1 / 18

Middle Childhood Matters

Middle Childhood Matters. Supporting services to be responsive to the needs of children 9-12 years in SW Sydney. Time of change and growth Increased sensitivity & self-consciousness Parents become fallible Peer groups grow in importance. Who are 9-12s?.

selene
Download Presentation

Middle Childhood Matters

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Middle Childhood Matters Supporting services to be responsive to the needs of children 9-12 years in SW Sydney.

  2. Time of change and growth Increased sensitivity & self-consciousness Parents become fallible Peer groups grow in importance Who are 9-12s?

  3. Funded 2008 through NSW Community Services Better Futures Supported by Connect Consulting Advised by wide-ranging reference group Based on Sydney University literature review and numerous consultations SW Sydney Project

  4. Reflected issues highlighted in literature review Confirmed lack of services & adequate funding for this age group in SW Sydney Identified profile of what attracts this age group to services The consultations

  5. Children’s Consultations Children were asked to rank what was the most important when deciding whether to participate in an activity: • Type of activity • Family Encouragement • Friends / Peers • Information • Transport / Easy to get to • Cost • Location / Access • Venue • Who is running the activity • Culturally Appropriate Children were asked to rank how they found out about activities from a list provided to them: • Friends • Family • Internet • Notice Boards • TV • School Newsletter • Posters • Radio

  6. Benefits of participation in after-school projects Safety & strengthened protective factors Positive health & well-being gains Increased engagement in learning & positive impacts on schooling 2009 Parliamentary Inquiry into Children & Young People 9-14 Years The literature review

  7. Youth development programs Art-based programs Education-based programs Sport & recreation programs The literature review

  8. Accessibility Positive and supportive relationships Programming grounded in relevant theory & evidence, specific activities designed to meet the needs & extend the interests of children What made the best programs?

  9. Staff who are well-trained and understand children & their development, programming, and have cultural competence, as well as access to ongoing staff development. Programs that emphasise positive relationships and regular communication with families and with children’s schools What makes the best programs?

  10. Access to adequate resources Partnerships and links to the community Evaluations and team reflection time. What makes the best programs?

  11. Training day November 2009 Workshops on key areas of child development, consulting with this age group, programming, evaluating. Funding for low-cost innovative projects $20,000 over 9 projects Term 1 2010 Evaluations Training and pilot projects

  12. We made a difference by giving the young people of this age group a place to hang out and an opportunity to take part in positive activities and make new friends. A lot of these young people didn’t know the role of youth workers and what services are available to them and now they do. I believe we are making a difference by getting to know these young people at an early stage and providing them with support and services when they might need it most (when support and information might not be as easily accessible) Bonnyrigg Youth Centre

  13. We made a huge difference by offering activities to occupy young people after school. But also by offering a very basic need for this age group. Just kicking a footy around is so important as does not always happen at home. Claymore Neighbourhood & Youth Centre

  14. The project provided quality family time and stimulated positive family interaction by introducing activities families can undertake independently together at home. Out of a total of 91 people, 81% were from a CALD background, 74% were new to the centre and 16% were male parents/carers. East Fairfield Community Centre

  15. Need to engage in discussion with youth groups re transition activities Need for activities focused on the needs of this age group Need to engage families as well as children, especially where this is culturally important Need for adequate resourcing and training. Project Understandings

  16. Support for interagency collaboration and local government focus around this age group Transition demonstration project around issue of increased capacity Development of training resource tool for in-house delivery Risk benefit tool – implement and evaluate. Next Steps

  17. A body of research and evaluation to inform practice around addressing the needs of this age-group in the Australian context. Targetted funding Increased training focus and requirements in services working with this age group Dialogue with youth services to support transitions. Future needs

  18. Making Links Literature review: download from www.burnside.org.au For more information contact: Cath Brennan UnitingCare Burnside cbrennan@burnside.org.au

More Related