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Brimbank
Children’s
Strategy
2020–2024

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02 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Acknowledgements
Brimbank City Council acknowledges that the land
the municipality now occupies has a human history
that began with Aboriginal traditional custodians,
the Kulin Nation. Brimbank City Council respectfully
acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of the land
on which we operate — the Wurundjeri people, and pay
our respects to elders past, present and emerging.
We would like to acknowledge the many stakeholders
who participated in consultation sessions for the
development of the Brimbank Children’s Strategy
2020–2024.
We would like to particularly acknowledge
the input from children and families from
the following Schools, Kindergartens,
Child Care Centres and Playgroups:
• University Park Primary School
• Derrimut Primary School
• Sunshine Harvester Primary School
• East Sunshine Kindergarten
• Kellie O’Connell Kindergarten
• Willis Street Kindergarten
• Orama Street Child Care Centre
• St Albans West Preschool
• Copperfields Preschool
• Keilor Downs Kindergarten
• Sydenham Community Kindergarten
• Keilor Downs Playgroup
• Sunshine Plaza Playgroup
• Brimbank Shopping Centre Playgroup
Hannah, Age 4

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 03
Contents
A strategy for children
04
Children are important to us
05
Our work with children and families
06
Children and families in Brimbank
08
Community engagement and consultation
10
Our Children’s Strategy — What we will do
14
Council’s role
16
Our framework for working with
children and families
17
Our actions
18

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04 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Stella, Age 11
A strategy for children
We want to ensure Brimbank is a great place for our children to grow up.
The early years of a child’s life are important for
their development into healthy and engaged adults.
We know the following are essential for their health
and wellbeing:
• Access to health and support services
• Quality education
• Nutritious food
• Well-designed built and natural environments
• Supportive and caring relationships.
Research and data tell us that some children in
Brimbank are impacted by disadvantage and poor
health. This has consequences for their growth
and development and can impact the rest of their
lives. We want to change that and we will put the
health and wellbeing of children and families at the
centre of everything we do. We know there are many
opportunities to intervene and make a difference.
1
This Strategy is built on the understanding that
early intervention, prevention and timely access to
services and supports can equip families and children
with fundamentals for a healthy life.
This is particularly true for children from
disadvantaged backgrounds and the earlier the
intervention, the more effective the health and
wellbeing outcomes are.
2
It is also well understood that the first 1,000 days
of a child’s life are critical to a child’s health and
wellbeing. This is the time when a child’s brain begins
to grow and develop and when the foundations for
their lifelong health are built.
3
Our Strategy will strengthen support for all families
during the formative years of their children’s lives,
bolstering parent capacity to be their child’s first and
most influential educator.
We will work to ensure that the built and natural
environments in Brimbank enable children to learn,
develop, play, connect, feel welcome and safe.
We will work with our partners and services in
Brimbank to promote equitable and timely
access of children and families to good quality,
integrated services.
1
Centre for Community Child Health, (2006), Policy Brief No 1 Early childhood and the life course. See: http://www.rch.org.au/ccch/resources_and_publications/
Policy_Brief_Archives
2
Healthy, Safe and Thriving: National Strategic Framework for Child and Youth Health August 2015 Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council.
3
https://thousanddays.org/why-1000-days/
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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 05
Children are important to us
Our vision is for a Brimbank that is ‘vibrant, harmonious and
welcoming, a great place to live, work and grow’.
Our Council Plan sets out a plan and strategies
for an inclusive community that includes creating
an environment where children are happy,
healthy and safe.
We developed the Brimbank Community Vision
2040 with more than 1,000 members of our
community. The Early Years are one of five priorities
identified through the consultations with the
emphasis on a ‘
healthy start to life for all children
’.
Our focus on children and families doesn’t
stop there. Many of our other Council plans and
strategies are also working to build positive
outcomes for children and families in Brimbank.
The following diagram provides a sample of
these plans and strategies.
Children & Families in Brimbank
“Residents
and young
people will be
invited to be
involved in park
development
projects”
Creating Better
Parks Policy
& Plan
“Social justice,
access, equity,
participation &
human rights
and a focus
on vulnerable
groups”
Social Justice
Charter
“The early years
of education are
a priority;
Promote access
to universal
health services”
Community
Services &
Infrastructure
Policy & Plan
“Building a
community
based on
equality &
respect, every
person has
the right to
live a safe and
meaningful
life free from
violence”
Family Violence
& Gender Equity
“Revitalise built
and natural
environments
and create a
liveable and
creative city
and sustainable
environment”
Cultural Strategy
“Work to include
and support
physical activity
programs within
playgroups,
pre-schools and
schools”
Physical Activity
Strategy
“All Council
programs and
services are
relevant to
and accessible
for Aboriginal
and Torres
Strait Islanders
peoples”
“Increase the
awareness of
migrants and
new arrivals of
the availability
of Early Years
services and
programs”
“Prevent and
reduce men’s
violence against
women and
children”
Settlement
Action Plan
Community
Safety Strategy
Innovative
Reconciliation
Action Plan
Lifelong
Learning
Strategy
“Children have
access to a
broad range
of engaging
learning
opportunities”
“Building
cohesive,
inclusive
and resilient
communities,
which nurture
the well-being
of everyone”
Community
Strengthening
Policy
Sustainability
Policy &
Framework
“A healthy,
connected,
natural
environment
that enhances
natural
ecosystems,
public health
and liveability”

