A Strategic Assessment of the Children's Services Industry

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES INDUSTRYNORTHERN TERRITORYChild care in the Galiwin’ku community on Elcho Island 8In 1999, a purpose-built child care centre was built at Galiwin’ku on Elcho Island for children0 to 3 years old. In April, 2003 there were 29 children attending, of whom most were childrenof parents who worked. The child care centre charges parents $5 per day, which isautomatically deducted from their pay. The centre has five community members on the childcare committee. All of the staff are Indigenous and have either completed a Certificate III inCommunity Services (Children’s Services), or are currently studying for this and are involvedin the Community Development Education Programme (CDEP). Activities with the childreninclude finger-painting, reading stories and singing in both their own language and in English,doing puzzles, and sponge-painting. They are involved in the BBC (“Breathing, Blowing,Coughing”) health programme. The centre offers a breakfast programme for all children.The children are all in together, but in three areas – one for 1 year olds, one for 2 year oldsand one for 3 year olds. All the children stay all day (from 8 am to 4 pm), except for thosewho attend preschool in the mornings until 11.45am (currently four children). A bus bringsthem back from the preschool, which is part of the school system. The preschool children lovesinging, and they do activities such as counting, naming shapes, recognising their names andsome other words. They also learn manners and the importance of washing hands beforeeating. The children go from there to the local primary school which has about 400 children.The teachers at the school have commented that the children who have entered school afterattending the child care centre are ahead of those who did not attend the centre.Because the centre is right in the middle of the community, it is convenient for staff to phonethe mothers who are breast-feeding to come to the centre when their baby needs to be fed.There is a monthly clinic run by medical staff, but the children and their parents currently feelmore comfortable with the child care staff who can worm the children, and monitor theirweight and height. Policies have been introduced such as staff have to smoke outside, andparents have to register their child for child care each day and sign them off. If a child isunwell, staff will ring a parent (or relative) to take their child to the clinic. Parents also taketheir children to the clinic for immunisation.Parents of the children are involved with the child care centre in several ways, such as raisingmoney for the child care centre by running a market every fortnight, and selling clothes, food,fish and crabs. Other people involved in CDEP help catch the fish. People on CDEP help inother ways too, such as building cupboards and making sandpits, and the Aboriginal Councilhelps them. Parents and extended family take the children on excursions eg to the beach or tothe bush to collect wild honey and other traditional foods.The staff have a close relationship with the child care service at Yirrkala by talking andsharing ideas over the telephone. The Commonwealth Department of Family and CommunityServices has made some funds available for staff to travel to see other child care centres toexchange ideas.8 Source: Secretariat for National Aboriginal and Islander Child care and Centre for Community Child Health,2004.56