By CASEY NEILL
A PLAYGROUP project could bag $15,000 for Greater Dandenong Council.
The council’s Family Health in Playgroups trial was announced on 31 August as the only finalist for the More Family and Child Friendly category at the Victorian Early Years Awards.
The winner will receive $15,000 to develop and share its project learnings.
Community services director Mark Doubleday said the project was a pilot aimed at helping vulnerable families to access community services.
“This was achieved by a maternal child and health nurse attending playgroups to provide information and referral pathways,” he said.
“Overall, the nurse attended 15 playgroups three times each across the 33 weeks of the program.
“These visits led to a range of productive, informal and formal discussions with families about child-focused issues, including healthy eating, child development, breastfeeding, sun smart, dental health and kinder enrolments.”
Mr Doubleday said 244 families, with 298 children, participated in the project.
An Education Department spokesman said the independent judging panel determined the Greater Dandenong project as the strongest of the two nominations for the category and felt it more appropriate to put forward only one finalist.
Families and Children Minister Jenny Mikakos said the finalists represented how creative and innovative approaches to early years learning could yield exceptional achievements.
The official Early Years Awards winners will be announced at the National Gallery of Victoria International on 28 October as part of National Children’s Week, which runs from Saturday 24 October to Sunday 1 November.