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06 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Our work with children
and families
Over the past three years Council has embarked on a range of new
initiatives that have provided greater opportunity for children and
families to benefit from a range of services and support.
Playgroups
A key focus has been on providing opportunities
for connectedness and learning through Playgroups.
Playgroups provide significant benefits for children
and families.
4
• Nine hundred families participated in Supported
Playgroups designed to support increased
language and literacy opportunities in the home.
Twenty-five percent of these families were
non-English speaking parents.
• Sixteen Supported Playgroups with
small
talk
5
were provided to families in disadvantaged areas.
The program fosters a multicultural and inclusive
approach from engagement, participation,
community connections and transitions from
kindergarten through to school. Four of these
groups are language specific, delivered by tertiary
qualified cross cultural facilitators in Vietnamese,
Mandarin, Cantonese, Burmese and Chin.
• Outreach Playgroups were held in shopping
centres to enable opportunistic engagement
with families in a supportive and fun play
based environment.
• A Community Playgroup Facilitator role was
developed to support volunteer lead Playgroups
• In 2018, twenty-five playgroup leaders
participated in training to run their
own Playgroups.
Engaging families
We also focussed on building greater accessibility
to services through a range of partnerships and
strategies with a strong emphasis on engaging
families with complex needs. We:
• Delivered a Mobile Early Years Outreach Service
providing Early Years and Maternal and Child
Health Services at different locations across
Brimbank
• Worked with Brimbank Youth Services to deliver
‘Baby Steps,’ a parenting program for first time
parents up to the age of 25 years
• Appointed a Family Violence Practitioner to
respond to family violence referrals from Maternal
and Child Health and Early Years Services
• Partnered with Grace — Western Melbourne
Families Against Domestic Violence — to provide
care packages for women experiencing family
violence (200 women received care packages)
• Partnered with Drummond Street Services to run
‘Dad N Me’ music sessions providing dads with the
opportunity to support their children’s learning
and development.
4
Gregory, T., Harman-Smith, Y., Sincovich, A., Wilson, A., & Brinkman, S. (2016). It takes a village to raise a child: The influence and impact of playgroups across
Australia. Telethon Kids Institute, South Australia. ISBN 978-0-9876002-4-0.
5
smalltalk is a set of evidence-based parenting strategies that parents can use to enhance the home learning environment for their children from birth
to school age.

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 07
Children who regularly attend
playgroup are better prepared to
start school and are on average
1.78 times less likely to be
considered vulnerable than children
who do not attend a playgroup.
Access to services
We looked at our own internal systems and
took steps to make it easier for families to find
the services they require at a time that suits
their needs. We:
• Implemented an ‘Early Years Access Officer’
role to support families to engage with Early
Years services
• Introduced the Maternal and Child Health online
booking service in July 2018 to enable families to
make and manage their own appointments
• Further developed our Kindergarten portal to
enable families to register online for Kindergarten
through our Kindergarten Registration Service
• Completed a review of Council Early Year’s
Services to support ongoing investment.
Joanna, Age 4

