Ready, Set, Prep!: A Collaborative Approach Supporting Early Childhood Development and Wellbeing
Tracks
Online
| Monday, March 28, 2022 |
| 12:08 PM - 12:28 PM |
Overview
Ms Kat Thorn, Merri Health
Speaker
Ms Jackie Evers
Team Leader, Youth Health Promotion
Merri Health
Ready, Set, Prep!: A Collaborative Approach Supporting Early Childhood Development and Wellbeing
Abstract
Please see Kat Thorn
Biography
Jackie Evers is the Team Leader of Youth Health Promotion at Merri Health in Melbourne’s north and has been working in the Health Promotion field for over 13 years. She is passionate about initiatives that challenge structural inequality and that look for innovative ways to solve complex problems; whilst partnering alongside local community.
Mrs Nazish Khan
Community Engagement Officer
Merri Health
Ready, Set, Prep!: A Collaborative Approach Supporting Early Childhood Development and Wellbeing
Abstract
Please see Kat Thorn
Biography
Nazish is a passionate community engagement professional with over eight years’ experience working, studying and volunteering within the community services sector, and during this time has developed her expertise in community engagement, partnership development, and prevention of violence against women. Nazish is currently employed as a Community Engagement Officer at Merri Health and has worked on various social cohesion, gender equity and Community development projects.
Nazish is passionate about promoting diversity and inclusion and brings a social justice lens to all aspects of her work and life.
Ms Kat Thorn
Health Promotion Officer
Merri Health
Ready, Set, Prep!: A Collaborative Approach Supporting Early Childhood Development and Wellbeing
Abstract
Ready, Set, Prep! (RSP) is a place-based, collective impact initiative that aims to improve early childhood development and wellbeing outcomes in northern Melbourne. This partnership with community and service providers commenced in 2016, when evidence indicated a need for an empowering whole-of-community ‘school readiness’ intervention. The 2015 Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) results showed that 37% of children in Fawkner start school developmentally vulnerable, significantly higher than municipal (20.8%) and state (19.9%) averages. Subsequently, philanthropic organisations (William Buckland Foundation, Helen Macpherson Smith Trust) and the Victorian Department of Health funded the formation, and scaling-up, of the partnership.
RSP’s participation has grown from 5 to over 40 service providers, with Merri Health as the backbone organisation. This partnership works collaboratively alongside culturally-diverse community members to change systems that exacerbate inequality, and implement targeted initiatives to support development and wellbeing for children and families prior to school.
Together, in 2021 the partnership co-designed a Theory of Change for the scaling-up of RSP. This process was informed by past work, community consultation, Most Significant Change stories, and quantitative data. A complementary range of key activities were identified as part of this proportionate universalism model accompanied by targeted interventions- engaging community champions, facilitating groups meeting specific needs, launching a Transition Network, improving continuity of early learning, and co-designing resources and key messages.
Long-term, population-level, systems-change takes time to see its effects, but 2018 AEDC results are positive; the collective efforts have seen less children starting school developmentally vulnerable (Fawkner 2018: 26%, 2015: 37%).
RSP highlights the benefits of using data in a strengths-based manner, providing a platform for community-driven, localised solutions to tackle the highly complex barriers facing local children and families. Involving and empowering community in different ‘roles’ creates a sense of ownership and community capacity, leading to positive development and wellbeing outcomes.
RSP’s participation has grown from 5 to over 40 service providers, with Merri Health as the backbone organisation. This partnership works collaboratively alongside culturally-diverse community members to change systems that exacerbate inequality, and implement targeted initiatives to support development and wellbeing for children and families prior to school.
Together, in 2021 the partnership co-designed a Theory of Change for the scaling-up of RSP. This process was informed by past work, community consultation, Most Significant Change stories, and quantitative data. A complementary range of key activities were identified as part of this proportionate universalism model accompanied by targeted interventions- engaging community champions, facilitating groups meeting specific needs, launching a Transition Network, improving continuity of early learning, and co-designing resources and key messages.
Long-term, population-level, systems-change takes time to see its effects, but 2018 AEDC results are positive; the collective efforts have seen less children starting school developmentally vulnerable (Fawkner 2018: 26%, 2015: 37%).
RSP highlights the benefits of using data in a strengths-based manner, providing a platform for community-driven, localised solutions to tackle the highly complex barriers facing local children and families. Involving and empowering community in different ‘roles’ creates a sense of ownership and community capacity, leading to positive development and wellbeing outcomes.
Biography
Kat Thorn is a Health Promotion Officer at Merri Health, a large Victorian community health service that plays the role of the backbone organisation of Ready, Set, Prep!. Kat has been working in community health services in regional and metropolitan settings for the last seven years. She is passionate about supporting health and wellbeing through partnering with community on locally-driven initiatives, to achieve the best life outcomes.
