putting children at the centre of participation

report from the roundtable – 26 aug

 

At this week’s council meeting I was pleased to be able to move a motion to endorse the Yarra Ranges Child and Youth Strategy 2014-2024. I have had long history of campaigning for children and childcare and the development of this strategy is one that is dear to my heart.

The strategy seeks to make Yarra Ranges a place where every child and young person will be able to thrive, reach their potential and actively participate in decision making.

It recognises the importance of the early years and early intervention programs to ensure children have every opportunity to flourish.

The strategy seeks to cement the relationship between early years and youth services. It recognises that one outcome of effective early years services and opportunities will be more resilient and achieving young people with the flow on effect being more resilient and achieving young adults, the parents of the next generation.  

I have always been a firm believer in get it right in the
early years, get it right for life. Here's the class of
2013 Kallista Kinder kids tree planting at the
George Tindale gardens.

Part of the strategy includes endorsing the Victorian Charter for Child Friendly Cities and Communities. I was proud to be able to launch the charter in my role as VLGA President last year. The Charter provides a set of guiding principles - freedom, respect and dignity and equitable access, to help to empower our youngest citizens.

The Charter was developed to assist local governments and community organisations to work in conversation with children on creating places, policies and programs which fully consider their needs.

I was delighted that councillors unanimously resolved to endorse the strategy.

yarra ranges early years award finalists

It's terrific to learn that two of Yarra Ranges early years projects have been selected as finalists for the Victorian Early Years Awards.

The awards are presented annually as part of the Children’s Week celebrations and the winners will be announced at a ceremony at the NGV on 24 October.

The two projects are:

Building Strong N Proud Pathways – Boorai Early Years Transition Program, Yarra Valley Community Health.
A need to encourage Aboriginal families to send their children to kindergarten to better prepare them for school prompted the Yarra Valley Community Health Service to establish an occasional care and transition program. The program for children from birth to five years old is free and culturally appropriate, breaking down two of the barriers which have previously deterred Aboriginal families from using early childhood services.

Developed following consultation with Yarra Ranges Council, Yarra Valley Aboriginal Health and Kinderlink,the program encourages early literacy, numeracy, social and language skills and benefits from parents contributing to stimulating cultural activities. Parents are provided with support and information about other services and are free to stay and enjoy lunch with their children. An estimated 92 Aboriginal children aged under four live in the Yarra Ranges Shire. The program has seen an increase in kindergarten enrolments from the community, from 14 in 2005 to 22 in 2010.

Wellness Connections: Promoting Infant Outcomes at the Interface, Yarra Ranges Council
Yarra Ranges Council services a young demographic, with children under the age of five making up 12.8 percent of the residents living in both urban and rural areas. It was also a population in which post natal depression consistently ranked in the top three mental health issues for the shire – a statistic which prompted the council to look beyond its existing early childhood services for a way to improve the situation.

A Maternal Infant Mental Health program was created providing counselling, group work and interventions to help individuals cope better and develop new skills to help them enjoy their parenting experience. A partnership including the Eastern Ranges GP Association, individual health professionals, government funded early childhood initiatives and the Austin Hospital now ensures well targeted planning and comprehensive support through in-home consultations, a day stay program, therapy and supported playgroups.

Congratulations to our early years team for your innovation when it comes to dealing with the early years issues in the interface, the nominations are well earned.

early years plan – what do you think?

During Children’s Week I had the great pleasure of being part of the launch for the Shire’s Draft Municipal Early Years Plan, Help Shape the Future for Children .

The launch was held at the Teddy Bear’s Picnic at Lillydale Lake, children were kept entertained with story time by Eastern Regional Libraries followed by CARP who told the story of the quest to find Brown Bear.

Help Shape the Future for Children is based around three priority areas;
1. All children are healthy, develop well and are active in learning
2. All children are active participants in community life
3. All families are able to meet the social, emotional, learning and health needs of their children

I have been involved with the development of the strategy as the councillor representative on the steering committee. It has been a great privilege to share conversations and experiences with families, service providers and staff working in children’s services.

Help Shape the Future for Children is intended to be a dynamic and interactive planning process that recognises and relies of the contribution of a broad range of people and organisations.

If you, a community group or service you are involved with has an interest in working on community based initiatives around the three priority areas above we are keen to hear from you. We’d also like to discuss options for collaborative action planning.

