Victorian Early Years Awards honour roll

The winners of the 2021 Victorian Early Years Awards were announced on Wednesday 10 November 2021 by the Minister for Early Childhood at an online awards ceremony hosted by Jimmy Rees.

Seven organisations and one individual early childhood teacher have been recognised for their achievements and contributions to leadership, outstanding achievement and innovation in improving outcomes for Victorian children and their families.

Winners of each category will receive a grant of $15,000 for professional development or to support their nominated initiative.

Congratulations to all of the finalists and winners.

Category 1: Improving Access and Participation in Early Learning

Awarded for an initiative that promotes access, ongoing participation and engagement in early learning, particularly for families experiencing vulnerability and/or disadvantage.

Winner: Coldstream Education Precinct, Coldstream Primary School

The Coldstream Education Precinct was created by Coldstream Primary School (CPS) to bring together Maternal and Child Health Care, Playgroups, Coldstream Kinder, CPS's Outside School Hours and Vacation Care, Foodbank Victoria, Breakfast Club and Lyrebird College into a one-stop support hub.

Through these partnerships the Coldstream Education Precinct was able to offer children and their families enriching, educational and supportive experiences within the Coldstream community, as well as smooth transitions from birth to secondary school.

Respected for the free, wrap-around services it offers to the Yarra Ranges community, the Precinct is especially important to vulnerable families, who regularly connect with early learning services and the community Playgroup – which has been recognised in a recent best practice study by Australian Catholic University.

Providing a community hub that supports all families to engage with early learning and other service-based organisations, the Coldstream Education Precinct is improving access to high-quality educational activities and services for local families, and supporting parent and child learning through its caring, whole-of-community approach.

Finalists

Education Pathways Program, Launch Housing

The Education Pathways Program (EPP) is an initiative of Launch Housing's Homeless Children's Specialist Support Services. The program aims to improve early learning and educational outcomes for children experiencing homelessness and family violence, in partnership with kindergartens, schools, and other agencies.

The program's holistic and caring support service is enabling some of Victoria's most vulnerable children to overcome individual and systemic barriers to engaging in education, developing their confidence and involvement as learners and significantly reducing the anxiety and hardship of families experiencing homelessness.

Providing a wrap-around service to support homeless children to remain in, or to connect with, education, the EPP is working to increase the capacity of caregivers to support their children engage with early learning and make a positive start to school, assisting with social-emotional skills and opening dialogue across kinders and schools.

The program assists families to navigate formal processes such as enrolments as well as facilitating access to developmental, therapeutic and educational services to address their children's unique support needs.

Whittlesea refugee background Community Advisory Group, Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House)

The Whittlesea Community Advisors Project was a collaboration between members of the Arabic-speaking community in Whittlesea, Foundation House, Whittlesea Community Connections and the City of Whittlesea Universal Maternal Child Health Family Engagement Outreach Team. The project aimed to improve the inclusion and participation of families and children of refugee backgrounds in Victorian early childhood services.

Under this initiative newly arrived, Arabic-speaking refugee parents from various cultural and religious backgrounds were invited to become Community Advisors. Working with representatives from ten local agencies, Community Advisors identified barriers to accessing early childhood services being faced by refugee families.

Solutions were developed to overcome these barriers including; better translated resources for families, improved intake practices including using audio and visual resources to support communication, updated early childhood professional training about working with interpreters and more effectively working in partnership community organisations and families.

Parents who participated as Community Advisors reported as a result of this project they were able to take on employment as educators and community workers and play broader roles as community peer leaders.

Category 2: Supporting Parents to Build their Capacity and Confidence

Awarded for an initiative that supports families, parents and carers to feel confident and capable in their parenting role, and recognises their role as the first and most important teachers in supporting their child’s learning and development.

Winner: Zoe Support Australia

Since 2013, Zoe Support Australia has provided wrap-around, place-based support to young mothers (aged 13-25) in the Mildura and surrounding communities.

Successfully increasing parent-child attachment, family stability and breaking cycles of welfare-dependence, this program is significantly improving educational and employment outcomes for young mothers and their children.

Through Zoe Support Australia's wrap-around service model, young mothers can access childcare, transport, study hubs and services necessary to achieving their education and employment goals. Programs also include playgroup, courses for healthy family meal preparation, and bridging numeracy and literacy gaps as a pathway for mothers to return to education.

Expanding to provide case management and Integrated Family Services, Zoe Support has formed a wider support network with local agencies, ensuring brighter futures for young families in the region.

In 2020-2021, with the support they received through the program, forty-three percent of young mothers have enrolled in accredited education, and twenty-three percent found employment. A significant reduction in young mothers experience of abuse or illness has also been recorded.

Finalists

Chorus Music Therapy Clinic

In 2020, Chorus Music Therapy opened its first NDIS registered clinic, providing early childhood music therapies and support for families experiencing vulnerability and disadvantage.

Through online, home, kindergarten or childcare centre visits, and from the new clinic premises in Geelong the services is providing mobile individual and group music therapy programs to children with disabilities and their parents in Geelong and its surrounding area.

Chorus's team of Registered Music Therapists specialise in music therapy for infants, children and young people with a neurologic impairment, injury or disorder.

Sessions include a range of music therapy techniques that target individual children's developmental goals, collaboratively set with parents to extend the developmental potential of children's everyday engagement with music.

Parents are finding music therapy to be a meaningful approach to meeting their children's unique developmental goals. An evaluation of the program in mid-2021 showed that parents were able to identify significant improvement in children's development over time, including speech and language development, literacy and numeracy skills.

Family Foundations, Merri Health

Family Foundations is an innovative, evidence-based intervention co-parenting support program that promotes parent mental health, strengthens parenting partnerships and aims to reduce conflict during pregnancy and the critical early years of children's lives.

Merri Health, in partnership with Murdoch Children's Research Institute, has brought this US-based program to Melbourne to trial it for the first time in Australia. A family-based and father inclusive intervention, Family Foundations ensures the participation of all parents and caregivers is acknowledged as important in children's lives.

The adapted home-based model is a ten-session intensive program, providing content and skill-building opportunities for parents and caregivers. Specific areas covered include emotion regulation, stress management, healthy communication, co-parenting support and conflict resolution.

