A ‘Town Hall’ style community meeting, open to everyone in the Nambucca region, will be held at the Macksville Ex-Services Club this Wednesday, February 21 to discuss ways to combat the ever-increasing problem of childhood learning vulnerability.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Many children have a hard time at the beginning of the school year – from kindy meltdowns to outright refusals to go to school.
Bad behaviour and difficulty in paying attention are often seen as signs of a naughty child, however, it is often an underlying developmental condition that is causing the problem. Developmental conditions can affect up to one in five children in the Nambucca Valley according to the 2015 Australian Early Development Census.
Compounding the problem, children in rural areas have poorer access to early childhood intervention services, paediatricians, allied health and mental health services than their city cousins.
Children’s charity Royal Far West fiercely advocates for country children.
With partners Fairfax Media and Charles Sturt University, the charity has initiated a series of ‘Town Hall’ community consultations to raise awareness of concerns about the state of children’s developmental health in rural and remote NSW, and to hear firsthand from locals about the particular challenges and opportunities that exist to access services for young children in their communities.
Royal Far West’s CEO Lindsay Cane said each Town Hall event was an opportunity for parents, teachers, healthcare workers and members of the business community to speak with a panel about what they were seeing and experiencing in their local community, the challenges they faced in accessing supports for children and families, and what was working.
“Following the meeting, we will work with local organisations to create a plan for change, lobby for more targeted funding, and work with each local community to build its capacity to support vulnerable families,” Lindsay said.
The first such event was held in Gunnedah and as a result, the Gunnedah community is now working towards bringing Royal Far West’s early intervention Healthy Kids Bus Stop program to town, with the target of screening all local children prior to commencing Kindergarten in 2019.
The meeting this week is your chance to help make a difference for the children in the Nambucca Valley. It kicks off at 5pm for a 5.30-6.30pm meeting.
To register, visit www.royalfarwest.org.au/town-hall, or call Shannon on 02 8966 8516 or email shannong@royalfarwest.org.au
