Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) educators and Allied Health professionals recently joined together to improve access to early child development supports for local parents, carers and families.
Bought together by a shared passion to achieve improved outcomes for our local children, professionals across education and health committed time on a Saturday to learn together, away from busyness of their important weekday responsibilities supporting our local children and families.
The Local Early Childhood Development Supports Workshop focused on the importance of early engagement of caregivers with appropriate supports to ensure healthy development in children, for lifelong wellbeing. The collaborative session explained local supports, outlined effective pathways to access them, and provided tips to navigate referral processes.
Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service (CQHHS) led the session, aimed at easing the challenge of making effective referrals. The collective efforts were in response to feedback from Early Childhood educators about the complexity experienced when supporting parents seek child development assessments and supports. An experience also regularly shared by families.
The session aimed to:
build confidence of ECEC educators in identifying signs indicating that additional supports could be beneficial for children and their caregivers
familiarise with resources and tools to monitor child development milestones and identify support needs early
grow understanding of the required steps for referral pathways
share strategies for supporting assessment outcomes
enable conversations with families and caregivers in early identification and response to signs of child development needs.
The workshop highlighted the important role our early educators play in their trusted relationships with caregivers, and the guidance they can provide on how a supportive home environment and positive interactions shape child wellbeing and development.
Familiarity with The Red Flags Early Identification Guide (a health resource for professionals working with families with children aged birth to five years) was increased to help identify development concerns early, and practical tips were shared for initiating and maintaining open conversations with caregivers, including how to approach sensitive topics with empathy and understanding, and how to share proactive strategies for supporting children in different contexts at home.
Workshop participants from across the Gladstone Region, representing 10 local Child Care centres and Kindergartens, acknowledged the value of the workshop in growing their knowledge and shared how the learnings will positively enhance their professional capabilities and assist their daily practice and interactions with children and families.
One participant shared that they gained “further knowledge and confidence in supporting families with the referral journey”, and another participant commented on feeling equipped with “tools that can be shared with co-workers and families”.
Overall, participants commented that the event fostered valuable connections among attendees, creating a network of educators to support one another, and strengthening the sector.
The Local Early Childhood Development Supports Workshop marks a significant step towards improving outcomes for local children and families.
Continued collaboration between the two sectors will help build a shared understanding of local families' needs and barriers to accessing support, ensuring the right support at the right time to enable our local children start school ready to learn and on track to thrive.
For further information, please contact GRT
P: 07 4970 7382