KidsMatter Early Childhood eNewsletter
Issue 5, July 2011
Editorial
Winter 2011
Welcome to the latest edition of the KidsMatter Early Childhood eNewsletter.
Early childhood mental health remains very high on the national agenda, with more funding announced in the last budget for early childhood mental health initiatives. This includes $11 million over five years to introduce a universal voluntary health check for three-year olds that, for the first time, will include social and emotional wellbeing and development.
The government will establish an Expert Group to advise on the inclusion of the evidence-based mental health and wellbeing check as part of the current Healthy Kids Check for three- and four-year old children, and map child mental health services nationally for inclusion in the National Health Call Centre Network.
More information will also be collected on childhood health and wellbeing to help inform future investments, including through the ongoing implementation of the Australian Early Development Index for children starting school.
Within the KidsMatter Early Childhood pilot, the majority of our pilot services are now moving into reflecting and planning for Component 4: Helping Children who are experiencing mental health difficulties.
We would also like to acknowledge and thank the many staff and parents who have completed round three of the evaluation data collection. The level of returns for the evaluation means that the KMEC evaluation is heading towards being a landmark national study.
Other items of interest in this edition are the launch of the KidsMatter Primary Expansion, updates from New South Wales and South Australian pilot sites, information for early childhood service staff supporting families, and the role early childhood services play in promoting good mental health for children.
Jo Cole
KidsMatter Early Childhood National Coordinator, Australian Psychological Society
Judy Kynaston
KidsMatter Early Childhood National Project Manager, Early Childhood Australia
News items
Where are we up to in the pilot?
KidsMatter Early Childhood (KMEC) pilot services have now completed professional learning for Component Three: Working with parents and carers. Facilitators have guided staff during their focus on working together with parents and carers, providing them with information and support, and helping families to develop connections with each other at their service. Services have adapted their current practices to do this and have come up with new ideas to further support the mental health and wellbeing of children. For example, one service created an online portfolio of their children and, as well as verbally, they communicate regularly with families about their children through this. Another service plans on inviting parents to be a ‘class rep’ to organise a social event, while another is going to have a world map on display where families can place a photo of themselves to represent their origin. These represent some of the great ways that services are developing partnerships with their families! You can read more about our pilot services in our facilitators’ stories below, by Rita Johnston from New South Wales and Amelia Joyce from South Australia.
Completion of Component Three also means our third booklet Information for families is now available for services to provide to families. This booklet includes information on the benefits of staff and families working together, ways of making connections with other families, as well as information on supporting parenting. You can click here to read the Component Three Information for families booklet.
The KMEC pilot is now moving into Component Four: Helping children who are experiencing mental health difficulties. Recently our facilitators attended a workshop at the APS National Office in Melbourne about the component. Facilitators are now getting ready to deliver the Component Four Professional Learning Field Test to their services, which will take place throughout July. Thank you to the pilot services that have volunteered to be part of this field test. We look forward to hearing about your experiences and the ways in which you will be helping children who are experiencing mental health difficulties at your services.
KidsMatter Primary expansion launch
The expansion of KidsMatter Primary was officially launched on Friday 24 June by the Minister for Mental Health and Ageing, the Hon. Mark Butler, at the 2011 Australian Primary Principals Association (APPA) Conference in Adelaide. The federal government has committed a further $18.4 million to the initiative, which will enable KidsMatter Primary to be expanded to an extra 1700 primary schools by June 2014.
Following a successful two-year pilot, an independent evaluation of KidsMatter Primary found that one in three students originally classified as at risk or experiencing mental health difficulties were no longer considered as such. Read more about the KidsMatter Primary Evaluation
Primary schools are invited to register for KidsMatter, and will have at least three years to plan and implement the initiative according to their needs. Register your schools’ interest in the initiative
KidsMatter Primary provides briefings for primary schools interested in becoming KidsMatter schools, as well as education, health and community personnel interested in getting involved with KidsMatter. For more information or to register for a briefing, visit the online events calendar.
KidsMatter Early Childhood partners are observing the plans that KidsMatter Primary are making for their expansion and researching the applicability to the early childhood sector.
Taking on the role of the ‘accidental counsellor’
Accidental counsellors are early childhood services staff who are not employed as counsellors, but often find they are supporting families through difficult times. This occurs when there are requests for help from families during normal day-to-day duties that staff undertake. Click here to read ‘Accidental Counsellor’ [PDF] which goes through how to:
- respond to difficult situations and/or strong emotions
- actively listen
- maintain personal and professional boundaries.
Good mental health for children
Early childhood services with warm and responsive interactions between staff and children have a positive impact on children’s development. Educators play a key role in introducing and maintaining protective factors in the lives of children. These provide children with a greater likelihood of developing good mental health which can have a positive influence throughout their lives. For example, children can have improved learning, ability to manage the transition to school and progress at school. For further information, click here to read ‘Good Mental Health for Children’ [PDF]
KidsMatter Early Childhood in our states and territories
What’s been happening in New South Wales?
Introducing our Facilitator, Rita Johnston
Rita Johnston has worked in education, from early childhood to TAFE, in Canberra, Brisbane and Sydney, for over 25 years. Originally a psychology graduate, Rita moved into primary education and then to Montessori early childhood education. She recently completed her qualifications in counselling. In her years working with young children, Rita has come to understand the vital importance of social and emotional literacy, and she sees early childhood settings as a place where children can develop their emotional intelligence, genuine self worth and authentic self.
When early childhood pilot sites from around Australia came together for the KidsMatter Early Childhood (KMEC) National Briefing some 18 months ago, virtually all participants commented that they had been waiting for support in the area of children’s mental health and well-being for some time. There was excitement that finally this support was being made available in a professional and organised way.