Evaluation of the program has highlighted significant decreases in parental conflict, children's exposure to conflict and parental depressive symptoms.

In partnership with Murdoch Children's Research Institute.

Category 3: Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships

Awarded for an initiative that promotes collaborative practice to support and demonstrate positive outcomes for children and families.

Winner: Melton refugee background Communities of Practice: 'This is how we do it', Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House)

Informed by research supporting place-based 'whole of organisation' collaborations, and incorporating meaningful community engagement and continuous improvement outcomes, a Community of Practice (CoP) was formed between Foundation House, Melton City Council Best Start and ten early childhood Melton services.

Facilitated by local refugee-specific services, the CoP has dramatically improved the attendance and enrolment of children with families of refugee background in their early years.

Prior to the initiative, early childhood services reported low confidence in their capacity to successfully include children from refugee backgrounds, despite Melton's high population of refugee families. Processes that were effective in supporting vulnerable families were not successful at supporting children and families with refugee backgrounds.

Collaborating over a period of 18 months the CoP developed a number of video resources to build the capability and confidence of early childhood services in the area to welcome children and families of refugee background, including examples of documentation, social stories, accessible cultural profiles and translated resources to enable confident enrolment.

By working through a successful multi-faceted response to address the educational and settlement needs of communities experiencing vulnerability the systematic approach has improved outcomes for refugee families.

Finalists

The Honey Pot Childcare Centre

In 2020, the Honey Pot Childcare Centre implemented a community-based initiative to connect the children and the Centre with their local community of Warrnambool, encouraging children and educators to broaden their understanding of their community through value-based exploration and engagement.

Excursions allow the children to enter the community in a safe manner, encouraging exploration of their local environment and the forming of relationships with new social groups.

Themed projects, such as 'Aboriginal Culture – Tower Hill', 'Local Heroes' and 'Intergenerational Growing and Learning' grow children and families' understanding of the key issues, cultures and individuals that shape their local community and environment.

The different communities of focus provide educators with meaningful context for reflective play and learning. Play spaces in the Centre are designed to extend the children's learning from their engagement with the community, and inspire children's active participation in their life and learning.

Being Equal, Star Health

As a leading provider of health services in Victoria, Star Health identified that while there was support for Victorian schools to take a whole-of-school approach to promoting gender equity and respect, there was no similar whole-of-setting approach for early learning services.

In response Star Health partnered with five early childhood services across Port Phillip and Stonnington, to pilot the initiative Being Equal: a two-year, whole-of-service approach to ensuring children attending early childhood services experience more respectful relationships and less rigid gender stereotypes.

Being Equal's model for change in early childhood services was based on the Respectful Relationships in schools model. This whole-of-setting approach recognises that change must go beyond training and curriculum, and needs to be embedded in policy practice, procedures, staffing, environment, leadership, and culture.

The program follows a continuous improvement cycle that focuses on six benchmark areas, including community partnerships and supports for staff and families impacted by family violence.

Evaluation has highlighted considerable progress to embedding changes across all benchmark areas and the findings are being used to refine the Being Equal model and future resources to support implementation for new participants.

Category 4: Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing

Awarded to an initiative that is improving health and wellbeing outcomes for young children.

Winner: Early Years Education and Community - Barwon Child, Youth and Family

Barwon Child, Youth and Family pioneered the implementation of Sunshine Circles in the Barwon region as an evidence-based social-emotional program, informed by the four dimensions of Theraplay: a child and family therapy developed for professionals working to support ongoing participation in early learning and healthy child-caregiver attachment.

Sunshine Circles is adult-directed and structured, where the teacher leads playful, cooperative, and nurturing activities that encourage children’s social, emotional and cognitive development.

Barwon Child, Youth and Family has successfully implemented the Sunshine Circles program and in-home support to families who may be experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage, bringing carers and parents together in collective support of their children’s individual needs.

Evaluation of the program has shown a positive shift in overall outcomes identified for over 80% of all participants, with over 60% of children showing a decrease in challenging, uncooperative and distracted behaviours.

Finalists

Bush Kinder for Mental Health, Kinglake Ranges Children's Centre

Kinglake Ranges Childcare Centre developed their Bush Kinder for Mental Health program to respond to a rise in challenging behaviours exhibited by children at the service.

Drawing from extensive research, Bush Kinder for Mental Health addresses the rise of anxiety and mental health disorders in young children through increasing the level of free play and interaction with nature in children's lives.

Working with their local environment and community, intentional low child-to-educator ratios and prioritising the professional development of staff, the Centre has created a play-based program that is dramatically improving outcomes for local children which focuses on developing strong mental health and forges community connections at its core.

The core elements of the program are now embedded in everyday practice supporting the wellbeing and development of babies through to preschool children. The results being observed are exceptional with staff observing significant improvements in resilience and persistence, increased levels of empathy and better social negotiation skills than previously seen.

Supported and safe start for Gippsland families, Olivia's Place

Driven by the vision of 'Supported Parents, Thriving Children, and Connected Families', Olivia's Place is a not-for-profit organisation supporting families experiencing vulnerability around the time of welcoming a baby, to have a safe and supported start to life as a new family.

Providing comprehensive and accessible services to parents during pregnancy and up to the youngest child's first birthday, Olivia's Place supports mothers and their families to set the stage for a supportive family environment in which children can thrive.

Recognising each client's personal journey as their own unique experience, Olivia's Place is renowned as a service that takes great care to deliver open, direct and individualised support to meet the many different challenges of ensuring a safe pregnancy and healthy child.

Actively improving access to health and wellbeing resources for new parents with the support of the Gippsland community, Olivia's Place is successfully linking families with professionals in child health, domestic violence support, birth support and mental health services.

Category 5: Continuity of Early Learning

Awarded to two or more early childhood services, schools and/or other organisations that support continuity of early learning through successful transitions.

Winner: Creative Arts Transition, Shine Bright Helm Street Kindergarten

Creative Arts Transition is a partnership that is improving vulnerable children's transition to school by building their social and emotional skills through creative arts.

Identifying social-emotional development as a key priority of school readiness, Helm Street Kindergarten and Kangaroo Flat Primary partnered to engage an Art Therapist to work between the two settings, supporting children to make what can be a challenging transition – particularly for children experiencing vulnerability.

