SDN Children's Services Inc. Annual Report 2010

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The environment we operate in Legislation Legislation forms the legal basis of all our undertakings. As we operate in three legal jurisdictions (national, NSW and ACT), compliance with this wide range of legal requirements adds to organisational cost. Yet compliance also provides stability for staff, an assurance of quality and reliability for our clients, and demonstrates professionalism and competence to our partners and funders. Our Risk Management Plan incorporates measures to safely navigate the legal environment in which we operate. SDN is required to comply with 43 pieces of legislation. The legislation and regulations specific to our operations include: National • Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 • Disability Discrimination Act 1992 • Australian and New Zealand Standards: Playground Surfacing • Food Standards Australia New Zealand Food Safety Standards • Child Care Benefit (Eligibility of Child Care Services For Approval And Continued Approval) Amendment Determination 2001 NSW • Children and Young Persons (Care And Protection) Act 1998 • Children’s Services Regulation 2004 • Disability Services Act 1993 • Commission for Children And Young People Act 1998 • Child Protection (Prohibited Employment) Act 1998 ACT • Children and Young People Act 2008 • Child Care Services Standards 2009 SDN is represented on major sector bodies and committees, including: • Association of Major Community Organisations (AMCO) • Australian Research Alliance for Children & Youth (ARACY) • Australian Community Children’s Services • NSW Family Services Board • Institute of Early Childhood Advisory Board, Macquarie University • Management Committee for the Children and Families Research Centre, Macquarie University • National Quality Framework NSW Reference Group • Early Childhood Australia, (NSW Branch Executive) • Early Childhood Intervention Australia (NSW Branch) • Early Childhood Professional Experience Council of NSW • NSW Children’s Services Forum • Forum of Non Government Agencies • National Investment for the Early Years (NSW Branch) Our stakeholders At SDN, our many stakeholders include our children, families, children’s services providers, Board, staff, government, donors, members, students, suppliers, professional advisors, media and the broader community. We encourage professional and consultative relationships with our stakeholders. We regularly communicate with stakeholders and look for ways to involve them in our activities. Demand for early education and care More children have been using formal child care services in recent years. This has been driven by the increasing rate of female participation in the workforce and higher family incomes. We expect this trend to continue, aided by the Australian Government’s increase in the non means tested Child Care Rebate from 30 percent to 50 percent for families’ out-of-pocket child care costs. Data from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children show that those who have been able to afford formal long day care choose this as their preferred ‘regular non parental care’ option. • More than 870 000 Australian children used child care in the September quarter 2009, an increase of 8 percent compared with 2005.* • The number of long day care services increased by 21 percent from the September quarter 2005 to 2009. There are now 5758 long day care services across Australia.* • Out-of-pocket child care costs to families decreased from 2004 to 2009 as a result of higher government subsidies.* ‘ Child care is now seen as both a mechanism to support labour force participation and as an important form of early learning and education. Consequently, there is now a greater focus on the quality and experiences that children have within education and care settings. * ‘ * State of Child Care in Australia, 2010, Office of Early Childhood Education and Child Care Prevention and early intervention Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more likely to develop learning and behaviour problems, and this risk increases as the children grow older. A 2005 Community Services Literature Review on Prevention and Early Intervention reported that high quality early childhood education had the strongest evidence (compared with other strategies) of being an effective prevention and early intervention strategy for young children at risk of entering the child protection system. SDN carries a significant proportion of the responsibility for prevention and early intervention services in NSW, and we are continuing to build our expertise and profile in this area. 10 SDN Annual Report 2010
Our performance: The year in review Our strategic plan 2010–12 This year we developed a new strategic plan — Realising the Promise of Childhood — focusing on our role of providing high quality early education and care to help children realise their potential in the most formative years, and supporting families and children facing challenges. For the next three years, inspired by the Council of Australian Governments’ (COAG) Early Years Learning Framework, we renew our commitment to ensuring that children can: • be, and feel safe • belong to a community • learn • have opportunities to be listened to • become recognised and respected as contributing members of their communities. In the ripple effect that flows outwards, we embrace families and communities; however, children are always at the heart of everything we do. The following pages detail our achievements and performance over the past year measured against our four strategic goals. Our achievements For children • 7629 children in total were supported through our centres and targeted programs in 2009–10 • 3043 children received high quality education and care in our centres and 4586 were helped through our programs • Of this, 3410 children who face challenges and barriers were supported to enrol in mainstream services • 559 Aboriginal children have benefited from SDN’s work, including 11 children through privately funded Aboriginal Early Childhood Scholarships (see page 34) • 207 children with disabilities or developmental delays were directly assisted through our programs. 250 Number of children with a disability to whom we have provided direct services 200 Goal 1 Making a demonstrated positive difference for the children, families, communities and children’s services with whom we work For families • 787 families, many facing challenges, were strengthened through our 16 programs. We have met ongoing demand and need for high quality care in our centres as utilisation has continued to rise. In the first year of this current Strategic Plan we had a goal of achieving 90% of licence, and exceeded this by achieving a yearly average of 91%. For other children’s services providers • 1311 individual children’s services providers received advice, resources and support from the Child and Family Services arm of our organisation. For continuity of care We set ourselves the goal of averaging a total of 10 casuals employed per day across our 23 centres as we know that the fewer casuals employed, the greater the continuity for children. We thank our casual staff members for their commitment to helping us achieve this goal by being available as consistently as possible, and in the same centres, so that we can cement relationships with children, other staff and families. Casuals used daily (on average) The average number of casuals 25 has more than halved over the past four years, to 9.86 in 2009–10. 20 150 15 100 10 5 0 2006−07 2007−08 2008−09 2009−10 0 2006−07 2007−08 2008−09 2009−10 SDN Annual Report 2010 11
Page 1 and 2: SDN Children’s Services Inc. Annu
Page 3 and 4: SDN SDN Annual Annual Report Report
Page 5 and 6: What we do SDN was established in 1
Page 7 and 8: Our purpose We aim to provide the h
Page 9: Ginie Udy, Susan Salter, the Hon Ve
Page 13 and 14: Goal 4 Being financially strong Our
Page 15 and 16: Encouraging a sense of community: H
Page 17 and 18: Early Learning Program is for child
Page 19 and 20: organisation, putting children firs
Page 21 and 22: 1951 Bathurst; Double Bay (closed 1
Page 23 and 24: We are constantly trying to improve
Page 25 and 26: People and Culture Unit Marketing a
Page 27 and 28: 2009-10 annual staff survey results
Page 29 and 30: Congratulations to all of our schol
Page 31 and 32: The voices of children and families
Page 33 and 34: Media coverage In 2009-10 we issued
Page 35 and 36: In 2009 -10 SDN awarded Aboriginal
Page 37 and 38: ‘ We’ve been helping families t
Page 39 and 40: The voices of families in our progr
Page 41 and 42: Effie Bland Chair of the History Co
Page 43 and 44: SDN Child and Family Services’ Bo
Page 45 and 46: Our financial performance The conso
Page 47 and 48: We thank everyone who gave permissi

SDN Children's Services Inc. Annual Report 2010

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