Children develop and learn in families, child care and early education settings, communities and broader social networks. Many factors are at play, such as relationships, culture, economics, access to services, and government policies. An ecological approach helps educators to see how all of these environments are interconnected to impact on children's learning, development and wellbeing (Grace et al., 2022).

Australian families are diverse, such as couple-parent, single-parent, blended, kinship, foster, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander, migrant, refugee and multigenerational families. The outcomes for children are not a function of their family structure. Children's experiences and development are strongly shaped by supportive relationships, access to resources and services and strong community connections (McMahon & Grace, 2022). Understanding of children and families as active contributors whose experiences, perspectives and knowledge should be valued in research and professional practice is also important (Wong et al., 2017).

This portfolio is strengths-based and family-centred, recognising that parents/carers know their children best and are valuable partners in their development and wellbeing, and that every family is different, has different strengths and priorities and therefore requires different support solutions to be considered in collaboration and shared decision making (Raising Children Network, 2024).

Five contemporary contexts are explored in the portfolio: Economic; Social; Cultural and diversity; Health and wellbeing; Crisis and emergency. Family contexts, sociological approaches, effects on children and families, Australian and Victorian policies, evidence-based strategies, community partnerships, professional partnerships, and resources for educators are explored in each section in terms of supporting children and families.