Projects approved for funding

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Queensland AEDI Community Action Grant Program

Projects approved for funding

The objective of the Queensland Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) Community Action Grants Program is to support organisations in Queensland communities which are more vulnerable than the Queensland average to respond to their AEDI results.

Organisations applied for grants of between $5,000 and $20,000 to implement relevant initiatives that respond to local needs as identified through AEDI results.

Activities funded under the AEDI Community Action Grants Program prioritise raising awareness of issues relevant to early childhood development, engaging with community members in delivering solutions and enhancing community capacity to support early childhood development.

AEDI Community

or Local Communities

Organisation Project Description

Funding (GST Incl.) Darling Downs South West Region

Toowoomba Toowoomba Youth Service

The Toowoomba Youth Service will implement a program allowing families and their children to attend a series of free sessions twice-weekly to develop skills to achieve optimal developmental outcomes for children. The program will be conducted in a group setting with facilitators modelling positive strategies for families to interact with their children to support their development in key areas.

$20,000

Warwick Creche and Kindergarten Association

The Creche and Kindergarten Association will implement a project to increase the skills of educators and families in the Warwick region to address areas of vulnerability. Session topics will include developing children’s speech and language skills with a speech therapist, physical development with an occupational therapist, as well as nutrition and health eating sessions. An additional session will be held for educators on creating inclusive environments for children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, with the aim of supporting children’s social and emotional competence.

$9,300

Gatton West Moreton-Oxley Medicare Local

The West Moreton-Oxley Medicare Local will implement a Gatton Early Childhood Intervention Project including:

- Hanen Centre Program Teacher Talk professional development to introduce early childhood educators to strategies that provide a rich language learning environment.

- Training families and educators in the use of the Paediatric Early Development Screening tool (PEDS Tool) to promote early identification of children who may be at risk of developmental delays.

Gatton State School will establish a cluster of early childhood educators to monitor and drive the two programs, engage with families and work together to address early childhood development in the community.

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Funding (GST Incl.) Toowoomba Toowoomba Mothercraft Association

The Toowoomba Mothercraft Association on behalf of the Toowoomba Early Childhood Community Partnerships Network will organise for the 2 day workshop ‘Building Foundations for Early Learning’ to be delivered for 40 community, education and health practitioners. The workshop will provide participants with up to date information on early childhood brain development combined with practical ideas and resources to support positive early childhood outcomes. The project will also establish a resource library that will be available to all community partnership members.

$20,000

Kingaroy South Burnett Child Care Association

South Burnett Child Care Association working with the Kingaroy Early Years Network will implement a number of strategies to address community vulnerabilities in the physical health and wellbeing and communication skills and general knowledge domains, including:

- Mail-outs to all families in the region with hints and tips for families on topics such as healthy lifestyles and language development.

- Organising professional development sessions with specialists such as speech therapists and occupational therapists for early childhood educators in the area. The project includes funding for release of educators to participate in the sessions.

$20,000

Balonne Lifeline Darling Downs

Lifeline Darling Downs will implement strategies to assist service providers in the Balonne region to develop the skills of families they work with to address community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and communication skills

and general knowledge domains. Strategies include developing activities for families to ‘make and take’ at playgroups and

offering training to service providers and families with a focus on building capacity to develop early numeracy and literacy skills in children.

$20,000

Bungil Maranoa Kindergarten

Maranoa Kindergarten in partnership with Roma State College will address community vulnerabilities in the social

competence domain through the engagement of an Early Years Transition Officer to identify professional development

needs and enhance the links between early childhood services, the school and families in the region. Additionally the project will support the establishment of a Bungil community Early Childhood Teachers' Association to provide an avenue for professional support and networking amongst early childhood professionals.

$20,000

Laidley West Moreton-Oxley Medicare Local

The West Moreton-Oxley Medicare Local will implement a Laidley Early Childhood Intervention Project including: - Hanen Centre Program Teacher Talk professional development to introduce early childhood educators to strategies that provide a rich language learning environment.

- Training families and educators in the use of the Paediatric Early Development Screening tool (PEDS Tool) to promote early identification of children who may be at risk of developmental delays.

Laidley State School has established a cluster of early childhood educators to monitor and drive the two programs, engage with families and work together to address early childhood development in the community.