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08 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Children and families
in Brimbank
A growing population
Brimbank’s current population is over
200,000 people and growing.
In 2016
6
, Brimbank was home to 26,482 children
aged 0 to 9 years; an increase of 3,200 children
(just under 12 per cent) since 2011. This growth
pattern will continue over the next ten years adding
around another 2,000 children in this age group to
the Brimbank population by 2028.
A multi-cultural community
Brimbank is the second most culturally diverse
Local Government Area in Victoria with people
coming from more than 160 different countries and
speaking a wide variety of different languages.
Chart 1 below shows the top 12 countries of birth
(other than Australia) for children aged
0 to 9 years in 2016.
7
The health and wellbeing of our children
— what do we need to focus on?
When compared with metropolitan Melbourne,
children and young people in Brimbank do less well
on a range of indicators relating to disadvantage
and potential vulnerability. This can include living in
a very low income household, experiencing reduced
housing stability and being at risk of family violence.
Children in Brimbank are more likely to enter school
with high levels of developmental vulnerability. Chart
2 below compares percentages of Brimbank children
entering school developmentally vulnerable to the
North-West Metropolitan Region and Victoria,
since 2012.
Recent data
8
also shows our rate of pre-school
attendance has decreased since 2012. In 2018,
almost one fifth (18.2 per cent) of four year olds in
Brimbank did not attend a pre-school, missing out
on the significant advantages of an early childhood
education. Advantages include improved social
skills, better performance in primary school,
improved attention span, less behavioural issues
and engagement in lifelong learning.
Studies show that almost one in four Victorian
children are overweight or obese.
9
Obesity can lead
to a range of preventable health conditions such
as diabetes and heart disease in later life. We want
to engage our families and develop initiatives for
children and young people to give them the best
chance for a healthier start to life.
Compared to Victoria overall, Brimbank has a higher
proportion of children who present with at least one
decayed, missing or filled tooth.
10
A new initiative
offering visiting dental vans in schools will be
implemented by 2022. This could impact positively
on the oral health of school age children however
this initiative does not include younger children.
6
Australian Bureau of Statistics: Census 2016.
7
Ibid.
8
Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) 2012–2018.
9
VicHealth: A Healthier Start for Victorians July 2019.
10
DHSV: City of Brimbank Oral Health Profile 2016.

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 09
Chart 1
Chart 2
New
Zealand
527
362
India
311
Vietnam
173
Malaysia
148
Philippines
107
Pakistan
68
African
countries
*
65
Myanmar
46
Sri Lanka
48
Iran
45
Iraq
41
China
9.5 10.4
13.2
2012
9.9
2015
11
17.5
2018
10.6
10.1
13.3
Victoria
North & West Metro
Brimbank
TOP 12 COUNTRIES OF BIRTH (OTHER THAN AUSTRALIA) FOR CHILDREN AGED 0–9 YEARS IN 2016
CHILDREN ENTERING SCHOOL DEVELOPMENTALLY VULNERABLE SINCE 2012
Source: Ibid

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10 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
11
Centre for Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, Hearing Young
Children’s Voices: Consulting with children birth to eight years of age,
ACT Children’s Strategy, Children’s Services Branch, ACT Department
of Education, Youth and Family Services.
Community engagement
and consultation
Respecting children as valued citizens acknowledges their worth
in their own right and is a longer term investment in creating a
more informed and engaged community.
Children
Communicating with our community is important.
We appreciated the opportunity to engage and learn
from the experiences and knowledge of children
and families who live in Brimbank.
11
We consulted with more than 350 different children
in kindergarten and school settings in small groups
and workshops. They were interested and engaged
and readily shared their ideas about the things:
• They liked or didn’t like about where they live
• That made them happy
• That made them feel safe or unsafe
• They would change about where they live,
if they could.
The children were also encouraged to draw pictures
of their thoughts and ideas and these are included
throughout this document.
Children who liked their local neighbourhood
enjoyed the feeling of being safe, the friendly
nature of people nearby, peaceful surroundings and
being close to friends, school and shops. Nature is
important and parks and playgrounds rated highly
in consultations.
Children like the calm spaces provided by Brimbank
libraries and the fact that their community is
multicultural adds interest. Many are active and
use the playground equipment and bike and scooter
tracks and some are involved in organised sports.
Younger children love spending time at home with
their families and pets.
Children also told us the changes they would like to
see. While they clearly love parks and playgrounds,
they suggested some improvements including better
playground equipment, trying to reduce ‘bad graffiti,’
and providing more toilet blocks and drinking taps.
Fixing cracks in the ground and removing dead plants
also rated highly. They recognise the value of having
quality parks and playgrounds as great community
places for people of all ages and nationalities to
come together.
Our consultations demonstrated that children think
clearly about the world around them and their concerns
and wishes are not just about themselves alone. They
are increasingly environmentally conscious and many
made comments about rubbish, not enough bins,
using less plastic and reducing pollution. Like parks
and playgrounds, cracks in roads and footpaths were
also cause for concern. Some would also like to see
homeless people having somewhere to live.
The safety of children is an important issue for all
communities. The children described instances of
feeling unsafe, for example when walking by houses
that are empty and dark or being in areas that are
poorly lit. This is linked with comments made about the
amenity of their neighbourhoods. Children like it when
they know their neighbours, neighbours know each
other and people ‘are nicer to each other’ in general.
CHILDREN’S WORD CLOUD

