2009 Early Years Awards - Winners
Better Access to Early Years Services Award
Djillay Lidji Best Start Partnership
Engaging local Aboriginal families and children in early childhood services was the driving force behind the Djillay Lidji Best Start Partnership.
By rethinking the way they approached families, the partnership came up with culturally inclusive programs designed to improve the health, wellbeing, learning and development of local Aboriginal children.
The partnership has fostered an improved cultural understanding and relationship between the Aboriginal community and service providers and has helped and empowered Aboriginal families to gain better access to programs for good health, wellbeing and education.
Partnerships with Families and Communities Award
Joint Winner: Reading Early and Learning Together in Greater Shepparton - Greater Shepparton City Council
Children in the greater Shepparton area were given ample opportunity to get stuck into reading and books.
This initiative, driven by the early childhood professionals from the Greater Shepparton City Council, acknowledges that children’s literacy and learning is a community-wide responsibility.
The project aims to improve children’s literacy by focusing on the years prior to school, and uses the Early Learning is Fun program, which comprises six key areas of learning to support long-term language and literacy outcomes.
Book swap baskets were placed in milk bars, inside Medicare offices and Centrelink offices, to name a few spots where children could pick up a book and read. They also had the whole community behind them, encouraging them to discover the joy of books and reading.
“To really make a long-term difference to early learning you need to have the support and involvement of the whole community, because really, we all have a social responsibility to ensure that our children – our future – have every opportunity to grow into competent, confident and literate adults,” Simon Rose, Aged and Children’s Services Manager said.
Joint Winner: Birthday Postcard Project - Moorabool Shire Council
Moorabool Shire Council took a direct approach to increasing maternal and child health centre visits and kindergarten participation rates. Thanks to the Birthday Postcard project, parents of children up to the age of eight now receive postcards with key messages and information through maternal and child health services, kindergartens and schools. The postcards have been designed to assist parents in an easily accessible way, with simple messages and engaging illustrations.
“The Birthday Postcard project has provided a resource that supports parents with relevant information at age and developmental stages, supporting transition points that include maternal and child health key health visits, kindergarten participation, school readiness and transitions, as well as information and messages to support overall health and wellbeing for children at each stage in their development,” Nichole Brown, Health Promotion Officer in the Moorabool Shire Council, said.
Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Award
Support for Playgroups Affected by Bushfire - Playgroup Victoria
Following the devastation of Black Saturday, Playgroup Victoria recognised that children needed time to work through their emotions in the best way they know how – play.
The project mustered volunteers to distribute donations of toys and money, and provide families and children with much-needed support by setting up playgroups in parks and ovals in the affected areas.
Three mobile play vans and six qualified field staff provided early childhood play activities, helping children and families achieve some sense of normalcy. This provided children with a therapeutic outlet for their emotions.