If you’d like to give council some feedback on Help Shape the Future for Children, visit the Shire’s website. We’d love to hear from you, but make sure you get your response in by the 4th December.

how far have we come?

Today Greens Senator, Sarah Hanson-Young, took her 2 year old daughter into the Senate chamber with her for an unexpected division. I was appauled to see that Senate President, John Hogg, ordered her daughter to be removed from the chamber.

In what was a very distressing scene, Senator Hanson-Young's daughter was taken from her arms and became very upset, a very understandable reaction from a babe.

Today's actions in the senate were atrocious. Do we want women with young children participating in politics? I think we do and we should be doing all we can to ensure that barriers to participation are removed, not children! This photo of Senator Hanson-Young was taken earlier this year at rally in Melbourne.

Yes there may be rules in the Senate, but really what impact would this 2 year old have on the debate or the vote? The answer is absolutely none. If we are serious about encouraging women into politics, particularly women with young children, we have to be far more flexible and far more family friendly.

All parents understand that sometimes we have our children with us, it just happens that way. Only last week, there was a curriculum day across Victoria on the same day as the Yarra Ranges Council had a breakfast meeting with our local state and federal politicians. I have a 7 year old who had to come with me to that breakfast. There was no issue from my councillor colleagues, state or federal politicians about my child being present.

Politics is different to most careers, it's not 9 to 5 and there is no knock off time. Your families become involved whether they want to or not, you are stopped in the street, at school, people approach you in cafe's and out and about, the hours are long and irregular. It's a challenging role and sometimes circumstances dictate that your child needs to be with you.

What happened today in the Senate challenges all of us to really think about how we feel about women with young children actively participating in politics. To have a truly representative democracy we need to ensure people of all walks of life are encouraged to participate and part of that means that we have to be flexible and family friendly.

This was a dark day, let us hope that the Senate President's actions do not represent the views of the broader community. Let's hope that we can see some changes to ensure that it never happens again.

child friendly community for yarra ranges

I invite Yarra Ranges families to attend a community seminar in Lilydale about ‘Child Friendly Communities’ on Monday, 27 April.

The seminar is part of the shire’s ‘Help Shape the Future for Children’ community consultation aimed at developing a new Family and Children’s Strategy and I am the councillor representative for the strategy.

Guest speakers at the seminar will include Dr Tim Moore, a specialist from the Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health and Rosalie Rogers from Bendigo City Council, which was the first city in Australia to be recognised as a Child Friendly City by the United Nations

The seminar will explore what can be achieved through becoming a Child Friendly Community. Child Friendly Communities are all about creating an environment where children are valued, supported, respected, provided for and actively included.

This seminar will be a great opportunity for families to hear how local communities can help children reach their true potential and what it takes to make a real difference to families and their children.

Research shows that for every dollar spent on children, the whole community benefits seven-fold, and the shire will continue to keep the investment of time and resources towards childhood development a high priority.

Get it right in the early years and you get it right for life. This is me pictured with the children from the Upwey South Primary School Choir.

The ‘Child Friendly Communities’ seminar will also give participants an opportunity to provide feedback for the development of the shire’s Family and Children’s Strategy.

Once developed, the strategy will be used to guide key priorities for action relating to the health, learning and development of children aged 0-12 years.

For more information or bookings for the seminar, or for other ways to become involved in the Family and Children’s Strategy consultation process, contact the shire’s Early Years Development Coordinator Anne Monichon on 9294 6243.

help shape the future for our children

Tonight I had the great pleasure of being part of the launch of the Yarra Ranges Early Childhood Community Profile. The launch is part of a program to highlight issues around the early years and start conversations and input into the Shire’s Municipal Early Years Plan. I am the councillor representative on the plan and have a long standing, keen interest in the early years. It is my firm belief that if you get it right in the early years you get it right for life.

It was great to have a presentation from the Outcomes and Evaluation Division of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development that focused specifically on Yarra Ranges and also provided comparative data against the Metro and Rural stats.

Me, celebrating the Kids Go For Your Life Award with the Len Jeffrey Preschoolers in Belgrave South. I have always been a strong advocate for children and the importance of the early years.

The room was full of a whole range of people involved in the early years, from Maternal Child Health, through to Preschools, Childcare, Chaplaincy Services, Primary Schools, Emergency Relief Services and interested community members.

If you are interested in inputting to the Shire’s Municipal Early Years Plan visit this link for more information. Help shape the future for our children and make Yarra Ranges a great place for children to live.