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 11
Parents
Consultations were held with 82 parents and
carers in a variety of settings including shopping
centres, libraries and playgroups. Parents and carers
were asked to provide their thoughts and ideas
about living and raising their children in Brimbank.
Parents and carers were clear about the changes
they would like to see. Many echo responses made
by children.
• Updates to Parks and other facilities including
St Albans’ pool; playgrounds with more shelter,
seats. toilets and play options for all children;
more green spaces; better transport options
(other than cars)
• Amenities and initiatives that support community
connection, for example bigger and more spaces
for playgroups; More cultural activities; More
(and longer) story times; More walking groups;
More groups focussed on children
• Linking families to information at the right time
about service options and what is available locally;
the need for timely information was highlighted
several times
• Access to services and supports like speech
therapy; support for transition from kindergarten
to school, 3 year old kindergarten
• Safety concerns are an issue for parents too;
some said they would like to see a greater police
presence in some areas.
Parents and carers were asked to nominate
‘the most important thing you want for your child
or children?’ Their responses are represented in
the word cloud below. Parents and carers hope
their children will be happy, healthy and confident,
involved in their communities and have access to
a good education.
Natural
environment
“Brimbank parks; Some
areas feel semi-rural”
Multi-cultural
community
“Friendly multi-cultural
community; Our African
playgroup; Multi
cultural events”
Access to
services
“Lots of options;
Kindergartens; Services
are close by; Services that
help children develop”
Sense of safety
“It’s a safe place; Welcoming
and friendly place; Good
people, good community”
Family & friends
“Close to my family;
Meeting lots of other
people; Community”
Council services
“Maternal and Child
Health nurses; Sporting
facilities, Lots of parks;
Playgroups; Leisure
centre; Libraries”
What is good about
living and raising
children in Brimbank?
PARENT’S RESPONSES
PARENT’S WORD CLOUD

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12 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
People and organisations who work
with children and families
Two workshops were held with a total of 40 people
who work with children and families in Brimbank.
Twenty-two people were from other services
in Brimbank and eighteen from other Brimbank
Council departments.
In general terms, these people would like the
Strategy to guide the work they do, be child centred
and value the input of children and families. They
would like to see organisations work collaboratively
and in partnership to address health and wellbeing
issues faced by children and families informed by
demographic and other information. Other responses
are grouped in the following priorities.
Greta, Age 10

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 13
Health and wellbeing
• Build parent capacity
• Build access to learning and literacy for children
• Strategies to engage and work with vulnerable children and families
• Celebrate cultural diversity
• Highlight the importance of food security
Agile and innovative service system
• Develop culturally responsive practice and competence
• Learn from best practice and innovation
• Build service interfaces that respond to current needs
e.g. Family violence; Oral health
Improving Equal Access
• Co-location of (place-based) Services
• Maternal and Child Health Service as a supported entry point
• Early Years Service Access Team - to assist families engagement
with the services they need
• Targeted information and better use of technology
• Families are supported to access the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS)
Child and family friendly infrastructure
• Active participation and influencing role in early year’s infrastructure
planning and development
• Create child and family welcoming environments in all services
Advocacy and promotion
• Promote access to three year old kindergarten
• Advocate for increased Maternal and Child Health hours for longer initial
engagement and outreach
• Advocate for service responses for children in the middle years
Collaboration and partnerships
• Council leads collaboration and coordination of the early years’
service system
• Support early year’s workforce development
• Work with kindergartens and kindergarten management to support
participation in School Readiness Funding
PRIORITIES

