It started with a bold idea
Born in 1846, William Mark Forster was a successful and well-connected clothing merchant and philanthropist, concerned for the plight of under-privileged children left behind by a rapidly expanding Melbourne society in the late 19th century.
His simple idea was that with opportunity and guidance all young people could build and accomplish their goals, all they had to do was try. Forster’s thinking and practice was bold for the time.
Fast forward to today, where Sparkways is leading the way in early years education and care through:
- Application of contemporary trauma informed practice to service delivery;
- Innovative, creative and high-quality pedagogy that aligns with the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework (VEYLDF) and the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF);
- A highly proficient and diverse workforce that reflects the families and communities that Sparkways serves;
- Placing child safety and quality at the core of program delivery; and
- Provision of a broad range of family and community wrap around supports.
At Sparkways, we acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders as Australia’s First Peoples and as the traditional owners and custodians of the land on which we work. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging.
Our vision, purpose and guiding principles
In 2025, Sparkways undertook a strategic refresh to better reflect our evolving business objectives and long-term direction.
As part of this process, we updated our vision, purpose, and guiding principles to better articulate who we are, what we stand for, and where we are headed.
Our vision is to empower every child to live their best life.
Our purpose is to provide inclusive, high-quality early childhood education and care that breaks the cycle of disadvantage and enables every child to thrive.
Sparkways provides and supports:
- Benevolent relief to people in need by working to break the cycle of disadvantage;
- Advancement of social or public welfare in areas of high disadvantage and vulnerability with a particular focus on people who are from Australian and Torres Strait Islander (ASTI) backgrounds, are Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD), are refugees or asylum seekers, are experiencing poverty and/ or intergenerational disadvantage; and
- Advancement of early years education and care, including the provision of integrated trauma informed practice to vulnerable children and families
Our strategic pillars
Enablers
Integrated trauma informed practise across all service delivery.
A deep commitment to supporting vulnerable and disadvantaged communities, with a particular focus on provision of support to people from ATSI and CALD backgrounds or who are refugees/asylum seekers.
