1. Capacity-Building Practices Hunter Prelude’s Supported Playgroup Model
12th Biennial National Conference Choices that matter: ECI in a new era …
Capacity-Building Practices
Delivering Better Outcomes for Children and Families through Building Capacity of Families, Communities and Organisations
Hunter Prelude’s Supported Playgroup Model
Good afternoon my name is Teineka Silva from Hunter Prelude Early Intervention Centre and together with Dr Amanda Howard from the University of Newcastle we are going to talk about Delivering Better Outcomes for Children and Families through Building Capacity of Families, Communities and Organisations
7-9 September, Melbourne, Australia

2. Introduction of Speakers
Dr Amanda Howard – University of Newcastle: Senior Social Studies Lecturer University of Newcastle
- Findings from Independent evaluation
Teineka Silva – Hunter Prelude: Community Inclusion Program Co-ordinator
- Context of Hunter Prelude’s Supported Playgroup Model
Dr Amanda Howard and her team conducted an independent evaluation on an innovated community orientated program Hunter Prelude developed in Amanda will deliver the findings from the evaluation.
But first im going to tell you a bit about the program
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3. Funding Stronger Together 1 Stronger Together 2
The funding body for disability services in NSW prior to NDIS was Aging Disability Home Care and through the Stronger Together 1 & Stronger Together 2 funding Hunter Prelude was able to build partnerships with other services and develop a supported playgroup model called Play 2 Learn.
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4. Groups supported by Hunter Prelude
Just to give you an idea of our geographical location.
Here is NSW, and approx. 150 km north of Sydney is the Hunter Valley and this maps breaks up the 6 Local Government Area’s that Hunter Prelude supports.
The red dots represents the 11 supported playgroups that were included in the independent evaluation.
Groups supported by Hunter Prelude
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5. Supported Playgroup Model Vision
Partnership model
Early Intervention
Early prevention
In local communities
Building community capacity
Sustainability
The vision of P2L was to build stronger relationships between services working with families with young children, and to have a one stop shop for families to access support and services and identify and provide early intervention to children that may be at risk of developmental delay.
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6. Carrie's Place Inc.
Hunter Prelude has 25 partners that make the program successful.
Upper Hunter Community Health
Wonai Wareya, New Directions Aboriginal & Torres Strait Islander Mothers & Babies Child & Family Health Service

7. Why Supported Playgroups?
Hunter Prelude recognised that:
Existing supports were not sufficient
Existing programs were not reaching all families in the community
Other services also experiencing the same challenges
HP recognised that there were limitations of choices with how support was provided for example our service focused on supporting children and families at home, in early childhood settings and small targeted groups at our centre. Through data we recognised that supports were not accessed by many vulnerable families. Also if families did not have transport or children did not access child care there were limitations to receiving supports.
And through networking other services recognised that there was limited resources within one organisation to support all the needs of children and their families. 7

