Blue Mountains City Council

Childrens Services
Childrens Services

"A Guide to Children's Services in the Blue Mountains" can be downloaded below.

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CHILDRENS SERVICES

Introduction

The early childhood years are recognised as a unique stage within the human life cycle. The role of the parent or carer in these early childhood years is seen as the most important in a young child's life. There is also another significant contribution that can be made to the child's early years and that is the role of the children's service. A parent's understanding and appreciation of their child can be enhanced by the child's participation in an early childhood service. Many families place their children into services long before 'formal schooling' begins. Services such as long day care, preschool or playgroup are most common.

The children's service is most often the entrance point for support for children and their families. It is a point where support can be received, information can be shared and families can extend their networks and partnerships into the broader community, leading to participation in other community activities.

Your child will have access to many worthwhile learning and development opportunities through the experiences offered at the early childhood service. To choose a service you need to firstly know what is available. You need clear and factual information in order to make an informed choice about care for your child.

Refer to "A Guide to Children's Services in the Blue Mountains", produced by Blue Mountains City Council, which lists services for children, explains the types of services available and offers a list of questions for you to answer to assist you in the childcare decision making process.

More information about topics including immunization, early intervention services, toy libraries and parenting tips can be obtained by selecting from the links on this site.To include a link or provide feedback about this site please contact the Child and Family Services Development Officer on telephone (02) 4780 5542.

Children's Services Directory

Blue Mountains City Council's Community Outcomes Team is pleased to launch our new Guide to Services and Activities for Children and Families. In producing this guide we have attempted to include all the services in or around our area relevant to children, parents, carers and associated services. Included are sections on childcare, preschool and school aged services; through to parenting support, meeting other parents, health services and recreation activities.

We welcome your feedback, suggestions or updates; please contact Council's Child and Family Services Development Officer on (02) 4780 5542.

Children's Week: 22 - 30 October 2011 - 'Celebrating the right of children to enjoy childhood'
Children's Week is an annual event celebrated in Australia during the fourth week in October. It begins on the Saturday prior to Universal Children's day which is always held on the 4th Wednesday of October. This year Children's Week is from 22 - 30 October 2011.

Download the 2011 Caldendar of Events of Children's Week Activities at right.

Think about how often families, teachers, friends and playmates hear this from children everywhere. It is an invitation to the world to share in a child’s joy at a new discovery or to notice and celebrate their attempts at mastering a new skill. From taking their first steps, learning new words, riding a bike for the first time or reading a book all by themselves, children invite the people in their world to notice, support and encourage them as they discover and learn. Children’s Week 2011 is a week which helps to remind us all of the enduring presence and importance of children in our homes, neighbourhoods and local communities. Children’s Week 2011 is proudly supported by Blue Mountains City Council and the Blue Mountains Children’s Week Planning Committee.

For further information please contact Council's Community Project Support Officer on (02) 4780 5631.

Partnerships In Learning: Linking children, families and early childhood services

The Partnerships In Learning project was a research partnership between the University of Western Sydney and Blue Mountains City Council. The purpose of the project was to find out from parents what were the barriers and enablers to their child participating in an early childhood education and care program. Early childhood services examined in the study included child care, preschool, family day care and supported playgroups. The pilot project was conducted in partnership with families living in the Katoomba and Leura whose children were now in Kindergarten. It is hoped through additional funding the project will be extended throughout the Blue Mountains.

Council conducted this research in response to long-term research showing that quality early childhood education supports children to do well at school and go onto to access post school education and employment.

A significant finding was that many parents did not realize that children receive an early childhood education at long day care centres. In NSW pre-schools and long day care centres are licensed by the same set of regulations. These regulations require both types of service provide an early childhood education program. You can therefore ensure your child gains an early childhood education through enrolment in a long day care centre in New South Wales.

The report also found that parents do not know what to look for when assessing quality of care in Children's Services. For more information about quality in Children's Services please see Blue Mountains City Council's Guide to Services and Activities for Children and Families page 6, Choosing an Early Childhood Service.

Contact Council on (02) 4780 5000 to obtain a copy of the report. Alternatively, download the report at right.

The findings from the research project also showed that:

  • Services were easiest to access when they were affordable, flexible and convenient.
  • Barriers to accessing services included cost, transport, availability of places, lack of information and parents not understanding the benefits that early childhood education services offered children.
  • Parents and teachers understood that children being ‘ready to start school’ was underpinned by children's emotional and social development, rather than just their knowledge of numbers and letters.
Recommended Links

Advocacy

Early Intervention Education Family Support General Health Parenting Outside of School Hours