Early Years

Evidence tells us that early childhood services play a significant role in a child’s positive development. Access to maternal and child health services, child care, kindergartens and other programs such as playgroups also provide an opportunity to enhance family participation in their community.

Our Early Years Program seeks to explore the barriers and enablers to inclusion, and to develop strategies to promote full inclusion of families from refugee backgrounds through:

• The provision of resources, professional learning opportunities and consultancy
• Place-based collaborative projects to establish meaningful dialogue between community members and representatives from the early childhood sector
• Collaborative projects with local and state-wide early childhood education and service providers

Communities of Practice (CoP)

The Foundation House Early Years Communities of Practice (CoP) is a one-calendar year program which supports early years services to identify and implement strategies which improve the inclusion and participation of children and families from refugee backgrounds. The CoP is a 2021 Victorian Early Years Award winning initiative funded by the Victorian Department of Education.

The CoP is a partnership between Foundation House and Best Start which engages 8-10 services in a Local Government Area. The place-based approach targets services based in suburbs where families from refugee backgrounds are living. During 2024, three Communities of Practice will occur in: the City of Greater Dandenong, the City of Hume and in a regional Victorian LGA to be announced.

You can download the ‘Outline and Agreement PDF‘ here.

Resources

• Balancing your involvement as an early years professional working with children and families of refugee background – the Involvement Continuum.
• Building partnerships with families from refugee backgrounds.
• Early years strategies and practices that meet the trauma recovery goals.
• Identifying Children and Families of Refugee background in Early Years.
• Responding to trauma disclosures from families.
• Supporting Transitions from Early Years to School.
• Working effectively with interpreters to support families from refugee backgrounds.

Videos

• Webinar: Supporting Early Years to School transition for children and families from refugee backgrounds during COVID-19
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Arabic 
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Dari
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Dinka 
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Hakha Chin 
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Hazaragi
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Karen 
• Kindergarten to School Video Series – Pashto
• Advice from families of Refugee Background about Early Years Services

Case Studies

• Responding to trauma disclosures from families – Case Study

Queries

Kelly Brand
Early Years Program Leader
T: (03) 9389 8900
E: