an important part in extending children’s learning and development in early numeracy. See below some strategies to embed early numeracy in your early childhood and care setting.

Using the practice: early numeracy

This resource looks at strategies for engaging in sustained shared conversations with children aged 3-5 years, and outlines examples of how educators and teachers can use moments in the day to build on children’s developing early numeracy skills.

Snapshots of practice

Early numeracy practices may look different in different contexts. See below examples of early numeracy with a focus primarily on children 3-5 years.

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