Co-regulation
Helping educators understand how adult responses, relationships and expectations influence children's capacity to participate and recover.
South Australian early childhood services
Early childhood professional development in South Australia
Practical regulation and educator capacity building for preschools and long day care services preparing for a changing early childhood landscape.
South Australia is progressively rolling out universal 3-year-old preschool from 2026 through to 2032 across government and non-government early childhood settings.
Regulator Champions supports early childhood teams to strengthen regulation knowledge, educator judgement and whole-team practice as services respond to younger cohorts, changing environments and growing expectations around quality teaching and learning.
A major early childhood reform
The 3-year-old preschool rollout is not only an expansion of places. It also brings a significant workforce, practice and quality-development challenge.
South Australia is investing in the expansion of preschool access alongside workforce growth and quality teaching and learning.
3-year-old preschool
Younger children can change what educators need to notice.
Universal 3-year-old preschool is being introduced progressively across South Australia, beginning in 2026 and expanding over the following years.
For services, this creates opportunities to think carefully about how younger children experience transitions, group expectations, separation, communication, sensory load and participation.
A strategy that works well for a five-year-old may not be developmentally appropriate for a three-year-old who is still building the foundational skills needed to manage waiting, shifting attention, impulse control and emotional recovery.
Professional development becomes most useful when it helps educators adjust practice to the developmental capacity of the children actually in front of them.
Professional development and readiness funding
Some services involved in the rollout have received funding that can support professional development.
Government preschools participating in the initial 3-year-old preschool rollout have received readiness support that can be used across areas such as professional development, resources, equipment and environmental preparation.
This does not mean every South Australian service has access to the same funding, or that Regulator Champions is automatically an eligible purchase. Funding eligibility depends on the service, the funding stream and the relevant conditions.
Where Regulator Champions may fit
The focus is on helping educators make better decisions in real rooms.
Regulator Champions is designed for teams who want to move beyond collecting more isolated strategies and instead strengthen how educators notice, reflect and respond together.
Supporting younger children
Looking at how developmental capacity, movement, communication and sensory needs influence participation during the early preschool years.
Transitions
Helping teams examine drop-off, pack-up, group routines and movement between environments rather than only responding once behaviour escalates.
Educator capacity
Strengthening team judgement so educators can reflect, adapt and make thoughtful decisions without every difficult situation returning to the director.
Environment
Considering noise, crowding, waiting, room layout and sensory demand as part of the regulation picture.
Whole-team consistency
Building shared principles so different educators can respond flexibly without children receiving completely contradictory approaches.
Quality improvement
Regulation work can become part of a much wider conversation about quality.
South Australia's early childhood reform includes a strong focus on workforce capability and quality teaching and learning alongside the expansion of 3-year-old preschool.
Regulation is connected to far more than behaviour management. It can influence relationships, participation, environments, transitions, learning opportunities and the way educators respond when children find everyday demands difficult.
Regulator Champions gives teams practical material they can use within their own reflective practice and quality improvement processes rather than prescribing a single response for every child.
Explore the NQS mappingWorkforce capability
Professional learning is part of South Australia's changing early childhood landscape.
The expansion of preschool access brings increased attention to workforce preparation, professional learning and the quality of early childhood teaching practice.
For individual services, that can mean thinking carefully about what educators need to understand as younger children enter preschool programs and how teams can develop shared approaches rather than relying on one-off strategies.
Regulator Champions can sit alongside broader professional learning as an independent option for teams wanting a stronger focus on regulation, co-regulation, participation and practical decision-making.
See the approach before buying
Start with the free Regulation Ladder.
The free Regulation Ladder gives your team an example of how educator, leadership and family perspectives can be brought together around one difficult situation before deciding what to try next.
Open the Free Regulation LadderRegulator Champions
Whole-team implementation options
Services can begin with a six-month implementation period or choose twelve months for more time to revisit the learning as different needs emerge.
6-Month Preview
$1,790 AUD
A meaningful implementation period for teams wanting to begin using the Regulator Champions approach without committing to a full year.
View 6-Month Option12-Month Regulator Champions
$4,790 AUD
A longer implementation period giving teams more time to revisit the Regulation Ladders, recordings and support across the year.
View 12-Month OptionA note about South Australian funding
Regulator Champions is an independent professional learning program provided by Play Move Improve. Play Move Improve does not claim South Australian Government endorsement, approval or guaranteed eligibility under any funding program.
Funding arrangements differ between government preschools, long day care services, partner providers and individual reform initiatives. Services should review their current funding conditions and confirm that professional learning expenditure is appropriate before purchasing.
Want to work out whether Regulator Champions fits your South Australian service?
Tell me what your educators are finding difficult at the moment and I can help you work out whether the six-month option, twelve-month program or another starting point makes the most sense.