Annual Report - Playgroup Victoria

PATRON’S MESSAGEI would like to thank you all for the great honour of being Patron of Playgroup Victoria in 2009. It has been very rewarding andinteresting, and I have learned much about the organisation and the people who are so committed to making it a success, and itis indeed a very successful organisation. I’ve been impressed by your professionalism, by the expertise and knowledge of the staff,by the research and information published, and the high quality of all the work undertaken.Playgroup Victoria now supports groups stretching across Victoria, reflecting the full diversity of our communities, with supportedplaygroups for those with extra needs.All of this was recognised when Playgroup Victoria was awarded the Minister’s Prize at the Victorian Early Years Awards for thework you did in quickly establishing mobile playgroups to support children, families and communities so traumatised by the 2009bushfires. That response demonstrated how strong, capable and expert you are. You provided wonderful support at a critical timethat no other organisation could provide. You should be very proud of the Award and know that it was well deserved.Sherryl Garbutt, Kaye Plowman and Karen Harvey Collingsduring the 35th Playgroup Anniversary.Playgroups and Playgroup Victoria are becoming more and more important aswe recognise the crucial significance of the early childhood years. These yearsare a critical time for learning and development, when children acquire essentialfoundation skills and knowledge and when brain development is at its peak. Thereis now a large and compelling body of research evidence that demonstrates this.Now governments around the world and at all levels in Victoria have responded bymaking it a greater priority with stronger policies.The message to all governments has been clear: work together with parentsto provide support, and high quality early years services that are integrated,accessible, affordable, and cater for the needs of all children.There have been many recent demonstrations of these priorities. Many newIntegrated Children’s Centres have been funded to provide better services in theone accessible location; Transition Statements have been introduced to helpchildren moving from kindergarten to school; state and federal governments areworking together to increase the hours of kindergarten from 10 to 15 hours perweek for four year olds.In Victoria, our Minister for Children recently launched the Victorian Early Learningand Development Framework. This provides a guide for all early childhood services,including playgroups and Playgroup Victoria. As the Minister says, “It identifieswhat children should know and be able to do from birth to eight year, which means that all professionals working with childrenaged 0-8 years and parents will now have a common understanding of a child’s learning and development over this period.” It issomething we will find useful in the future.Perhaps the greatest strength of playgroups is the parents who join the groups and run them, providing wonderful social andcreative opportunities for kids, invaluable support for other parents and lasting memories for all.I am delighted to accept another term as Patron of Playgroup Victoria and look forward to working with you again in the next 12months.Sherryl Garbutt2009 Playgroup Victoria Year of Active Play 1