The Art Therapist provides continuity and guidance across kindergarten and school, supporting children to tell stories about their experience in creative and non-verbal ways. By providing a safe medium through which they can express emotion, build resilience and establish meaningful relationships, children develop a sense of place and belonging with the new learning environment.

Unique in its focus on improving wellbeing for all children through creative art making, Creative Arts Transition is ensuring the impact of creative, caring and consistent relationships is supporting children's successful transition to the school environment.

In partnership with Kangaroo Flat Primary School

Finalists

Transitioning to Primary School - A Model Sustaining Continuity of Learning for Children with Autism, Abacus Learning Centre

Abacus Learning Centre offers 'Abacus School', a program for developing school readiness skills for children with autism through centre-based Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) therapy.

Early childhood educators adopt the roles of 'teachers' and 'learning assistants' modelling what typically happens in a prep classroom. This help children better understand and prepare for the new routines and environments their will experience in school.

Working with families and educators from a child's chosen primary school, transition support is individualised and staged, slowly decreasing as the child commences primary school, facilitating the child's learning continuity in the new environment. On entering primary school, children know what to expect, and feel confident about what they need to do and how to do it.

Data highlights all children who completed the Abacus School program have experienced successful transition into school.

In partnership with Learning for Life Autism Centre.

Alphabeenies Program, Pembroke Primary School

The Alphabeenies program at Pembroke Primary School is designed to cater for families and their individual needs, particularly those with diverse language backgrounds. Since 2015, the innovative Alphabeenies program has supported the continuity of early learning between kindergarten and primary school.

The Alphabeenies program is founded in the understanding that effective transitions are achieved when the child and family have a sense of belonging and acceptance in the new context. Traditional transition programs often run for only a few sessions late in the school year.

The unique Alphabeenies program provides regular, structured sessions over a longer period so that children in their last year of kindergarten can gradually build their confidence and literacy skills in the new setting.

Alphabeenies engages parents too – parents help at table groups with activities that enable children's support, regardless of their language proficiency.

Teachers at Alphabeenies utilise visual and kinaesthetic approaches to support learning and the inclusion of current Prep students in the transition program provides important peer support to early learning, strengthening the confidence of both children and parents to make a successful transition from kindergarten to primary school.

Category 6: Early Childhood Teacher of the Year

Awarded to an early childhood teacher who demonstrates evidence-based innovation and exemplary practice in early childhood education, and making a significant contribution to the development and delivery of high-quality early childhood education programs that improve learning and development outcomes for children.

Winner: Louise Bayley

As an early childhood teacher at Kalkallo Pre-School, Louise Bayley works in a growing and diverse community with a large population of new migrants.

Louise's reflective and respectful teaching practice is driven by her dedication to the wellbeing of children and families and the fostering of reciprocal relationships.

Embodying Victorian Early Years Learning Development Framework practice principles, Louise's dedication to improving children's access to learning is shaped by following children's lead, engaging with families and having a strong focus on promoting cultural understanding to improve children and families' health and wellbeing.

Always seeking opportunities to extend her knowledge to meet the specific needs of children and their families, Louise is able to identify any barriers to their learning, and adopt strategies that encourage children to develop from their unique point of need.

Working with other educators during the recent lockdowns, Louise provided children and their families with access to support services, creating a community library and providing engaging resources to support at-home learning.

Finalists

Ariel Liddicut

Passionate about quality early education, early childhood teacher Ariel Liddicut from Grovedale Child and Family Centre, believes the basis of a more equitable and kinder society is one that respects the diversity and uniqueness of both individuals and the environment.

Currently studying a Master of Education, Ariel has focused on growing her skills in supporting gender expansive children and their families.

Sharing her learning and significant expertise in this area, she is collaborating and sharing information with teachers and educators working in other early childhood services to support gender fluid and expansive children and their families, in turn supporting these children's wellbeing, unique identity and sense of belonging.

Equally dedicated to the protection of the environment, Ariel uses her classroom to teach children and their families about the importance of being good custodians of the land, delivering well-researched, practical and lifelong lessons.

In addition, she is successfully mentoring other early childhood services to build their capacity to provide environmentally sustainable teaching practices and service habits.

Category 7: The Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

Awarded to an early childhood service or approved service provider that has led their educators and teachers to significantly improve the quality of their learning and teaching practices, with a focus on intentional teaching practices to achieve improved outcomes for Victorian children and their families.

Winner: Clarendon Children's Centre

Clarendon Children's Centre has worked consistently for over ten years to establish an equitable model of distributed leadership that draws on individuals' expertise and provides opportunities for team members to lead different programs that inform and engage their early years learning community.

Educational leaders with expertise in strengthening quality, sustainability, Indigenous perspectives, wellbeing, inclusion and diversity, healthy eating, outdoor learning and OHS portfolios work together to ensure intentional teaching, professional learning, collaborative partnerships and a respect for equity and diversity are embedded in everyday practice at the centre.

Clarendon Children's Centre has invested to their educators' continuous development in the past three years. With many opportunities completed by two or more educators, learning is being optimised and has meant learning outcomes are more likely to be embedded in daily pedagogy.

Leading a range of initiatives across the Centre such as a partnership with the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation and Being Equal, a Star Health initiative supporting respectful relationships, the Clarendon Children's Centre's exemplary approach to leadership and its development is improving outcomes for all children at their service.

Finalists

Anna Moutzouris

For over thirty years, Anna Moutzouris, Director of Monash Vale and Bridge Road Early Learning Centres has dedicated herself to improving the early childhood sector through building strong partnerships with families and the community.

Anna leads with a strength-based, shared leadership model that enables all educators to develop roles that reflect their specific areas of expertise or passion. This distributed responsibility enables the best outcomes for the early years learning community.

Anna's innovative leadership and mentoring approach has created a 'home-from-home' experience for children, families and educators. In the last year the emphasis has been developing Reconciliation Action Plans for Monash Vale and Bridge Road Early Learning Centres and offering improved wellness support, especially during recent lockdowns.

