For Early Learning Education Centres · NSW
Your educators.
Our clinical knowledge.
Better outcomes for every child.
The missing piece in your NQS Quality Improvement Plan.
We are physiotherapists who work with children every day. We bring that clinical expertise directly to your centre — equipping your front-line educators to identify, support, and refer children with gross motor delays before they fall through the gaps.
HDP Grant fundable
Inclusion Support Program
NQS QA1 · QA2 · QA3 · QA6
🔍 Signs your educators see every day
Avoids physical activity or tires quickly
May indicate low tone, core weakness, or delayed gross motor milestones
Difficulty with balance, coordination or spatial awareness
Common indicators of unintegrated primitive reflexes
Emotional dysregulation or sensory-seeking behaviour
The body-behaviour connection — movement needs showing up as behaviour
Struggling to keep up with peers physically
An early flag for Thriving Kids eligibility or NDIS referral pathway
QA 1
Educational Program & Practice
QA 2
Children's Health & Safety
QA 3
Physical Environment
QA 6
Community Partnerships
The opportunity in front of you
Your educators are already
Your educators are already
seeing these children every day.
Your front-line staff spend more direct hours with children than almost any other professional in a child's life. They are uniquely placed to notice early signs of gross motor delay — but only if they know what to look for.
As the Thriving Kids program rolls out from late 2026, more children with developmental delay and low-to-moderate support needs will be enrolling in early learning centres without specialist support attached. Early identification by trained educators is one of the most powerful interventions possible.
We train your team to notice, to act, and to create a clear referral pathway — so no child falls through the gap between what they need and what they receive.
The identification pathway we teach
1
Notice the signals
Educators learn the observable indicators of gross motor delay — what to look for during everyday play, transitions, and physical activity
2
Support in the moment
Practical movement strategies and communication tools to support the child immediately — using your existing environment and equipment
3
Flag early to families
Language and frameworks for having confident, compassionate conversations with parents about what they're observing
4
Refer with confidence
Clear referral pathways to physiotherapy, the Thriving Kids program, and NDIS — so families receive the right support at the right time
What we offer
Two services. One clear outcome.
A trained team and an optimised environment — the two things that determine how well your centre identifies and supports children with gross motor needs.
01
Professional Development
Gross Motor Learning Workshop
A full-day, on-site professional development workshop for your educators — delivered by registered physiotherapists. Practical, evidence-based, and immediately applicable to your centre's daily practice.
- Identifying gross motor delay — observable signals in everyday settings
- The body-behaviour connection — why movement affects emotional regulation
- Practical movement activities using your existing space and equipment
- Communication strategies for children and for conversations with families
- Referral pathways — Thriving Kids, NDIS, and physiotherapy
- Educator take-home reference sheet
Eligible funding pathways
NSW Health & Development Participation Grant (Category 2) · Inclusion Support Program · QIP professional development allocation
From $4,000 — flat rate per centre visit
02
Environment Assessment
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
A formal, written assessment of your centre's physical environment and gross motor programs — conducted by a physiotherapist and delivered as a QIP-ready report your centre can act on and cite in funding applications.
- Physical audit of playground and indoor equipment against gross motor development principles
- Structured educator interviews on current gross motor programs and daily movement practice
- Assessment against NQS Quality Area 3 standards
- Tier 1 recommendations — improvements using existing resources
- Tier 2 recommendations — additional equipment and programs with indicative costs
- QIP-ready report language — cite directly in your Quality Improvement Plan and funding applications
Eligible funding pathways
Inclusive Environments Funding (up to $20,000) · Disability & Inclusion Program · Inclusion Support Program
From $6,000 — includes written report
Optional add-on · QA6 evidence
Open the workshop to parents of enrolled children
On workshop day, we can offer a parent session open to families at your centre. Parents pay their own ticket — no cost to the centre. This creates a documented community engagement event directly evidencing your NQS Quality Area 6 collaborative partnership obligations. Entirely at your centre's discretion.