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14 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Our Children’s Strategy
– What we will do
We recognise that children achieve better outcomes when their
diverse strengths, abilities, interests, and cultural practices
are understood and supported. Valuing and respecting diversity
is vital for children to develop a strong sense of identity.
12
Cultural diversity is not just limited to religion and
ethnicity. It also includes the broad diversity of family
structures, experiences, gender and sexuality, health
and abilities, socio-cultural backgrounds, values,
languages and belief systems.
13
In Brimbank we value
the diverse nature of our families and will continue to
acknowledge and celebrate cultural diversity.
We want to improve the health and wellbeing of
children and families. We will work with our partners
to develop and deliver services that are easier to
find and access and are more responsive to their
specific needs.
We want children and their parents/carers to
feel that Brimbank is a safe and nurturing place.
Encouraging the community (including children) to
participate in shaping their own safety systems
can improve general perceptions of safety within
a community and strengthen confidence.
14
We will
work across Council and with children and families
to inform planning decisions for better and
safer spaces.
12
DEECD (2011): Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Evidence Paper, Practice Principle 4: Equity and Diversity.
13
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., Farmer, S. (2014).
Programming and Planning in Early
Childhood Settings. (6th ed). South Melbourne, Australia:
Cengage Learning Australia.
14
World Vision (2016) Cities for Children Framework: A Strategic Framework for Urban Programming.

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 15
Children are interested in building neighbourhood
amenity and having more colourful spaces and less
‘bad graffiti’. Involving children (and their families) in
artworks can bring communities together and lead
on to greater community engagement and
ownership. We will work with our Arts and Culture
Unit to create the opportunity for a Child-led
Mural Project.
Children showed us that they take
environmental concerns seriously. It is important
that we provide them with opportunities to engage
and influence our climate change work. We will
create opportunities for children to be involved in
conservation and sustainability projects and options
for them to become neighbourhood, park and
conservation reserve ambassadors.
Children’s views and ideas lay at the heart
of all our planned strategies and actions. We will
ensure that children’s voices are heard through
multiple modes so they can express their thoughts
as fully and richly as possible.
Celebrate the cultural diversity
of our children and families
Gain the input of children into
the design of better and safer
public spaces
Children as environmental
ambassadors
A child-led mural project in 2020
Lucinda, Age 10
Tiffany, Age 4

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16 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Council’s role
Council undertakes a range of roles and functions to support
the needs and aspirations of children and families in Brimbank.
Strategy
We develop strategies to guide our work with,
and for, children and their families. Our Children’s
Strategy 2020–2024 will focus on children aged
from birth to nine years.
Plan
We drive a whole-of-Council approach to service
and infrastructure planning.
Partner
We facilitate a range of partnerships and networks
to strengthen service connections, local planning
and improve service access.
Advocate
We lobby and advocate to state and federal
governments and other key stakeholders on behalf
of early year’s programs, children and their families.
Deliver
We deliver several services for children and
their families.
• Enhanced Maternal and
Child Health
• Family Violence Maternal
and Child Health Nurse
• Parent support staff
• Supported playgroups
• Pre-School Field Officers
Targeted services
For children and families
who require extra support
• Maternal and Child Health
• Breastfeeding support (with Tweddle
Child and Family Health Service)
• Outreach playgroups
• Parent support staff
• Community Playgroup Leader Training
• Service access and navigation
• Parent information portal
• Kindergarten registration portal
• Service infrastructure
(kindergartens, playgroups, maternal
and child health centres)
• Libraries and story time
• Activities in neighbourhood houses
and leisure centres
• Playgrounds, parks and sporting facilities
Universal services
For all children and families
in Brimbank

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 17
Our framework for working
with children and families
Support children
and families to
connect, learn and
build wellbeing
Children in Brimbank
have enhanced health
and wellbeing
Work to develop
an informed,
accessible and
responsive suite of
child and family
services
Children and families
in Brimbank benefit
from equitable and
timely access to services
and supports
Build partnerships
and collaboration
to improve service
access, increase
resources and
support advocacy
Children learn, develop,
play, connect and feel
welcome and safe in
the built and natural
environments in Brimbank
Work to develop
child and family
friendly, safe
and welcoming
built and natural
environments
Deliver programs
and services that
strengthen parent
capacity as a child’s
first and most
influential educator
Support children
and families to
increase awareness
of health
Create
opportunities for
positive transitions
for children and
families
Build the cultural
responsiveness
of our programs
and services
and the cultural
competency of our
workforce
Create
opportunities for
intergenerational
exchange and
learning
Develop service
interfaces and out
posts that promote
access of children
and families
Enable children
and families to
participate in
the planning
and delivery of
programs and
services
Develop a program
evaluation culture
and practice that
includes the voices
of children and
families
Work in partnership
with researchers
and families to learn
from new evidence
and test what works
Facilitate
partnerships and
collaborations that
promote access of
families and children
to needed services
and supports
Align and coordinate
with programs and
activities across
Council that seek to
improve health and
wellbeing outcomes
for children
Advocate for
resources that
promote health
and wellbeing of
children and families
Activate child and
family friendly
neighbourhoods
and public spaces
Value and celebrate
the diversity and
distinctiveness of
children and families
in Brimbank
Children have the
same access and
opportunities
as previous
generations to
engage with nature
and biodiversity and
to inherit a stable
climate
OUR
OBJECTIVES
Driving our
strategies
OUR
STRATEGIES
How we will
achieve the
outcomes
OUTCOMES
WE WANT
TO ACHIEVE