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Funding (GST Incl.) Hatton Vale, Brightview, Kensington Grove, Regency Downs and Plainland

Hatton Vale C&K Community Kindergarten

Hatton Vale C&K Community Kindergarten will partner with Hatton Vale State School and the University of Queensland, Division of Audiology and Speech Pathology to respond to community vulnerabilities in Hatton Vale, Brightview, Kensington Grove, Regency Downs and Plainland. The project will focus on early identification of children at risk through screening and the provision of reports for families in hearing, vision and oral language development. The project will also implement training for local educators and teachers on the development of language, literacy and motor skills.

$20,000

Nanango Nanango and District Kindergarten

Nanango and District Kindergarten will organise a series of parent and early childhood educator engagement sessions on topics that address community AEDI vulnerabilities, such as speech and language development and fine and gross motor skills. The Kindergarten will engage professionals to support the sessions and will also establish a borrowing library of key resources for parents and educators.

$5,116

Far North Queensland

Torres Strait Torres Strait Islanders’ Regional Education Council

The Torres Strait Islanders’ Regional Education Council will host a Torres Strait Early Years Action Group Forum to unpack AEDI data, review the suite of services delivered across the Torres Strait and develop a Regional Action Plan. Participants in the forum will be invited to form an AEDI Response Group to implement the action plan, increasing the coordination of services across the region.

$20,000 Edmonton and surrounds, Bentley Park, Mt Sheridan, White Rock, Woree

Family Day Care South Cairns Association

Family Day Care South Cairns Association will implement two programs to address the areas of highest vulnerability in their community. To address vulnerabilities in the social competence domain, the Playing and Learning to Socialise (PALS) program will be implemented. Additionally a daily structured physical development program will be delivered to all children in the scheme, with support from a qualified children’s physical exercise coach to address vulnerabilities in the physical

health and wellbeing domain.

$12,706 Tully, Mission Beach Playgroup Association of Queensland

Playgroup Association of Queensland will trial a new model of the Sing & Grow program called ‘Getting Ready for School’ in partnership with St Clare’s Parish School Playgroup in Tully, Mission Beach State School Playgroup and Far North Nursing Services. Sing & Grow is an evidence-based international music therapy project that focuses on strengthening family relationships. The program will be run in Term 4 2013, to support children’s development across AEDI domains, build capacity in parents and teachers and promote a smooth transition to school.

$10,670

Cairns Goodstart Early Learning

Goodstart Early Learning will facilitate training in the ‘MindUp’ program to respond to community vulnerabilities in the social

competence and emotional maturity domains. The ‘MindUp’ course for educators and children teaches participants to

self-regulate their behaviour and mindfully engage in activities. Goodstart educators in the Edmonton area will partner with Bentley Park State College educators and Cairns Early Years Centre practitioners to undertake the training. In addition to supporting a smooth transition to school, the training will also develop relationships between educators at the early childhood services and the school.

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Funding (GST Incl.)

Johnstone Goodstart Early Learning

To address community vulnerabilities in Johnstone, Goodstart Early Learning will work in partnership with early childhood services and schools to implement a ‘Ready Together – Transition to School Program’, based on a successful program implemented in the Ipswich area. Working together to develop strategies to support families and children transition will also strengthen the relationships between early childhood services and schools.

$7,000

Cook Pormpur Paanth Aboriginal Corporation

Pormpur Paanth Aboriginal Corporation will implement a project aimed at improving early childhood outcomes across all five AEDI domains in the Pormpuraaw area. Strategies include training and professional development for community members to engage them in the project, establishing a 0-5 playgroup including provision of healthy meals and implementing the ‘Perceptual Motor Program’ and ‘Fingergym’ to enhance fine and gross motor skills.

$20,000

Cook (Lockhart River)

Puuya Foundation

The Puuya Foundation will engage a facilitator and trainer to work with the Lockhart River community around their AEDI results and establish an AEDI/Early Years Learning Circle in targeting community vulnerabilities in the social competence,

emotional maturity and language and cognitive skills domains. Opportunities for professional development for early

childhood staff in areas that address these domains will be provided through the project.

$19,980 Metropolitan Region Ipswich (Camira, Springfield, Springfield Lakes)

ESKAY Kids ESKAY Kids aims to respond to community vulnerabilities in the physical health and wellbeing domain through provision of additional programs and resources targeting Camira, Springfield and Springfield lakes. Strategies include introducing an external physical education program into the centre, providing workshops for educators and families to develop their skills, providing information on nutrition to families and creating a parent resource library.

