Sally Staton

Key Examples of Research Impact include:

• Implementation of the Assisting Observations Toolkit by the Queensland Government, Department of Education to inform practices of Authorised Officers responsible for Assessment and Rating of all Early Education and Care services in Queensland, Australia.
• SLEEP Professional Development Program resources cited in childcare policy and procedure documents nationally, including government (e.g. Qld, SA education departments, ACECQA) and peak childcare organisations (e.g. C&K, Gowrie, Early Childhood Australia), and in doing so shaping legislative standards and practice expectations. See detailed description below.
• Research informed national legislative changes in October 2017 (ACECQA; NQS) requiring all early childhood education and care providers to have documented policy and procedures for sleep, rest and relaxation.
• News media coverage in over 200 media outlets nationally and internationally, including: Huffington Post, BBC, Fox News, Daily Mail, NBC, Reuters, ABC Radio, and Channel 9. I have also undertaken radio (ABC Local, and National), and television (Channel 9) interviews, with media seeking my opinion on topics including children’s sleep, napping in young children and sleep practices within the early childhood sector. In 2018 I was selected as a focus scientist for the Queensland Chief Scientist Science in Queensland Social Media Campaign.
• SLEEP Program delivered (2015-2019) to >170 peak ECEC organisation leaders and >100 DoE regulatory officers in Qld, including the first pilot RCT study of the impacts of this program on educator practices and interaction quality between educators and children in ECEC services.
• Research embedded within university Early Childhood training programs in Australia and internationally (UK).
• Invitations from the Director of Research Services Qld Govt. DoE (2017 and 2018) to present the sleep project as an example of successful partnership between research and government leading to impact on educational policy and practice.
• Delivery of the State of Early Learning in Australia Report, launched at Parliament House, Canberra, November 2019, including delivery of key indicators for Australia to inform policy and practice actions.
• Research translation into oral language resources for ECEC educators, distributed nationally through the Evidence for Learning Website, Social Ventures Australia, and presented directly to early childhood teachers working in Australian communities experiencing high developmental vulnerability.
• Featured scientist in state and national science engagement events and initiatives, including The Science of Sleep. ABC Radio National, Big Ideas Program (July 2019),
• Tall Poppy Science Award for recognition of my contribution to science communication and translation and Partners in Research Excellence Award for excellence in partnerships in research with government and industry.