New investment to strengthen early years for children

Image courtesy of Children's Ground

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Community programs and organisations working with families with children in the prenatal to two-year-old age range are set to grow their impact after being awarded funding in the new Strengthening Early Years program.

The Paul Ramsay Foundation (PRF) and the Australian Communities Foundation (ACF) today announced the first recipients of grants in PRF’s Strengthening Early Years, a program which aims to support families and children to ensure that every child has the opportunity to thrive upon school entry.

Strengthening Early Years focuses on the critical importance of the developmental period between conception and age two. Equally, it aims to ensure that parents are well supported to flourish during the early years of their child’s life.

Drawn from across the country, 18 promising projects targeting young children and families will share in $8.6 million in funding. The group includes culturally appropriate antenatal programs, support for mothers and children escaping domestic and family violence, First Nations focused playgroups, as well as programs focused on building resources, workforce knowledge and capability.

PRF’s Head of Early Childhood and program lead Hannah Barber said the successful organisations were all dedicated to supporting parents, caregivers and children experiencing disadvantage in the first one-thousand days of a child’s life.

“Ensuring that parents and caregivers have what they need to feel supported in the challenging early days of a child’s life is critical to establishing future pathways for the child’s health and development,” she said.

“We were impressed by the range of innovative approaches within these programs designed to strengthen relationships between parents or caregivers and children, which we know is extremely important.

“We look forward to partnering with these organisations to help grow their impact. As PRF works to help break cycles of disadvantage in Australia, we hope to establish a community of learning and sharing within the Strengthening Early Years program, but also with the broader early childhood sector.”

ACF’s Grants Manager, Gabby Lam said that the calibre of the organisations applying for funding was incredibly high, and thanked applicants for taking the time to compile such quality applications.

“We’re happy to once again partner with PRF to distribute funds where they’re most needed. We were struck by the potential and innovation that exists in this sector. We look forward to working with the partners as they undertake the work we’ve supported.”