Initiating the development of home learning packs, Zoom sessions and extra support for educators' mental health and wellbeing in response the recent pandemic , Anna focuses upon each individual's need, whether parent, child or educator, offering creative and caring solutions that ensure the continuity of learning for all children.

Minister's Award

The Minister's Award is a special commendation that has been selected from the pool of finalists across all seven categories and selected by the Minister of Early Childhood.

Winner: Bush Kinder for Mental Health, Kinglake Ranges Children's Centre

Kinglake Ranges Childcare Centre developed their Bush Kinder for Mental Health program to respond to a rise in challenging behaviours exhibited by children at the service.

Drawing from extensive research, Bush Kinder for Mental Health addresses the rise of anxiety and mental health disorders in young children through increasing the level of free play and interaction with nature in children's lives.

Working with their local environment and community, intentional low child-to-educator ratios and prioritising the professional development of staff, the Centre has created a play-based program that is dramatically improving outcomes for local children which focuses on developing strong mental health and forges community connections at its core.

The core elements of the program are now embedded in everyday practice supporting the wellbeing and development of babies through to preschool children. The results being observed are exceptional with staff observing significant improvements in resilience and persistence, increased levels of empathy and better social negotiation skills than previously seen.

Category 1: Improving Access and Participation in Early Learning

Awarded for an initiative that promotes access, ongoing participation and engagement in early learning, particularly for families experiencing vulnerability and/or disadvantage.

Curious Young Minds Early STEM Literacy Program – Ardoch

Ardoch’s Curious Young Minds Early STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Medicine) Literacy Program is an initiative developed with the support of Deakin University to improve literacy and learning outcomes for children in their early years.

The program is evidencing real success in the development of children’s STEM literacy and skills and is creating greater access and participation in early learning, particularly for children experiencing vulnerability or disadvantage.

The Curious Young Minds program aligns with the engineering, designing and making aspects of the Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework curriculum. Sustainable resource kits that encourage creative play and inquiry-based learning are introduced to early years centres by trained volunteers.

Since starting in 2017, the Curious Young Minds program has been delivered to 39 early years centres across Victoria, reached 1176 children (aged 3-5), mobilised 98 trained volunteers and significantly lifted children’s STEM literacy levels and outcomes.

Category 2: Supporting Parents to Build their Capacity and Confidence

Awarded for an initiative that supports families, parents and carers to feel confident and capable in their parenting role, and recognises their role as the first and most important teachers in supporting their child’s learning and development.

Caring Mums

The Caring Mums program is a confidential, non-denominational and free service providing emotional support to pregnant women and mothers of newborn babies.

Offering a holistic approach in the field of child development, the program is addressing the needs of not only the child, but the emotional and physical wellbeing of the mother.

Caring Mums was officially launched in 2012 with 27 mums and 24 volunteers. Since then, they have responded to more than 500 mothers and trained over 140 volunteers.

Volunteers come from a range of backgrounds and from a broad age range. As experienced mothers themselves, the program’s volunteers bring validation, encouragement and normalisation to a woman’s experience of pregnancy and early motherhood.

In 2017, an external evaluation of Caring Mums clearly demonstrated that women who participated in the program have decreased feelings of depression, isolation and anxiety, and increased confidence in their parenting skills – outcomes that lead to the greater empowerment of women and a healthier environment in which children can develop.

Category 3: Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships

Awarded for an initiative that promotes collaborative practice to support and demonstrate positive outcomes for children and families.

By Five – Wimmera Southern Mallee (WSM) Specialist Paediatric Support Partnership (SPSP)

The Wimmera Southern Mallee Specialist Paediatric Support Partnership (SPSP) is significantly improving health and wellbeing outcomes for children in the local community by embedding specialist expertise within the local primary care services that families trust and use every day.

A collaboration between local Maternal Child Health providers and the Royal Children’s Hospital, the research-based initiative ‘By Five’ responds to 2018 Australian Early Development Census data that exposed a growing gap in the school-readiness of rural children compared with urban children.

The SPSP initiative extends to over 50 health, education and family service providers working with families with children, as well as the Department of Education and Training, Department of Health and Human Services and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute.

Everyday practice currently sees many rural children referred to specialist services for health and development issues that could be resolved locally.

The SPSP’s innovative shared care initiative is successfully connecting specialist expertise with local primary health providers via digital health, improving the confidence and capacity of primary health services to solve complex care issues in partnership with families.

In partnership with Yarriambiack Shire, West Wimmera Shire, Buloke Shire Council, Horsham Rural City Council, West Wimmera Health Service, Uniting Wimmera, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Royal Children’s Hospital.

Category 4: Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing

Awarded to an initiative that is improving health and wellbeing outcomes for young children.

Early Years Body Safety Superstars – Body Safety Australia

Launched in 2015, Early Years Body Safety Superstars (Superstars) takes a whole-community approach to child abuse prevention, working with children, parents and educators to ensure the collective understanding and implementation of body safety for children.

Through age-appropriate song, storytelling, activities and role play, children cover ten key learning objectives including Assertive Communication and Body Autonomy.

Evaluations indicate Superstars is improving outcomes for children and families by enhancing their ability to recognise and respond to inappropriate situations.

Superstars applies innovative approaches to increase a child’s ability to disclose if they have been subjected to abuse and is increasing adults’ confidence to take action in protecting children from further abuse.

Highly skilled facilitators use a trauma-informed and intersectional approach to support parents/carers to model consent and body safety practices in the home, improving the understanding and recognition of child sexual abuse and grooming behaviours.

Delivering online and in-person support for regional and rural communities, the program is reaching the most vulnerable families in the state.

Category 5: Continuity of Early Learning

Awarded to two or more early childhood services, schools and/or other organisations that support continuity of early learning through successful transitions.

Buddy Reader Program – Leopold Child and Family Centre

In 2019, the Leopold Child and Family Centre initiated an innovative Buddy Reader Program linking the children at Jellyfish Kinder with Leopold Primary School students and the Leopold Library Grade 5 children were buddied-up with the kindergarten children as they would go on to be their buddy in the following year at school.

The program had the Grade 5 children visit the Kindergarten weekly for a session followed by a walk to the local library with their buddies.

