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House of Assembly - Fifty-First Parliament, Second Session (51-2)
2008-07-23 Daily Xml
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Ministerial Statement

EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH (Adelaide—Minister for Education and Children's Services, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the City of Adelaide) (14:08): I seek leave to make a ministerial statement.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: I rise today to inform the house about the government's significant investment in and reform of our early childhood development services. I do this today when the government is releasing the Dr Fraser Mustard, Thinker-in-Residence, report. Dr Mustard has spent a significant amount of time here in South Australia over the last few years. We are very lucky to have had—

Members interjecting:

The SPEAKER: Order! The Minister for Education.

The Hon. J.D. LOMAX-SMITH: Thank you, sir. We are very lucky to have had one of the world's leading experts on early childhood development here in South Australia, and I thank him for his report and his inspirational ideas, which will help South Australia build on our reputation as a family-friendly state.

The official release of Dr Mustard's report today also coincides with an announcement of $2 million over two years to improve the attendance of children at 83 of the state's preschools in disadvantaged locations. Dr Fraser Mustard has enormous expertise and standing in the field of early childhood development. Many of his ideas endorse and complement the work we have already started here in South Australia to give young children the best possible start to their life. His ideas will help us to build on ideas raised in the Virtual Village inquiry into early childhood services that we conducted in 2004. We want South Australia to be recognised around the nation as a family-friendly state, with government services that work for children and their parents. Early investment in a child's life can help to set them on the right path in terms of their behaviour, learning and health well into the future. We are taking his advice and will support 32 of his 39 recommendations and we will provide qualified support for a further six of those recommendations.

The government has made a strong commitment to early childhood development. Some of our directions that are supported by the recommendations in Dr Mustard's report include:

part scholarships to teachers to undertake a graduate certificate in neuroscience;

four new family services coordinators to work with vulnerable children and families to prevent family breakdown and to help predict the need for intensive support, as well as 13 community development coordinators already working with parents and local communities to support and encourage participation by families in child rearing;

using the Australian Early Development Index (AEDI) to measure progress in children's development by gathering community data;

developing 24 children's centres bringing together child care, school and family services at one location, including four in new school developments;

a two-year trial in three childcare centres that give children access to kindergarten without leaving child care;

a $1.1 million joint federal/state project that will trial 15 hours of preschool a week, up from the current 11 hours a week. Ten areas across South Australia have been funded to trial these new approaches to deliver these extra hours;

extending preschool to three year old Aboriginal children and those under the minister's guardianship to give them a head start in life;

developing an Aboriginal family strategy to deliver better health, education and family services for Aboriginal children and their families;

incorporating new knowledge about child brain development into university and TAFE early childhood training programs;

home visits by CYWHS nurse for newborns in the first week of their life (Every Chance for Every Child);

an extra $190.6 million investment over four years in the recent state budget to keep children safe and intervene early when children are at risk of abuse or neglect; and

linking information material between health, families and communities and education departments so informed decisions can be made about children.

South Australia has taken the lead nationally on early childhood development initiatives to give young South Australians the best possible start in their life. Dr Mustard's report will help us to bring on our efforts well into the future. In his report, Dr Mustard says:

I believe South Australia is a leader in the English-speaking culture in taking steps to close the gap between what we now know about early brain and child development and what we, as societies, are doing to ensure equality of development for all infants, toddlers and young children.

I publicly thank him for his commitment, dedication and valued opinions towards progressing opportunities for children in South Australia. I also applaud our fantastic early childhood staff who work with parents and community members and make South Australia an even better place to live and work and, certainly, to bring up children.

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