$15,830 Inala, Durack, Acacia Ridge, Sunnybank Acacia Ridge Community Support Inc

Acacia Ridge Community Support Inc will focus on improving outcomes for children in the communication skills and

general knowledge domain through promotion of early childhood education amongst Culturally and Linguistically Diverse

(CALD) families in the Inala, Durack, Acacia Ridge, Sunnybank areas. Four face to face information sessions will be held to disseminate information on the importance of early childhood development, AEDI findings and the benefits of early childhood education. Local kindergarten program providers will be invited to speak at the forums as a mechanism to engage with CALD families. A cultural support worker will be engaged to liaise with families and encourage participation at the information sessions.

$6,186 Zillmere and Keperra Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services

Jabiru Community Youth and Children’s Services will partner with Zillmere State School and Picabeen Community Association to implement a ‘Come to the Village’ project in both Zillmere and Keperra. The project will deliver a series of activities and workshops in each community, with the aim of supporting families to find ways of connecting with their children. A particular focus will be engaging with children and families that do not currently access services through social activity. ‘Treasure chest’ resource kits will be presented to children at celebratory events at the end of the project. Both a community and a children’s reference group will be formed to guide the project and ensure engagement.

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Funding (GST Incl.) Ipswich (Bundamba, Carile Park, Marburg Tallegallah, One Mile, Leichhardt Riverview) Ipswich City Council (Library Services)

Ipswich City Council (Library Services) in partnership with the Creche and Kindergarten Association will introduce a Library Outreach program to respond to community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and communication skills

and general knowledge domains. The outreach sessions, delivered in community venues across 6 local communities in the

Ipswich area, will include Baby Rhyme time, Storytime, Story Sacks and Starting School Toolbox sessions aimed at providing information and practical tips to assist families in preparing their child for school.

$8,000 Zillmere, Taigum and Bracken Ridge Playgroup Association of Queensland

Playgroup Queensland will work with Jabiru, Koobara Indigenous Kindergarten, Taigum State School and Zillmere State School to implement a Sing & Grow project to respond to community vulnerabilities in Zillmere, Taigum and Bracken Ridge. Sing & Grow is an evidence-based international music therapy project that focuses on strengthening family relationships and building capacity of families to support child development. A Sing & Grow “Getting Ready for School” session will be held weekly at each school in Term 4, 2013. Families involved in the program will continue to be supported into Term 1 of the Prep year.

$14,740 Ipswich (Redbank Plains & Springfield Lakes) Ipswich City Council (Community and Cultural Services)

Ipswich City Council (Community and Cultural Services) in partnership with Playgroup Queensland will establish playgroups using the ‘Accessible Playgroups’ model to address community vulnerabilities in the physical health and

wellbeing, social competence and emotional maturity domains. The Accessible Playgroup model is targeted at families that

would not normally access services, provides structured play for children and builds the capacity of parents to support their children’s development. One of the two playgroups will focus on refugee and non-English speaking background families, a growing population group within the community.

$20,000

Ipswich Riverview Neighbourhood House

Association Inc

Riverview Neighbourhood House Association Inc will establish a facilitated playgroup in partnership with Collingwood State School with a focus responding to community vulnerabilities in the emotional maturity and language and cognitive skills domains. The playgroup will run two days per week and have planned activities that develop children’s skills in areas such as helping each other, self-regulation, reading and imaginative play.

$6,700

North Coast Region

Redcliffe (Clontarf, Kippering, Rothwell) Redcliffe Area Youth Space Management Committee Inc

Redcliffe Area Youth Space Management Committee will implement a project to strengthen connections between early childhood services, community agencies and schools in Redcliffe, with an initial focus on responding to community vulnerabilities in the physical health and wellbeing domain. A Community Forum and series of workshops for networking and professional development will be held with members of the newly established Early Years Alliance to develop shared priorities for the community. Additionally, a communication directory will be created to enable services and schools to communicate more effectively and easily share information on available services.

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Bundaberg YMCA of Bundaberg

YMCA of Bundaberg working with the Bundaberg Family and Baby Network will implement the ‘Bundaberg AEDI Building Capacity’ project to respond to community vulnerabilities in the social competence, language and cognitive skills and

communications skills and general knowledge domains. The project includes running 6 professional development sessions

for early childhood professionals in the region and 6 parent forums. The sessions aim to raise awareness of the importance of early language and literacy skill development as well as providing examples of practical strategies that can be implemented in the workplace or at home.