Parent ticket
Standard
workshop rate
workshop rate
National Quality Standard
Where we move your
Where we move your
NQS rating forward
Every ELEC in Australia is assessed and rated against the National Quality Standard. Here is precisely where First Mover Kids creates measurable, documentable improvement.
QA 1 — Educational Program & Practice
Evidence-based gross motor programming
Cite our workshop in your QIP as evidence of intentional, professionally delivered gross motor training — directly aligned to EYLF Outcome 3 (children's physical wellbeing and motor development).
Workshop
QA 2 — Children's Health & Safety
Trained identification of developmental delay
Educators trained to identify gross motor delay and respond appropriately — a documented health and safety practice. Increasingly critical for centres supporting Thriving Kids-eligible children.
Workshop
QA 3 — Physical Environment
A formal audit against Standard 3.2
The NQS requires physical environments to provide rich and diverse experiences promoting children's development. Our ELEC Gross Motor Audit is a physiotherapist-conducted formal assessment of this standard — giving you professional evidence and a roadmap to Exceeding.
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
QA 6 — Collaborative Partnerships
A documented community engagement event
Where centres open the parent workshop, this creates formal, documented evidence of proactive partnership with families and community health professionals — directly supporting your QA6 rating.
Workshop
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
How centres pay for this
Funded pathways
Funded pathways
already available to you
You do not need a separate budget. Multiple existing NSW and federal funding streams directly cover services like ours. We can help you identify which apply to your centre.
$1,500–$7,500
Health & Development Participation Grant — Category 2
NSW Government grant for professional learning supporting children's health and development in ECEC settings. Category 2 explicitly covers external courses and workshops.
Workshop
Up to $20,000
Inclusive Environments Funding Program
NSW program for minor construction and specialised equipment to support children with disability and additional needs. Our audit report provides the evidence base for this application.
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
Up to $5,000
Disability & Inclusion — Inclusion Readiness Funding
Per-centre annual funding for specialised equipment, furniture or environmental modifications to improve inclusion for children with disabilities or additional needs.
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
$114M committed
Inclusion Support Program (Federal)
Federal program supporting ECEC services to improve inclusion for children with additional needs — with ISP grants reaching $70,000.
Workshop
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
From 2026
Thriving Kids Program
New $4B national program supporting children with developmental delay and low-to-moderate support needs. ELECs will be key identification and access points.
Workshop
QIP allocation
Quality Improvement Plan Budget
Both services generate direct, documentable QIP evidence — making them a straightforward QIP line item for centres with annual improvement budgets.
Workshop
ELEC Gross Motor Audit
The ELEC Gross Motor Audit pays for itself. Our report provides the professional evidence base to apply for Inclusive Environments Funding (up to $20,000) and Inclusion Readiness Funding ($5,000/year). In most cases, a single subsequent funding application more than covers the cost of the audit. We include QIP-ready language in every report so you can act immediately.
What people say
From educators, allied health
From educators, allied health
and parents alike
"The results in the classroom have been profound."
Some of our teachers were understandably sceptical, but all came away with communication strategies they could immediately implement. I was expecting a seminar on exercise — I was surprised by all the language tools for neurodivergent children.
"I knew the theory — but these guys had so many fun, practical variations."
Being an OT who works with kids, I was unsure I'd get much out of the seminar. I was so wrong. I started using these strategies with my own kids and the results have been profound. I'm no longer fighting the same resistance.
"I left with tools I could use straight away — in any setting."
Delivered in a really warm and engaging way that made everything easy to understand and apply immediately. Truly a valuable experience — I'd recommend it to any parent, educator, or allied health professional.
Get started
Let's talk about
Let's talk about
your centre's needs.
We offer a free 20-minute consultation for centre directors to discuss your NQS priorities, funding position, and how our services fit. No obligation.
Or email us directly: mail@firstmoverkids.com.au
Contact Us
Questions? Need more details before confirming your spot? Worried about your centre’s specific needs? We’d love to hear from you.