- Early Years Community Plan launched to benefit children and families in Armadale West area
- Plan focused on improving outcomes in child development, family safety, maternal health and financial wellbeing
- Plan is part of the Early Years Partnership between the State Government and Minderoo Foundation
An Early Years Community Plan (the Plan) has been released for children living in the Armadale West area, as part of the Early Years Partnership (EYP).
The EYP is a 10-year agreement between the State Government and Minderoo Foundation to achieve better developmental outcomes and improve school readiness for children aged 0-4 years across four communities, including Armadale West where more than one in four children are considered developmentally vulnerable.
The Plan was developed following extensive consultation with the local community and service providers, and identifies four key areas to support child wellbeing and school readiness, they are:
- Child development;
- Family safety;
- Maternal health; and
- Financial wellbeing.
The Armadale West community captures the school catchment zones for Challis Community Primary School, Neerigen Brook Primary School and Willandra Primary School, as well as families who use services through the Westfield Park Child and Parent Centre.
A local working group which includes representatives from the Department of Communities, Health and Education, City of Armadale, three local primary schools and other local service providers will support the Plan's implementation.
Work continues on the remaining three Community Plans for Derby, Central Great Southern (comprising the shires of Katanning, Kojonup, Gnowangerup and Broomehill-Tambellup) and Bidyadanga Aboriginal Community.
For more information and to read the EYP Armadale West Community Plan, visit the WA Government website.
As stated by Early Childhood Education Minister Sabine Winton
"The first five years of a child's life are critical to their development and life outcomes. It's during this time they build the foundation for lifelong learning, health, and wellbeing.
"The Early Years Partnership is a unique collaboration between the State Government and Minderoo Foundation that promotes new ways of working to achieve great results for children, families and the wider community.
"By consulting widely with the community and taking on their feedback, we're ensuring priorities, resources and solutions are tailored for local families and better support them to achieve positive outcomes for their children."
As stated by Armadale MLA Tony Buti:
"The Early Years Partnership is about listening to local families. We know they are best placed to understand the needs of their children and the community.
"It's great to see the Armadale community come together to provide valuable and localised input into this Plan, which will help to identify how services can be improved and how children and families can be better supported.
"Importantly, the consultation process also listened to and took on the feedback of Aboriginal and culturally and linguistically diverse families, as children from these backgrounds make up nearly 20 per cent of children in the area."
As stated by Minderoo Foundation's 'Thrive by Five' Director Jay Weatherill:
"We are incredibly proud to work alongside the Western Australian Government in this unique partnership between philanthropy and Government that is designed to do new things in new ways to support the development of children across WA.
"Delivering services to children and families is different for every family no matter where they live and so it's crucial that we involve local communities in the design and delivery of those services which goes to the heart of the Early Years Partnership.
"This 10-year commitment across four sites in WA showcases how a place-based, community-led and innovative model using the best available research and evidence can demonstrate better ways to support children and families and gives us knowledge to benefit all Western Australian families and communities."
