2007 Early Years Awards - Highly Commended
Better access to child and family support, health services and early education
Goulburn Valley Health
Goulburn Valley Building Blocks for Kids Health
Goulburn Valley Health and Greater Shepparton City Council are working together to improve oral and nutritional health and wellbeing of young children.
Those involved in the project include 30 local early childhood services, over 1,000 children and families and more than 100 health and educational professionals. These all make up the building blocks towards good health and wellbeing for all children.
Remote Family Services Uniting Care
The Little Green Frog
Remote Family Services Uniting Care delivers mobile child care and early childhood resources to remote areas of East Gippsland, covering 21,800 square kilometres via a purpose build vehicle. The target group for this initiative is all families in East Gippsland including parents who are isolated and Aboriginal families.
The Little Green Frog offers support programs for parents and also links parents to programs and service staff.
Warrnambool City Council
Welcome to Warrnambool's Early Years Services
Warrnambool Children and Family Services in consultation with the Sudanese community developed and implemented strategies to improve understanding of and access to early childhood services for newly arrived Sudanese families.
A resource book written in English and Arabic and a DVD have been developed to support services working with children and families.
Improvements in parent's capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life
City of Wodonga
Story Time - Anytime: a community literacy program building the capacity of parents and families in the Maternal and Child Health Enhanced Home Visiting Service
Story Time - Anytime is an early intervention literacy program implemented by Wodonga Council to support parents and families in their role of providing children from birth to school age with the best start for learning.
It promotes a simple message of 'ten minutes a day' spent sharing stories and building a love of literacy through reading, talking, singing, dancing, drawing and playing together.
Corio Bay Senior College Child Care Centre
CBSC The Hub Initiative
This initiative provides a central hub that allows families access to formal and informal education, affordable child care, outreach services and recreational activities at a conveniently located site.
Young parents (under 25) are offered the opportunity to return to complete their secondary education with the support of a Parent Support Worker.
Communities that are more family and child friendly
Ardeer Community Playground Committee Inc
Ardeer Community Park and Playground
The Ardeer Community Playground Committee is a group of dedicated local volunteers who have designed and are building a community playground. Consultation with the community has been a strong focus of this initiative. This initiative has created new opportunities for local residents to become involved in community activity at a range of levels. Over 2,000 people from the Ardeer community have participated in events held at the park and playground.
Ballarat City Council Partnership Project
Ballarat: A Child & family Friendly City
Consultations were held with over 1,071 people to hear community views on what child and family friendly means. This has resulted in increased community awareness about child and family friendly communities. A strong partnership exists across a range of agencies including local government, school and parents and has led to strengthening service delivery and access to services for children and families, all contributing to a more child and family friendly city.