So how has the KMEC pilot matched up to the huge excitement and expectation of 18 months ago? Have expectations been met?
In NSW I am happy to report that all services who have engaged with KMEC have made gains! This is a pretty amazing result. While services have engaged with KMEC according to their capacity it would seem that even a small amount of engagement has brought some benefits. It seems that this is because KMEC is a framework that allows flexibility in the way services engage and with the state facilitator supporting the ‘PLAN-DO-REVIEW’ process, services do not get stuck for very long. Help is only a phone call away.
Recent gains include:
- Greater confidence with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF). KMEC fits very well under the EYLF umbrella and having supported strengths-based change through KMEC, developing action plans for EYLF implementation is no longer an unknown journey.
- As our understanding of KidsMatter has grown, educators have very naturally changed their practice to become more supportive of children’s mental health and well-being. Educators have reported they now have:
- a deeper understanding of the causes of children’s behaviour
- an understanding that it’s ok to have a caring, emotional and more intimate level of relationship with families and children
- become more positive and are attempting to be more positive in interactions with everyone
- developed more uniform practices with children within the whole service
- better and more collaborative relationships with families
- found that it is now easier to support children and families when problems arise
- increased feelings of calm and are happier in their work.
- Educators report that since engaging with KMEC, children are:
- more relaxed, purposeful and have better concentration
- more settled arriving in the morning
- better able to verbalise things for themselves
- more perceptive of their own and other children’s feelings and moods
- kinder to each other
- able to modify their behaviour with more ease
- happier since there are more events for families
- following routines more easily
- trying new things.
- Families are happier, more relaxed and more able to discuss difficulties they might be having with their children.
What fabulous gains!
The process of KMEC has increased services’ capacity to be reflective, chart current strengths, set goals and strategies for improvement, and review achievements – what KMEC calls the ‘PLAN-DO-REVIEW’ process. Becoming more familiar and skilled with this process will be a great help in meeting the National Quality Standards which will be in place next year.
Finally, NSW recently had its first KMEC network meeting in northern NSW, with Byron Busy Kids, East Lismore Preschool and Cooloon Children’s Centre attending. We shared gains and challenges, and began the process of building positive relationships with each other. It is these relationships that will support services in continuing KMEC long after the pilot phase is completed.
With all the gains that KMEC has brought to these services, to children, families and staff, I can see that this initiative has a very big future in helping all stakeholders in the early childhood sector achieve better lifelong mental health and well-being outcomes for everyone.
Rita Johnston
NSW KidsMatter Early Childhood Facilitator
What’s been happening in South Australia?
Introducing our Facilitator, Amelia Joyce
Amelia Joyce is passionate about social justice and is committed to advocate for the rights of children, families and communities to seek equitable, accessible, relevant and effective education and human services. As a social worker and educator she has supported individuals, families and children tackling a range of issues impacting their education, well-being and life. Amelia is committed to supporting services in enhancing their capacity to promote children’s mental health and well-being, respond effectively and holistically to mental health needs of children, and raise awareness of social and environmental factors that impact the mental health and well-being of children and their families.
Since my commencement as South Australian KidsMatter Early Childhood Facilitator in January 2011, I have enjoyed meeting with early childhood services to discuss how current principles, policies practices and future plans have been guided by the KMEC mental health initiative and what links exist specifically to KMEC Component 3.
Component 3 professional learning sessions for all pilot sites are now complete. Pilot sites have reflected upon their current practices, philosophies, and service policies in relation to how these encourage collaborative partnerships with families, support parenting and families’ connections to others. Professional learning sessions also provided opportunity for participants to consider ways that their individual responses to parents and carers are influenced by their personal values, feelings, beliefs, learning and past experiences. The South Australian KMEC Newsletter (accessible via the KMEC Resource Centre) contains further threads of conversations explored during professional learning sessions.
I’ve encountered many positive examples of how early childhood services have implemented the KidsMatter Early Childhood initiative. Here are just a few:
One kindergarten has identified that partnerships with families are enhanced when children have attended the service for occasional care prior to kindergarten. This has increased the time available to develop positive trusting relationships between staff, children and their families, but also increased opportunity for staff to understand the uniqueness, strengths and needs of the children and families.
A preschool also noted some general differences in the ease and timing of communicating with families who had previously attended the service through occasional care or with older siblings compared to families new to the service. As some children and families only attend the service for the five terms of kindergarten (including pre entry) the service is developing and formalising a universal approach communicating to parents the potential of allied health assessments and support available for children during the kindergarten year.
Another preschool invites families to visit at lunch when they can. Many have taken this opportunity to eat lunch and spend time with their children. It has also been a great way for parents and carers to get to know staff and other families.
Most recently, I visited Minya Bunhii and they have had a busy term maintaining links with the wider community, encouraging collaborative partnerships with families and providing opportunities for families to create positive connections. National Reconciliation Week (NRW) provided further opportunity for family connections to be supported. Minya Bunhii families attended the official celebrations where they were able to spend time with local Aboriginal elders and taste bush food.
Finally, Component Four: Helping children who are experiencing mental health difficulties is almost here. Facilitators are currently preparing for the first professional learning sessions which commence in July 2011.
Amelia Joyce
SA KidsMatter Early Childhood Facilitator
Other KidsMatter News
KidsMatter Primary update
For the latest update on KidsMatter Primary, check out the June 2011 eNewsletter, Getting along: Promoting relationships. Click here to read. Stay tuned for next edition of the KidsMatter Primary eNewsletter.
