NORTHERN ADELAIDE EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT STEERING COMMITTEE

The Hon. J.M. GAZZOLA (15:02): My question is to the Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion with responsibility for the northern suburbs. Will the minister inform us about the progress of the Northern Adelaide Early Childhood Development Steering Committee?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:02): I thank the honourable member for his most important question.

The Hon. R.L. Brokenshire: Take it on notice.

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER: I was thinking about it. The Northern Adelaide Early Childhood Development Steering Committee (with the horrible acronym of NAECDSC) was formed several years ago. The committee comprises representatives from each of the three tiers of government, significant not-for-profit organisations operating in northern Adelaide and the University of Adelaide. The goal of the committee is to ensure that young children and their families in the cities of Salisbury and Playford have the best start in life in order to create a better future for themselves and for their community. The committee works to achieve this goal by working in partnership with local communities and neighbourhoods to determine and achieve local objectives.

Encouraging and facilitating coordination, joint planning and service delivery between local providers is a key function, as is identifying needs and service gaps in those parts of the region where outcomes are the poorest for young children and subsequently addressing those needs. Strengthening the coordination of and connections between early childhood services throughout the region is also a priority to ensure that local needs are met, resources are not duplicated or used inefficiently, and improve the quality or accessibility of services for children and young families in the region where this is also required.

As part of their work, the committee identified the suburbs of Salisbury North and Elizabeth Grove as among those where there were the poorest outcomes for young children. The committee then worked with a primary school in each suburb to identify ways in which this situation can be improved for those children. For Elizabeth Grove this work included the creation of an additional community room and an assessment room and shared timetabling of community rooms and activities offered and improvements to the children's centre yard space.

At Lake Windemere Primary in Salisbury North the children's centre is under construction and the focus is on support for resources for parents of young children. At its March 2012 meeting, the Northern Adelaide Early Childhood Development Steering Committee resolved to provide $30,000 to each school to support these developments and activities.

On Friday 8 June, I attended the Elizabeth Grove Primary School and presented Ms Moya Wellman, Principal of Elizabeth Grove Primary School, and Ms Angela Falkenberg, Principal of Lake Windemere Primary School, each with a cheque of $30,000, given on behalf of the state government through the Northern Connections office and the Northern Adelaide Early Childhood Development Steering Committee, in the presence of their worships, mayor Gillian Aldridge from the City of Salisbury, and mayor Glen Docherty from the City of Playford and also local members Ms Leesa Vlahos and Mr Lee Odenwalder from the other place. I commend most heartily the important work undertaken by the steering committee, the schools and Northern Connections in the field of childhood development, which is an important priority for this government.