A Strategic Assessment of the Children's Services Industry

STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILDREN’S SERVICES INDUSTRYMobile Preschool 9A new initiative in the remote north-east of the Northern Territory (NT) is the establishment,currently as a pilot project, of a mobile preschool service. Prior to mid-2002, preschool-agedchildren in many remote communities of NE Arnhemland had no access to preschoolprogrammes. As well, the remote Yirrkala community school lost its preschool teacher whenstudent numbers dwindled. The former stand-alone child care service had been providingchild care only, and the Department of Health and Community Services wanted the centre tobe more focused on early childhood education. Hence, the preschool there joined with theexisting child care centre to become an innovative child care centre with preschool. WithYirrkala being just one of several communities supported by the Mobile Preschool PilotProgramme (MPPP), the teacher could be there only one day per week to support thepreschool programme to be delivered by the MPPP assistant. This arrangement allowed thechild care centre to become more oriented to community and early childhood education, andalso made it possible for preschool sessions to be held each morning. Delivery of thepreschool programme within the child care centre has extended the programme for all thechildren in the centre, as well as involving more mothers as they interact with the children inthe activities.During this time, Commonwealth funding through the National Indigenous English Literacyand Numeracy Strategy (NIELNS) became available to increase the proportion of Indigenous3 to 5 year olds in preschool education. This funding source allowed the planning and pilotingof a mobile preschool model. Jan O’Shea was appointed as the mobile preschool teacher withthe responsibility of resourcing and supporting outlying remote preschools. Jan’squalifications are in primary and special education, specialising in hearing impairment, andshe has worked for many years in the Arnhem region. She considers that knowing many ofthe children and parents there before the project started has helped her to engage with thecommunities, to employ appropriate ‘teachers’ (mostly mothers or grandmothers) and to getthe mobile preschool programme started. She now visits the Yirrkala Innovative Child carecentre / preschool once per week on Monday morning and then on Friday, at a time suitablefor the staff, when they work together to develop the following week’s programme.The facility in Yirrkala is great for children. Under child care funding, all the children getmorning tea and lunch, paid for partly by the local ASSPA (Aboriginal Student Support andParent Awareness) committee. ASSPA funding can be accessed by schools for excursions andtutoring, and for breakfast and lunch programmes. At Yirrkala, the ASSPA group helps tofund these aspects of the preschool programme and so facilitates the successful merging of thepreschool with the child care service. The relatively new building has all sorts of equipmentincluding climbing frames, a sandpit, push bikes, and play equipment such as paints, paper,puzzles, books, games and construction materials. Most of the children’s parents come fromless than one kilometre away. Most of the preschool children travel to the centre on a buswhich drives around the community, first picking up the teacher, then the children and somemothers who may accompany them.There is a fair amount of parental involvement in the preschools as about 1/3 or 1/4 ofchildren have their mothers or aunties present, with most getting involved in the activities. Janherself speaks little of the children’s language, but the teacher who is the prime deliverer ofthe programme does, as do the mothers, aunties and other family members who are involved.9 Source: Secretariat for National Aboriginal and Islander Child care and Centre for Community Child Health,2004.57