8. Aims of Supported Playgroups
Provide prevention and early intervention in an inclusive community environment
Bringing local services together to provide support to young children and families in rural and remote communities
Connecting families with each other within their community
Transition to school support.
Partners collaborating with each for building capacity and sharing resources
– Prevention and early intervention is the main outcome and this is provided in inclusive environments to all community members. Through data we have noticed a rise in attendance from:
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families
Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) families
Vulnerable and disadvantaged families
We have also noticed a rise in Families with individualised NDIS funding accessing groups. The groups are universal and a soft entry point for screening and assessment.
Families accessing the program have commented on peer connections, TTS support, learning about the importance of play and practical parenting skills.
We recognised for sustainability purposes that capacity building was important for remote and rural communities
A town about 200km away Merriwa had minimal resources so Hunter Prelude and Ability Links worked together with the local council to build service and community capacity. This was achieved through 3 ways:
We developed termly community meetings that linked organisations, community members and local services to Merriwa. Some of the services included Community Health, schools, local GP, other early intervention services and FaCS funded services. This meeting is open for community members to attend as a way of asking questions and linking into correct services.
We also started a community supported playgroup and within 10 weeks local parents and the council took over the co-ordination and the playgroups is now running independently.
HP provided a therapy clinic that the GP, schools, preschools and families with young children could access with out being referred to our service.
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9. Access Participation Support
Play 2 Learn is designed to be assessable, encourage participation and provide support
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10. Provide a program that ALL children/families can access
“The playgroup is easy to access because it’s at the school & within walking distance from my house”
(P2L Parent)
Provide a program that ALL children/families can access
Access
Location
Services
Reaching ALL Communities
When thinking about access we are not just talking about the physical space but also having resources available for families to access like staff skills and expertise,
5 out of the 11 groups are in local public schools and as you can see from the parent comment it highlights the convenience of being able to access the playgroup because its in walking distance from her home.
Family support agencies, Domestic violence services, Gp’s, Paediatricians, CaLD and Aboriginal agencies are linking families to the playgroups and we are seeing regular attendance from these families. With in the groups families can continue to access supports.
The Schools promote the groups through their newsletters, Skool bag app and facebook page.
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11. Connecting to community
Connecting children & families’ to their community through the playgroups.
Participation
Play Based Learning
Connecting to community
Mainstream Settings
Libraries
Bunnings Warehouse
NAIDOC Week
Harmony Day
Community Gardens
Music workshops
The program provides opportunities for children to learn through play and for families to learn how to promote children’s learning and development through play.
The playgroup links into community activities and events . Local library staff attend groups to promote early literacy, families are also learning how to access the library and the importance of early literacy. The groups go on excursions to local parks, one of our groups received funding to develop a community garden which the families maintain, all groups link into NAIDOC Week and Harmony Day, Global Cardboard Box Challenge any other local community events.
We are also noticing that families with individual packages are coming to groups to be connected to their community.
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12. (Rose Oku, Northern Settlement Services)
To provide a variety of supports within these groups.
Support bonding & attachment
Improve wellbeing
Modify the content
Support
Transition to School
Parenting Programs
Assessment & Therapy
“Having a play workshop for mothers from other countries was good because it showed how play can support parents bonding and attachment with kids”
(Rose Oku, Northern Settlement Services)
Paperwork
Learning support meetings
Orientation to school process
Play based activities
There are a variety of supports made available to children and families through these playgroups and families can choose to access what support they want and when they are ready to so.
Within the groups staff are running Circle of Security, Bringing up Great Kids, 123 Magic, Baby talk and Triple P Stepping Stones. As well as running the parenting programs staff are incorporating parenting strategies from these programs in to groups as incidental teaching. Included is a comment from a CALD worker highlighting how parents from other countries have benefited from being involved in parenting programs.
Therapy support is provided within the playgroup setting, with therapists jointly developing strategies with staff and families on how to enhance children's skills and development within the playgroup setting and in their everyday activities at home. Families also request staff run information sessions such as communication workshops, sensory processing workshops, Brain development workshops.
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13. Connecting to the NDIS Family, Service community capacity building
A soft entry for families who need varying levels
Referral point to other support services including community health or NDIS
Children not eligible to receive an individual package
Children on waitlists
Families are attending groups and talking to staff about being supported, staff are providing other options to be supported if their needs are high.
With the family, staff are able to explore the needs of child and refer to other support services including community health or NDIS.
Families are accessing the groups while waiting to receive an NDIS package. Also in rural remote areas service waitlists are often long and in some of our groups we partner with Community Health and the therapy staff have been able to implement strategies while families are waiting for a service.
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14. Parents Comments:
“2 months ago staff in the playgroup noticed my daughter was crawling with a slight drag of one leg. The physiotherapist was at the playgroup and she gave me some activities to do at home and if after two months it had not corrected itself an assessment could be done to look deeper. 2 months later when the physiotherapist was back it had corrected itself”
(Mother of 18 month old).
“My child loves playgroup and is learning a lot. Everything that the playgroup provides is positive throughout everything e.g.. Sensory, movements, body, health, emotions.”
“Love that there is always something new and exciting to stimulate. Love that in the time we have been coming the playgroup has got bigger and more children attend”
“Very informative session. Learnt a lot. Will definitely attend again”
Parents have given feedback on what they are getting out of the programs some of the comments include that the groups are informative , receiving therapy supports have been useful, families are connecting with other families and children are having fun.

15. “The presence of Community Health staff at the group has allowed a ‘soft entry’ point for families to engage in services for their children.” Community Health
“…there have been a number of self-referrals to our program as the families became more familiar with the Case Managers in attendance, and we have found that this un-intrusive presence has enhanced parental confidence in seeking out supports”. Brighter Futures
“…our families who attend are also better informed of services available to support them and their children and more importantly, how to access them”. DEC Principal
One of our school partners recognised that groups are a way to better inform families of services . Community Health have identified the groups as a soft entry point for support and referrals. Brighter Future staff have noticed a rise in self-referrals and that staff are building stronger relationships with families.
Partner’s Comments

16. Dr Amanda Howard Independent Evaluation Findings
The project aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the Hunter Prelude Community Inclusion Playgroups across a range of domains including child and family well-being, skills, relationships, service support, partnerships between organisations, access to support for families in an inclusive environment, responsiveness to the needs of children and families, and early childhood intervention outcomes.
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17. Contacts Teineka Silva Co-ordinator
Community Inclusion Program
Hunter Prelude Early Intervention
Ph: E:
Dr Amanda Howard Senior Lecturer Social Work
School of Humanities and Social Science. Faculty of Education and Arts Ph:
ECIA 12th Biennial National Conference, Choices that matter: ECI in a new era …