$11,800 Gympie, Hervey Bay, Bundaberg and Maryborough Sound Solutions Speech Pathology

Sound Solutions Speech Pathology will target community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and

communication skills and general knowledge domains by delivering workshops for early childhood educators in Gympie,

Hervey Bay, Bundaberg and Maryborough. The workshops will provide educators with the skills to effectively develop children’s sound and early literacy skills and help prepare them for entry into school. Resources will be provided to participants to assist educators to apply the strategies within their centres.

$16,580

Cooloola Early Childhood Teacher’s Association

The Early Childhood Teacher’s Association and Learner’s Action Group, Gympie (LAGG) will promote community awareness of early childhood development through a series of events including:

- An Early Childhood Expo during Children’s Week to promote services available in the Gympie region for young children and their families

- A community forum to discuss Cooloola AEDI data and strategies to reduce vulnerabilities.

- Promotion of a ‘play in’ week across the community, encouraging services and families to make time to play and promoting the importance of play-based learning.

Additionally, an online register of services will be established to support access by local families.

$9,500

Bundaberg Flourish Speech Pathology

Flourish Speech Pathology will run workshops for early childhood educators and families in the Bundaberg region to address community vulnerabilities in the communication skills and general knowledge domain. Two of each of the following workshops will be delivered free of charge:

- Ages and stages: Communication in the first five years - Strategies for language development in the first five years

$7,338

Miriam Vale, Agnes Waters

Wide Bay Medicare Local

The Wide Bay Medicare Local will run three ‘Circus Fruits’ programs in Agnes Waters and Miriam Vale to respond to community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills, social competence and communication skills and general

knowledge domains. The program engages the entire family in healthy, inclusive and active learning and also builds social

connections to other children and families.

$20,000

Isis Bundaberg Regional Council

Bundaberg Regional Council will collaborate with local early childhood service providers to host six events in the Isis community to improve outcomes for children in the physical health and wellbeing, language and cognitive skills and

communication skills and general knowledge domains. A community breakfast, a fun day focusing on literacy, a ’Boot

Camp’ for children, cooking classes and workshops for parents and early childhood educators on speech development, resilience and mental health for under-fives will be held.

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Caboolture Nutrition Australia Qld

Nutrition Australia Qld will implement a project in the Caboolture region to respond to community vulnerabilities in the

physical health and wellbeing domain. The project will use story time with families to promote fruit and vegetables to young

children and highlight practical ways families can communicate healthy messages to their children. Copies of the educational book “I’m having a rainbow for dinner” will be distributed to local families and story time sessions will be held across the community.

$19,105

Gympie Community Action Inc,

Community Action Inc, in partnership with local early childhood services and the Gympie Central State School will implement a transition to school program in Term 4, 2013 and a follow-up program for families in Term 1, 2014. The play-based program will be run two afternoons per week and at the same time will engage families in an informal but structured discussion on topics relevant to addressing community vulnerabilities in the physical health and wellbeing and social

competence domains.

$12,000

North Queensland Region

Thuringowa Creche and Kindergarten Association

The Creche and Kindergarten Association will implement a project to increase the skills of early childhood educators and parents in the Thuringowa community through a number of information sessions. Session topics will include developing children’s speech and language development with a speech therapist, physical development with an occupational therapist, dental health and hygiene. Working with Nutrition Australia, nutrition and healthy eating sessions will also be held. $8,200 Townsville, Thuringowa and Hinchinbrook Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Townsville

The Roman Catholic Trust Corporation for the Diocese of Townsville will implement a project across its 10 early childhood centres in the Townsville, Thuringowa and Hinchinbrook communities to improve early childhood outcomes across multiple domains. Strategies include, professional development for early childhood educators, providing children access to speech, hearing, literacy and numeracy specialists and support for families to access early childhood education programs.

$20,000

Burdekin and Wulguru

Centacare Townsville

Centacare Townsville will implement the evidence-based Early HeartSmarts program in both Burdekin and Wulguru to address community vulnerabilities in the emotional maturity and social competence domains. The program is a 5 session course that supports young children in learning age-appropriate emotional and social competencies, such as how to recognise and regulate emotions and reactions to stress.

$19,305

South East Region

Jimboomba, Logan Reserve, Logan village, Greenbank Creche and Kindergarten Association

The Creche and Kindergarten Association in collaboration with the Jimboomba AEDI Response Group will host an event with a leading children’s author to address community vulnerabilities in language and cognitive skills and communication

skills and general knowledge domains. Targeted at families and early childhood educators the free event will promote the

importance and enjoyment of reading with children every day.

