If your service has received funding under the Health and Development Participation (HDP) Grants, we wanted to share some exciting ideas from our recent visits Wagga Wagga services.

Engaging in professional learning about supporting self-regulation

Some services have organised in-service and/or online training opportunities for their teams to enhance their knowledge of how to support children to understand and regulate their own emotions. The funding has been used to cover the cost of the courses as well as relief time for educators and teachers, and in some cases payment to staff to attend after-hours training.

Creating therapy rooms

Some services are using the funding to establish spaces within their service where the Health and Development Checks program can take place but also a space which can be used day to day for engaging in telehealth sessions, or sessions with local health professionals, and working with small groups of children in a quiet space with a range of educational resources.

Engaging in professional learning with allied health professionals

Some services are engaging local speech therapists and occupational therapists to visit their service and provide training to educators and teachers on simple strategies they can use in their everyday practice to support children’s learning and development. The funding is being used to cover the cost of engaging health professionals as well as relief time for educators and teachers.

A huge thank you to those services in Wagga Wagga for hosting our team. It was a pleasure meeting with you all and seeing the wonderful work you are doing.