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18 Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024
Our actions
STRATEGY
ACTIONS
COUNCIL’S ROLE TIMING
Support children
and families
to connect,
learn and build
wellbeing
1. Support Community Playgroups and deliver
Supported Playgroups including in-home support
sessions in English, Vietnamese and Burmese
Deliver
Ongoing
2. Promote the value of Playgroups and what they
provide for Brimbank families
Deliver
Ongoing
3. Refresh First Time Parent Group model to increase
focus on parent support and development of the
parenting role
Deliver
2020
4. Build the cultural competency and responsiveness
of our services to meet the needs of all families,
including non-traditional families
Deliver
Ongoing
5. Engage in the lifelong learning community of
practice to strengthen collaborative work and
practice in the early years
Deliver
2020–2021
6. Deliver programs that offer an opportunity for
intergenerational exchange and learning
Plan and Deliver Ongoing
Work to develop
an informed,
accessible and
responsive suite
of child and
family services
7. Develop and deliver strategies that engage families
with high needs and those who do not traditionally
access services and supports, through:
a. A service outreach strategy
b. Access to parenting support at various locations
in Brimbank
Plan and Deliver Ongoing
8. Develop an Early Years Service Access Team that
will streamline child and family access and transfer
across Council services and programs and to/from
external services
Provide
Ongoing
9. Ensure Council’s Kindergarten Registration Policy
applies to all families in Brimbank
Deliver
Ongoing
10. Work with key partners to support and
increase kindergarten participation by families
with high needs
Deliver
2020
11. Develop an on-line parent portal to provide parents
with a centralised point for information and resources
Provide
2020–2021
12. Develop evaluation practice and mechanisms to
include the voices of children and families
Develop
2021–2022
13. Participate in targeted, relevant research
opportunities
Partner
Ongoing

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Brimbank Children’s Strategy 2020–2024 19
STRATEGY
ACTIONS
COUNCIL’S ROLE TIMING
Build
partnerships and
collaboration to
improve service
access, increase
resources and
support advocacy
14. Continue our active, influencing role in the
Brimbank Melton Early Years Compact
Advocate
Ongoing
15. Maintain current partnerships and build
new partnerships to improve health outcomes
for children
Partner
Ongoing
16. Identify and communicate advocacy priorities
for children and families
Advocate
Ongoing
17. Utilise the Brimbank Early Years Network as
a mechanism to inform our advocacy efforts
Advocate
Ongoing
Work to develop
child and family
friendly, safe
and welcoming
built and natural
environments
18. Continue to shape Council as a child safe and
friendly organisation
Deliver
Ongoing
19. Facilitate and partner in events that celebrate
the contribution of children to our community
Partner
Ongoing
20. Create opportunities for families and children
to strengthen and celebrate cultural identity
and knowledge
Deliver
Ongoing
21. Undertake (Child and Family) accessibility and
inclusion audits of our venues and facilities
Deliver
2020
22. Work across Council to consider and develop active
travel options that create safe routes for children
to travel to school
Deliver
Ongoing
23. Identify safety priorities for children and families
for inclusion in the Community Safety Strategy
2020–2024
Plan
2020
24. Create opportunities and options for children
(and their families) to be neighbourhood, park
and conservation reserve ambassadors
Deliver
2021–2022
25. Work across Council to engage and educate
children about environmental conservation
and sustainability
Partner and
Deliver
2021–2022
26. Facilitate a Children’s Mural Project
Partner and
Deliver
2020–2021

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Brimbank City Council
Telephone
9249 4000
Email
info@brimbank.vic.gov.au
Post
PO Box 70, Sunshine, VIC 3020
Hearing or speech impaired?
• TTY dial
133 677
• Speak & Listen
1300 555 727
www.relayservice.gov.au
, then enter
03 9249 4000
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www.facebook.com/brimbankcouncil
www.twitter.com/brimbankcouncil
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www.brimbank.vic.gov.au
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