Nicknamed ‘Jellypold’ by the children, the program is easing the transition of early learners into school and making a positive impact on children and their families. As well as improving children’s literacy, a greater focus on improving relationships and wellbeing has developed – for the kindergarteners and their buddies.

In partnership with Leopold Library and Leopold Primary School.

Category 6: Early Childhood Teacher of the Year

Awarded to an early childhood teacher who demonstrates evidence-based innovation and exemplary practice in early childhood education, and making a significant contribution to the development and delivery of high-quality early childhood education programs that improve learning and development outcomes for children.

Josette Nunn

At the Yarram Early Learning Centre, kindergarten teacher and educational leader Josette Nunn has developed a unique educational philosophy based on an interweaving of contemporary early childhood theories and practices, and the ‘fabric’ of a place.

Through this approach, Josette designs learning programs that include the heritages of the children, families and community.

By emphasising the importance of the community, Josette refers to the area surrounding the Yarram Early Learning Centre as being “surrounded by a tapestry of possibilities”, and through her teaching encourages children and families to immerse themselves in their community.

Josette’s demonstrated ability to create inclusive and engaging environments for early years learning, recognises the diverse nature of children’s learning styles and knowledge.

Engaging children’s curiosity and ability to learn through discovery, she is giving agency to children’s voices and fostering their ability to explore and grow in understanding in ways that meaningfully engage their local environment and community.

In addition, Josette is enthusiastic about not only furthering her own professional development, but that of her colleagues and peers as well.

In her current position as the kindergarten teacher and educational leader at Yarram Early Learning Centre Josette has provided inspiration through her role-modelling and encouragement, and she continually challenges her colleagues to strive for excellence.

Category 7: The Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

This award is presented to an early childhood service that has supported its educators and teachers to use intentional teaching practices to achieve improved outcomes for children and their families.

Haileybury Early Learning Centre

At Haileybury’s Early Learning Centre (ELC) the leadership team base their approach to learning on what children know now and are ready to learn next, using evidence-based practices to inform differentiated learning approaches and to measure their impact, ensuring exceptional learning outcomes for all children.

Place-based education, kinship, culture and language in early years education is an important focus for the education leaders at Haileybury’s ELC.

Embedding values of sustainability and evidence-based inquiry into their early years learning program, they are developing innovative age-appropriate assessment tools and enabling teachers to inform approaches to further children’s language and literacy skills.

Working with their education team, Haileybury’s ELC leadership undertakes a trial and review approach to new initiatives to ensure ongoing continuous improvement. Professional learning and mentorship have also significantly improved the quality of educators’ teaching practices and learning outcomes for children.

A recent research project initiated by a team of educators resulted in the co-creation of a book about sustainability and sustainable practices with four to five-year old children.

The Minister’s Award

The Minister’s Award is a special commendation that has been selected from the pool of finalists across all seven categories and selected by the Minister of Early Childhood.

Special Kindergarten Program – Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute

In April 2013, the Royal Children’s Hospital Education Institute (RCHEI) introduced a funded kindergarten inpatient program at the Royal Children’s Hospital, facilitating their engagement in early learning for four-year old children hospitalised due to illness, injury, or for children experiencing disadvantage and adversity.

In partnership with families, enrolled kindergarten programs, hospital medical and paramedical staff and cultural organisations, the program is continuing to provide high-quality learning opportunities to children who have limited to no access to community kindergarten settings due to ill-health, vulnerability, disadvantage or hospitalisation.

With challenges presented by coronavirus (COVID-19), the program adapted to become completely virtual. Two highly skilled early years educators are committed to implementing an all-encompassing virtual learning environment and ensuring that children and families feel adequately equipped to access the online early years content.

Uploading daily lessons and activities designed to encourage self-discovery, the program is nurturing children’s autonomy and wellbeing, and decreasing isolation issues for many children and families – both in the community and while in hospital.

The RCHEI Special Kindergarten Program is improving access to education and the participation of children in hospital and post discharge by supporting early learners and their families during and after their hospital experience.

Category 1: Improving Access and Participation in Early Learning

Awarded for an initiative or program that promotes access and ongoing participation and engagement in early learning, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged families.

Moreland City Libraries: Word Play

A partnership between Merri Health and Moreland City Libraries, Word Play is a dynamic literacy learning model focused on supporting newly-arrived migrant families with low English literacy.

Following a successful pilot in 2018, Word Play now runs weekly at Fawkner Library. The program focuses on fun songs, games and books, with an emphasis on families learning together. Separate adult-focused sessions with a literacy librarian and reading buddy are also available for parents and carers.

Evaluation findings revealed significant improvements across all program objectives, including children's English literacy and school-readiness, and the capacity of parents to support their child's learning. Overwhelmingly, respondents said that Word Play helped them to improve their own English.

Partners: Merri Health, State Library Victoria and Public Libraries Victoria

Category 2: Supporting Parents through Evidence-based Practise

Awarded to organisations who are delivering evidence-based practice to support families to develop their skills and confidence to support their child’s wellbeing and development.

Rosanna Golf Links Primary School: Sound Partnerships: Promoting partnerships with families for the teaching of phonics

Rosanna Golf Links Primary School has improved the reading skills of its Foundation children through the Sound Partnerships program.

Families are central to Sound Partnerships. The program views parents and carers as active educators in inclusive, three-way partnerships with staff and children. Parents are empowered through being given access to learning intentions and resources that allow them to understand and reinforce classroom teaching at home.

Family knowledge is further built through information nights and sharing information with other parents.

The program works by teaching children letters, sounds, reading and spelling explicitly, synthetically and in a systematic and cumulative manner.

The program has yielded excellent outcomes. Reading ability in Foundation students has improved significantly and many parents have reported a growing love of reading at home.

Category 3: Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships

Awarded for a service or initiative that promotes collaborative practice to support and demonstrate positive outcomes for children and families.

Balnarring Preschool

Balnarring Preschool advocates a culture of learning in natural environments and consciously connecting children to the land.

Since 2010 the organisation has been introducing First Peoples world views into its practice and community. This has been carefully guided by Elders from the Boon Wurrung Peoples, on whose land the preschool stands.

First Peoples perspectives are now incorporated into all areas of the daily curriculum, allowing children to learn and explore the Boon Wurrung language, stories, songs and dances.

