Participants and recruitment
RECRUITMENT
ECEC services were recruited via an ‘Expression of Interest’ form available on a study partner’s website and contacted by study project officers to determine eligibility. Ineligibility criteria included: services catering exclusively to children requiring specialist care, mobile preschools, Department of Education and Communities preschools, services already involved in another trial, and services with or expecting a significant management change in the last/next three months. Eligible service directors were provided with study information and provided consent for their service to participate. Directors provided contact details for eligible (full- or part-time) educators; the research team then invited these educators to participate (consent included as part of the educator survey). Recruitment of educators was ongoing throughout the trial.