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Funding (GST Incl.) Capalaba and Alexandra Hills Capalaba Child Care and Early Learning

Education Centre

Capalaba Child Care and Early Learning Education Centre will target community vulnerabilities in the social competence and emotional maturity domains by linking families and educators with professional development, workshops, information sessions and resources. Additionally targeted programs to develop social competence and emotional maturity will be introduced to the centre

$5,000

Logan Logan Child Friendly Community Consortium

Logan Child Friendly Community Consortium in partnership with local AEDI response groups will target community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and communication skills and general knowledge domains through promotion of reading to children. Twelve book displays with book boxes and comfortable reading areas will be established across community locations to increase exposure to literacy materials and provide opportunities for reading.

$5,005

Logan Goodstart Early Learning

Goodstart Early Learning will address community vulnerabilities in the social competence and emotional maturity domains through the Fun Friends program – a play based social skills training program for building resilience in young children. Early childhood centres in the Loganlea area will be offered access to full-day training on the program followed by ongoing coaching and mentoring to support adoption of the program in their services.

$7,000

Logan Butterfly Wings Early Years Consultancy

Butterfly Wings Early Years Consultancy will introduce the Koala Joeys Family Program in up to 12 schools across Logan to respond to community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and communication skills and general

knowledge domains. Schools in Logan will be provided with facilitation training to deliver the program which aims to

educate families, support a smooth transition to school and provide a strong foundation for early learning for participating children. $19,000 Eagleby, Labrador, Coomera, Nerang, Broadbeach and Mermaid Beach The Benevolent Society

The Benevolent Society in partnership with the gr8 START Early Years Alliance, ACT for Kids and the Gold Coast Medicare Local will implement a volunteer reading program in six local communities to address community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills and communication skills and general knowledge domains. A volunteer coordinator will be engaged to recruit and train volunteers, identify early childhood services to host the program and purchase appropriate children’s books to support the program.

$20,000

Logan Creche and Kindergarten Association

The Creche and Kindergarten Association will address vulnerabilities in the Logan community by hosting eight information sessions to enhance the skills of families and early childhood educators in supporting children’s development. Sessions will address all five AEDI domains through topics such as health and wellbeing, nutrition and healthy eating, the importance of early learning, language and literacy and transition to school.

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Central Region Mackay Australian Literacy Educators’ Association Mackay Local Council

To address vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive skills domain, the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association Mackay Local Council will engage leading early year’s language and literacy expert, Dr Christine Edwards-Groves from Charles Sturt University to deliver two professional development programs for local educators. The programs aim to improve the capacity of educators to support the oral language development of young children in their care. Participants will be provided with resources from each of the professional development sessions to support their ongoing skill development. $6,885 Mundubbera Mundubbera Community Development Association

Mundubbera Community Development Association will form an AEDI response group with key local stakeholders to analyse Mundubbera AEDI results. With a focus on addressing community vulnerabilities in the language and cognitive

skills domain the group will work together to identify specific needs, gaps in service delivery in the community and

strategies for action.

$5,400

Longreach Longreach Regional Council

Longreach Regional Council in partnership with Longreach State School will address community vulnerabilities in the social

competence and emotional maturity domains by implementing a targeted learning plan incorporating:

- professional development and training

- promoting access to early learning programs prior to school

- embedding social and emotional programs into the kindergarten program - establishing a ‘step into prep’ program including a resources pack for families

$7,000 Multiple Regions Acacia Ridge, Eight Mile Plains, Carole Park, Logan Central, Aspley, Caboolture, Deception Bay Save the Children Australia

Save the Children will deliver the ‘0-4 Water-safe for Sure’ project across multiple communities to respond to vulnerabilities in the physical health and wellbeing domain. The project will have a particular focus on engaging children and families from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds. ‘0-4 Water-safe for Sure’ is a program specifically designed for children and their families. The program incorporates physical fitness and activity, drowning prevention, basic swimming techniques and sun safety. Additionally skill development in positive behaviour management, nutrition and protective behaviours are key components of the program.

$13,160 North West Outer Brisbane, Redcliffe, Pine Rivers, South-East Outer Brisbane, Logan Te Kohanga Ote Whenua Hou Association

The Te Kohanga Ote Whenua Hou Association will deliver Maori culture workshops for children, families and educators at early childhood services in areas with high populations of Maori and pacific islander children. The workshops will introduce Maori language, music, art and physical activity as a means to enhance physical wellbeing, social competence, emotional maturity and communication skills. Participants will be provided with a resource kit to support ongoing inclusion of activities in their service.