In 2015 the Bundjil Nest Project (BNP) was established, extending the learning at the preschool to other local services, including schools and early learning centres. In 2018 the Balnarring Preschool held a festival celebrating and honouring First Peoples Cultures.

The popularity of these initiatives, and the high level of enrolments, demonstrate the success of the program.

Partner: Boon Wurrung Foundation

Category 4: Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing

Awarded to an initiative, program or project that has demonstrated outstanding achievement promoting children's health and wellbeing.

Banyule Community Health: We Love Stories

We Love Stories is a community literacy campaign that engages families and organisations in West Heidelberg through book making and social media as the starting point for system-level change.

As a community that experiences high levels of disadvantage and trauma, children living in West Heidelberg are at increased risk of low literacy, making them vulnerable to poorer mental, physical and social health across their lifetime.

Banyule Community Health’s We Love Stories program brings the community together to improve literacy outcomes for children through a Collective Impact model.

Books are made, printed and then celebrated by children, parents and carers. This process supports positive attachment and oral language development between children and their parents and carers, so children can develop the skills they need to learn to read.

The process is documented on social media to amplify community voices, enabling families to share their successes and literacy know-how.

The success of the program has been seen in the high level of engagement with local families and early years’ settings, and the launch of four books in 2019 as part of the program.

Partner: North East Healthy Communities

Category 5: Continuity of Early Learning

Awarded to two or more early childhood services, schools and/or other organisations to demonstrate how continuity of early learning is achieved by a focus on successful transitions.

Wimmera Southern Mallee Regional Partnership: BY FIVE: Wimmera Southern Mallee Early Years Project

The BY FIVE Wimmera Southern Mallee Early Years project is a place-based community collaboration.

The project aims to dramatically improve outcomes for children by the time they reach five years of age.

Teams working in the 15 townships are supported to undertake practitioner inquiry projects to implement change ideas; covering streamlined enrolment, speech screening, enhancing links between services, planning two years of education before school and improving transitions with child focused consultations.

The complexity of working across 15 towns, where no two places are alike, is recognised with coordination strategies, activating local expertise and commitment. This improved the flow of existing resources and upskilled local community members.

BY FIVE is already improving outcomes for children and families by enhancing access, quality and participation in early years services, and engaging more families earlier in a child's life.

In partnership with the following groups from 15 towns in the Wimmera Southern Mallee region:

• Maternal and Child Health Services
• Supported Playgroups
• Childcare Centres
• School Early Years Teams
• Health Providers
• Integrated Family Services
• Local Government.

Category 6: Early Childhood Teacher of the Year

Awarded to an early childhood teacher who demonstrates innovation and exemplary practice in early childhood education, and making a significant contribution to the development and delivery of high quality early childhood education programs that improve outcomes for children.

Leanne Mits: Pope Road Kindergarten, Blackburn

Leanne has an unwavering commitment to early childhood learning and is dedicated to providing children with a rich and rewarding educational experience.

Her practice combines current teaching skills with broader thinking of what early childhood education means and the importance of children's formative years.

She believes strongly in connecting children with the history, culture and stories of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, and has led development of the kindergarten's Reconciliation Action Plan.

Leanne's commitment to early learning has evolved through progressive thinking and continued research. This year she began her Masters in Early Childhood Education.

Category 7: The Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

This award is presented to an early childhood service that has supported its educators and teachers to use intentional teaching practices to achieve improved outcomes for children and their families.

The Geelong College

The Geelong College is committed to the highest quality early learning for children from early childhood education through to Year 3.

In 2019, teachers and educators from the early learning centre and the Junior School have been undertaking a professional learning project together.

Learning projects have included audits of technology use across the Junior School, an audio-visual representation of the 'hundred languages' using children's many expressive arts, and sharing numeracy experiences and teaching strategies.

The project has drawn an enthusiastic response and has allowed early childhood educators, early childhood teachers and primary teachers to work together and improve their understanding of each other's learning environments.

Minister’s Award

The Minister’s Award is a special commendation that has been selected from the pool of finalists across all seven categories and presented by the Minister. The winner of this year’s Award is for a partnership that has demonstrated remarkable success in supporting their children to transition from kindergarten to school.

Keysborough Primary School: Walking from one room into another room

Walking from one room into another room is a partnership between Keysborough Primary School and Darren Reserve Kindergarten. The project team decided to improve the transition from kindergarten to school for local children by developing a shared curriculum and a suite of new initiatives.

This approach was designed to support the developmental journey of children and help them build oral language, curiosity, confidence, creativity, commitment and cooperation skills.

The partnership team has noticed significant improvements since beginning the project. Children are more comfortable learning in school and parents are better informed about what to expect during the transition.

Partner: Darren Reserve Kindergarten

Category 1: Improving Access and Participation in Early Learning Award

Awarded for an initiative or program that promotes access and ongoing participation and engagement in early learning, particularly for vulnerable and disadvantaged families.

Debney Meadows Primary School:Finding your voice (The Debney Meadows Oral Language Headstart)

Debney Meadows Primary School caters for a community with high rates of English as an Additional Language, trauma, refugee experience and parental illiteracy.

To address these issues, the school created an oral language program and activity centres. The aim is to improve oral language and social skills for early learners.

The program was designed to support development and used simple text to start conversations and learn new words. Results from the program showed that 100 per cent of students improved, and of these 42.4 per cent had made a huge improvement.

Partners: Speech Pathologist – Samantha Radajic, SMC Speech Pathology Pty. Ltd.

Category 2: Supporting Parents to Build Their Capacity and Confidence Award

Awarded for a service or initiative that supports parents and carers to feel confident and capable in their parenting role and actions, and to recognise their role as first teachers in supporting their child’s learning and development.

Dandenong Primary School: Dandy Pals Playgroup – Step Into Kinder program

The Dandy Pals Playgroup engages with parents and children prior to school enrolment. The program is free and helps families with transition to four-year-old kindergarten.

It aims to strengthen the role of parents and enhance home learning. It supports parents in their role as their child’s first teacher.

The playgroup has improved access to high quality early learning services. It has also helped identify children needing early interventions.

Partners: Community Hubs Australia, R E Ross Trust, The Smith Family, The Water Well Project, City of Greater Dandenong.

