Project Sprouts Parkes 2870

28/11/2025

THE STATE OF AUSTRALIA’S CHILDREN REPORT 2025
ref: https://www.unicef.org.au/the-state-of-australia-s-children
Below is an extract from the Key Data Points listed in the Report.

HEALTH Latest figures Previous Change
Babies with low birthweight 2022 -6.5% 6.6% in 2019 Stable
Immunisation rate 2024 -90.7% 92.5% in 2019 -ve
Children meeting minimum fruit & veg consumption
2022-4.3% 6.0% in 2017-18 -ve
Children overweight/obese
2022-32.6% 32.6% in 2017-18 Stable
LEARNING
Preschool enrolment 2023-89.2% 84.7% in 2020 +ve
Parent reading to children 2024-67.8% 70.3% in 2021 -ve
Children developmentally vulnerable in first year of school
2024-23.5% 22.0% in 2021 -ve
School attendance 2024-88.3% 91.4% in 2019 -ve

The Report Suggested the Plan Forward:
"When we invest in the conditions that support all children to thrive, we build a more resilient, equitable and productive society. We can and must adopt a systems approach that places children and young people at the heart and removes barriers to access.
Early action reduces long term costs, improves life outcomes and strengthens the social and economic fabric of our nation. The pressures facing children, young people and families including the rising cost of living, housing insecurity, climate disruption and rapid technological change, demand a shift in focus from crisis management to prevention and early intervention.""
The Report set out the following recommendations:
"Recommendation 1: Establish an Early Intervention Investment Framework, supported by a National Children’s Data Strategy.
Recommendation 2: Establish a National Early Childhood Commission to ensure timely, cohesive reform.
Recommendation 3: Elevate children’s voices in decision making for meaningful co-design.
Recommendation 4: Increase the number of mental health and wellbeing professionals in early childhood education and care services and schools.
Recommendation 5: The implementation of a national Children’s Act, overseen by a national Ministerial Council for Children to provide cabinet-level oversight and accountability."
THE GOVERNMENT MUST ACT AND PROVIDE ADEQUATE FUNDING FOR THIS TO OCCUR.

A new report by UNICEF Australia, in partnership with ARACY and supported by The Minderoo Foundation, takes a comprehensive look at the wellbeing of Australian children and young people.

07/10/2025

29/08/2025

It’s been five years since Thrive by Five began, and what a five years it’s been.

Together, we’ve built a powerful movement for universal, high-quality early learning. We’ve helped secure landmark changes to affordability, educator pay, and access to care. We’ve put children’s wellbeing on the political agenda to create real change.

But our work isn’t finished.

This week, Minderoo Foundation and The Front Project launched the second Cost of Late Intervention report – a wake-up call that shows just how urgent early action really is.

Cover of the Cost of Later Intervention report
Here’s what it found:

$22.3 billion is spent every year by governments responding to crises that could have been prevented
That figure is up 47% since 2019
The biggest increases are in child protection and family violence
These are only the direct costs to taxpayers, not the broader costs to families, industry or the economy
This is not just about money. It’s about missed moments, when support could have changed a child’s path, strengthened a family, or prevented harm.

We are spending more to help fewer children, later, and at greater cost.

The message is clear: acting early isn’t just the right thing to do – it’s the smart thing to do.

What needs to happen next:
We’re calling on governments to treat early intervention as core economic policy, and to:

Invest in evidence-based support that works
Coordinate services so no child falls through the cracks
Prioritise equity and access for families doing it toughest
Build partnerships between government, philanthropy, business and community
Rebuild public trust through safety, transparency and workforce support
We’ve already proven what’s possible
Together, our Thrive by Five community has made early learning fairer, stronger and more visible than ever before. But this report is a reminder that we can’t stop now.

This is not about spending more – it’s about spending smarter. We can continue to pay for failure – or we can invest in success.

As we have demonstrated together, there is power in many voices calling for real, lasting change.

26/06/2025

Playgroups are important in supporting the development of young children and the wellbeing of their families. They have been part of early childhood programs in Australia for over 40 years. Playgroups are not preschools.

Playgroups are community groups that give regular opportunities for children (aged 0–5 years) and their parents or caregivers to play, learn and socialise. In Australia, playgroups typically involve parents, who may join their children in playgroup activities and/or socialise with each other while supervising their children.

There is evidence to suggest that playgroups support the development and wellbeing of children and parent–child relationships, provide social and parenting support for parents and carers, reduce isolation through fostering a sense of belonging, and can connect families to local community services.

Common examples of parent–child bonding activities are:
story time (reading books together)
arts and crafts (e.g. drawing or painting)
playing board or video games together
cooking and baking together.

Common examples of peer interaction activities are:
group games (e.g. ‘Simon says’)
music and movement (e.g. singing, dancing or playing instruments together)
role playing (e.g. acting out stories)
group sports activities (e.g. ball games)
nature play (e.g. playing or engaging in activities in nature).
https://youtu.be/cW1Rw1qarK0
Contact Neighbourhood Central or Catholic Care for information on playgroups in Parkes.

27/05/2025

Recently Parkes Country Women’s Association donated $2000 to Project Sprouts.
The donation has been well spent on a speech pathology app called Yarn Speech. The program is usually $300 a year but we were given a cut rate of $2000 enabling our 9 Parkes Shire preschools to access it. Yarn Speech is an innovative app that bridges the critical gap between referral and treatment in speech pathology.
Offering evidence-based daily activities designed by speech pathologists for children aged 0 to 3, Yarn is perfect for Australian children and families on waitlists. About 1 in 4 parents in Australia are concerned about their children’s speech. Waiting lists are up to 4 years.
A great big THANK YOU to the Parkes CWA.
Here is the link to Yarn Speech website www.yarnspeech.com.au

16/05/2025

EARLY CHILDHOOD ATTACHMENT PARENTING
This free online course teaches how early attachment parenting can benefit and promote better child development.
WHAT YOU WILL LEARN IN THIS FREE COURSE
*Summarise the history of attachment theory and different types of attachments
*Outline the important facts about infants' attachment to their parents at birth
*Discuss how skin-to-skin contact can support infant brain development
*Describe the benefits of breastfeeding for infants and mothers
Explain how to pay attention to a baby's crying properly
*Outline the role of health workers and fathers in promoting breastfeeding
*Summarise the concept of co-sleeping in terms of attachment parenting
*Outline the issues faced by working mothers in attachment parenting
Ref: https://alison.com/course/early-childhood-attachment-parenting?utm_source=bing&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=530823752&utm_content=1351302294370883&utm_term=kwd-84457527089888:loc-9&msclkid=4a3b686552911976e1120046a2abc868

06/05/2025

To read the full article go to https://emergingminds-cdn.b-cdn.net/content/uploads/2024/02/29125027/How-fathers-positive-engagement-and-caregiving-can-support-cmh.pdf.

23/04/2025

This year the Parkes Country Women's Association catered for the Ride to Give rally. The rally donated $2000 to Project Sprouts and the lovely ladies at the CWA decided to match this donation using the money raised from food sales on the day. A great big THANK YOU to the Ride to Give and Julie Macaulay the Parkes CWA President and her association members.