Aboriginal children across NSW will benefit from a new program targeting the quality enhancement of Aboriginal early childhood services, Minister for Early Childhood Education and Aboriginal Affairs Sarah Mitchell announced today.
The NSW Government’s Quality Support program was developed following close consultation with the sector and aims to identify and address challenges faced by Aboriginal services across the state.
Ms Mitchell said this program is delivering what the sector expects and children and families deserve.
“The Quality Support program is yet another way the NSW Government is ensuring all families, regardless of their background, have access to top quality early childhood education services for their children,” Ms Mitchell said.
“This is also a fantastic opportunity for Aboriginal services to come together and discuss how Aboriginal culture has been embedded to everyday practice at their service. It is absolutely vital for Aboriginal children across the state to have a strong sense of culture and heritage and this program will support that.”
Aboriginal services with exemplary ratings and compliance history will be delivering sessions to showcase how Aboriginal culture has successfully been integrated to pedagogy at their service. These sessions will then be translated into a series of guides for services to keep and refer to.
The NSW Department of Education will also work directly alongside identified Aboriginal services to ensure they are meeting quality standards. Support will include visits, training, online follow-up, telephone support and additional resources to boost quality.
Sessions will be held in eight locations across NSW: Sydney, Newcastle, Mogo, Wellington, Lismore, Walgett, Griffith and Kempsey.