Category 3: Creating Collaborative Community Partnerships Award

Awarded for a service or initiative that promotes collaborative practice to support and demonstrate positive outcomes for children and families.

Traralgon East Community Centre: Community Connect

Traralgon East Community Centre inspires children to take part in community life through its Community Connect program. The centre identified a need to help children make better decisions after a series of break-ins at a local preschool. The culprits were aged under 10.

It now runs more than 20 programs designed to attract children and improve their access to services. For example, a new easy-to-navigate public transport map was created and a free book exchange opened. As a result, there has been a reduction in anti-social behaviour.

Partners:

• Department of Health and Human Services
• Latrobe Valley Bus Lines
• Kindred Spirits Enterprises
• Relationships Australia Victoria
• Lifeline Gippsland
• Latrobe City Council: Maternal and Child Health
• Latrobe City Council: Cameron Street Pre-School
• AFL Gippsland
• Save the Children
• Latrobe Community Health Service (LCHS).

Category 4: Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing Award

Awarded to an initiative, program or project that has demonstrated outstanding achievement promoting children's health and wellbeing.

City of Darebin: Kingsbury Play Map Project

The Kingsbury Play Map raises awareness of diverse play opportunities that strengthen community links. The initiative allows families and children across Darebin to try out free play places and spaces in their neighbourhood.

The Play Map partnership is between Darebin Council and Play Specialist, Cat Sewell. Children, aged between 0-8 from the local kindergarten, supported playgroup and two primary schools also helped to design the map of their local play areas.

The map identifies play areas in Kingsbury, one of Darebin’s most vulnerable areas, and uses action words such as, jump, create, climb, search and run. Families can build on their knowledge about how to play and interact with their local environment.

The project links to Darebin’s 2017-2021 Health and Wellbeing Plan, where physical activity is one of the strategies for strengthening community connectedness.

Partners:

• Cat Sewell: Play Specialist
• Christine Hodge: Maryborough Avenue Kindergarten
• Christine Campbell: Principal of Kingsbury Primary School
• Kevin Bourke: Our Lady of the Way Primary School.

Category 5: Early Childhood Teacher of the Year Award

Awarded to an early childhood teacher who demonstrates innovation and exemplary practice in early childhood education, and who makes a significant contribution to the development and delivery of high quality early childhood education programs that improve outcomes for children.

Nicole Bechaz:Banyan Fields Kindergarten

Providing opportunities for children beyond a traditional kindergarten program, Nicole leads a team at Banyan Fields Kindergarten for 156 children, many with additional needs.

Nicole worked with agencies and schools to ensure additional learning opportunities for all children, and that services such as speech programs were offered at the kindergarten.

Her participation in the Let's Chat Oral Language program increased parents’ skills and knowledge around the importance of early reading.

By developing relationships with Banyan Fields Primary, Nicole has helped to strengthen the link between early childhood and primary school services. This has led to smooth and successful transitions for children and families.

Category 6: The Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler Excellence in Educational Leadership Award

A new award for 2018, this was presented to an early childhood service that has supported its educators and teachers to use intentional teaching practices that achieve improved outcomes for children and their families.

Community Kinders Plus

By identifying their strengths and needs in kindergarten, Community Kinders Plus (CKP) improves children’s social, emotional development, their cognition and language and early literacy skills.

CKP manages 20 kindergartens in Frankston and across the Mornington Peninsula, focusing on improving outcomes for disadvantaged and vulnerable children.

The organisation has studied Emeritus Professor Collette Tayler’s research and has devised an assessment time line, tools and templates to observe, track and record children's progress and development.

This research then ensured each child who attended a CKP kindergarten had an individual plan that reflected their developmental needs and interests.

Minister's Award

Selected by the Minister, this is a special commendation about a program that reflects this year’s theme of 'supporting positive relationships with children and families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds'.

The Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture Inc.: Foundation House Hume Refugee Early Years Cluster 2017-18

The Hume Early Years Refugee Support Cluster is a collaboration between Foundation House, Hume City Council and 10 Early Years centres and agencies. It aims to improve inclusion for families and children of refugee backgrounds in early years’ services.

Over 18 months, each partner reviewed their services to see how they could be more inclusive.

They made changes to the way they work with families and agencies to better support refugee children. For example, they developed visual and translated resources, asked parents to teach staff key language phrases and encouraged parents to volunteer at the centre.

Partners:

• Family, Youth and Children’s Services: Hume City Council
• Newbury Children and Community Centre
• Craigieburn Child and Family Centre
• Malcolm Creek Pre School
• Pelican Childcare Fairways
• Hilton Street Pre School
• KU Craigieburn Children’s Centre
• Good Samaritan Catholic Primary School
• Mount Ridley College
• Victorian Inclusion Agency
• Bright Beginnings - Family Day Care.

Improving access and participation in early learning

Winner: Wyndham Kindergartens - Embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program and Practice at Scale

Wyndham City Council in partnership with:

• Reconciliation Australia - Narragunnawali
• Murrundindi - Wurundjeri Elder
• Department of Education and Training (DET)
• Wurundjeri Tribal Land Council
• Wathaurung Aboriginal Corporation
• National Parks Victoria

Supporting parents to build their capacity and confidence

Winner: Empowering Parents Empowering Communities

Victorian Cooperative on Children's Services for Ethnic Groups New Futuresin partnership with:

• The Smith Family - Brimbank Communities for Children
• Unity/Hume Communities for Children
• Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
• Centre for Parent and Child Support

Creating collaborative community partnerships

Winner: Healthy Beginnings for Refugee Mothers and Babies

Murdoch Childrens Research Institutein partnership with:

• Wyndham City Council
• VICSEG New Futures
• Mercy Hospitals Victoria Ltd
• Victorian Foundation for the Survivors of Torture

Promoting children's health and wellbeing

Winner: Nurturing Room bridges Home to School

Warrnambool East Primary Schoolin partnership with:

• South West Local Learning and Employment Network
• Rotary Club of Warrnmabool East
• Kim Ryan, Paediatric Occupational Therapist
• Read to Dog

Early childhood teacher of the year

Winner: Rachel Webb, Save the Children - Nowa Nowa Kindergarten

Minister's Award - Improving access and participation in early learning

No One Left Behind

Wodonga City Council in partnership with:

• Upper Murray Family Care - Child FIRST Alliance
• Albury Wodonga Aboriginal Health Service
• Mungabareena Aboriginal Corporation
• Albury Wodonga Health
• Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) - Child Protection
• Department of Education and Training (DET)

Improving access and participation in early learning

East Sunshine Kindergarten; Early Childhood Access and Participation Project (ECAP)

Supporting parents to build their capacity and confidence award

Family Early Learning Partnership (FELP), Hume City Council and partner agencies

Creating collaborative community partnerships award

A collaborative response to family violence in the East, Eastern community legal centre and partner agencies

Early childhood teacher of the year award

Meagan Hull, Bentons Square Kindergarten, Mornington

Minister's award

Coaching Koorie Kids - Early years health promotion, Victorian Aboriginal Health Service and partner agencies

Better access to child and family support, health services, schools and early education and care services

Boorais and Beyond: Hume City Council in partnership with Hume Early Years Partnership and Broadmeadows Valley Primary School

Improvement in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life

Best Beginnings: Psychiatric services Bendigo Health in partnership with Maternity services Bendigo Health

Communities that are more family and child friendly

Family Health in Playgroups: City of Greater Dandenong in partnership with:

• South East Melbourne Medicare Local (SEMML) (Funder)
• City of Greater Dandenong Maternal and Child Health and Children's Services
• City of Dandenong Youth Services
• City of Greater Dandenong - Community Hubs in Schools sites
• Dandenong and District Aborigines Co-Operative Limited (DDACL) and
• AMES - Mums and Bubs Group.

Outstanding leadership for health and wellbeing

Heart of Corangamite Network: Corangamite Shire Council in partnership with

• South West Primary Care Partnership,
• Terang and Mortlake Health Service,
• Timboon District Health Service,
• South West Health Care,
• Beaufort and Skipton Health Service,
• Cobden District Health Services.

Early Childhood teacher of the year

Clare Day: Audrey Brooks Memorial Preschool

Highly Commended: Mel Simpson - Clarendon Children's Centre

Minister's Award - Improvements in parent's capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life

Bumps to Babes and Beyond: QEC in partnership with Mallee District Aboriginal Services

Better access to child and family support, health services, schools and early education and care services

Swan Hill Rural City Council The Family Friendly Rooms: supporting transitions and belonging

Improvements in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life

City of Ballarat Parent Place: a volunteer-led information, resource and drop-in centre

Highly Commended: Connections Uniting Care Chinese Family Services

Communities that are more family and child friendly

Mansfield Shire Council: Better Communities for Children Leadership Network

Minister's Award Winner

VICSEG New Futures Wyndham Refugee Family Resource and Mentoring Program

Better access to child and family support, health services, schools and early education and care services

Mahogany Rise Child and Family Centre - A Journey to Access and Inclusion: Frankston City Council

Improvements in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life

Our Time: Northern Area Mental Health Service

Communities that are more family and child friendly

Engaging Children in Decision Making - A Guide For Consulting Children: The Cities of Ballarat, Brimbank, Maribyrnong, Melton, and Wyndham

Minister's Award

Working Together Innovation Initiative - Maternal and Child Health and the South East Family Services Alliance : The Cities of Casey and Greater Dandenong and the Shire of Cardinia

Better access to child and family support, health services, schools and early education and care services

City of Greater Dandenong: Reaching Out

Improvements in parents’ capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family Life

CentalCare: Tarrengower Playgroup

Communities that are more family and child friendly

South Gippsland Shire Council: Cook ‘n’ Book, Venus Bay Community Centre

Minister's award

Maryborough District Health Service: Central Goldfields Conversation Companions Oral Language Project

Better access to child and family support, health services and early education and care services

Portland Early Assessment Referral Links, Glenelg Shire Council

Improvements in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family life

Boorais in Hume, Hume City Council

Communities that are more child and family friendly

Little GreenLeaves: Early Years Sustainability Program, Knox City Council

Minister’s Award

The Braybrook Family Inclusive Language and Learning Support Program, Maribyrnong and Moonee Valley Local Learning and Employment Network

Better Access to Early Years Services

Springvale Service for Children: An Integrated Service

Partnerships with Families and Communities

Wathaurong Aboriginal Co-operative, Mingo Waloom Aboriginal Best Start: Koori Kinda Kit

Minister’s Award : Better Access to Early Years Services

Darebin Community Health: Darebin Best Start, Promoting Oral Language in Kindergartens

Minister’s Award: Partnerships with Families and Communities

Centre for Community Child Health, Royal Children's Hospital: From Research to Practice: Improving Infant Sleep Patterns and Maternal Mental Health

Better Access to Early Years Services Award

Djillay Lidji Best Start Partnership

Partnerships with Families and Communities Award

Joint Winner: Reading Early and Learning Together in Greater Shepparton - Greater Shepparton City Council

Joint Winner: Birthday Postcard Project - Moorabool Shire Council

Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development Award

Support for Playgroups Affected by Bushfire - Playgroup Victoria

Better access to child and family support, health services and early education

Early Learning Centre @ Rosewall - City of Greater Geelong

Improvements in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family

Building Bridges through Supported Playgroups - Knox City Council

Communities that are becoming more family and child friendly

Celebrating families and children - Mt Alexander Community Children’s Network

Minister for Children and Early Childhood Development's Award

Welcome Baby to Country Ceremony - Barenji Gadjin Land Council

Better access to child and family support, health services and early education

Laverton Community Children's Centre: A great start for the children in our community

Improvements in parents' capacity, confidence and enjoyment of family

Yooralla : "What about the Dads!" - Supported playgroups for fathers of children with a disability

Communities that are more family and child friendly

City of Greater Bendigo: Bendigo's Child Friendly City

Better access to child and family support, health services and early education

Bannockburn Family Services Centre

Improving parents’ confidence and enjoyment of family life

Corio Bay Senior College Child Care Centre

Creating more family and child-friendly communities

City of Wodonga

Minister’s Award

Grace Park Preschool and Kalparrin Early Intervention Centre, Greensborough