Partnering with local communities to create change for Western Australian children.

If you were fortunate to have a childhood within a family and community that could provide you with positive influences, then you got the best possible start in life, shaped by experiences that will always be with you.

But consider the impact that adversity and disadvantage can have on a child, especially in the early years. Children who miss out on positive learning experiences within their families and communities can fall behind in education. And children who experience adversity can suffer lifelong health impacts.

Improving the early years can positively influence the trajectory of a person’s life, and it’s also a crucial part of strengthening families and cohesive communities.

This is why Minderoo Foundation has placed improving the early years at the core of our strategy to empower Australian families and communities through place-based programs.

Caption: Minderoo Foundation’s CEO, John Hartman, at an Early Years partnership supported early learning centre in Armadale. Credit: Emma Dolzadelli.

This work is already underway through the Early Years Partnership (EYP) – a unique, ten-year partnership between the state government of Western Australia and Minderoo Foundation.

This partnership strives to improve the development, health and learning of children aged 0-4 years across partner communities in Armadale West, Central Great Southern, Derby and Bidyadanga.

The EYP encourages using innovative new methods of solving long-standing problems and is underpinned by world leading research led by the Telethon Kids Institute in order to find out what works.

Codesign and collaboration is at the heart of the EYP. The communities themselves are empowered to create Community Plans for projects that will help benefit their children, their families and their entire community.

With each of these Community Plans now ready, it’s time to accelerate.

The state government and Minderoo are together committing an additional $34.6 million dollars to ensure the EYP’s impact is deepened.

$15.6 million in Cook government funding will support the 10-year-partnership, while Minderoo will provide $19 million for continued investment in the critical stages of child development.

Credit: Emma Dolzadelli.

The EYP communities have identified 24 projects that will be tackled as a priority, including:

• construction of an Early Learning and Family Centre (Derby)
• additional support for child dental health services (Central Great Southern)
• increased Child and Maternal Health Checks (Armadale West and Derby)
• improved maternal Child and Child Health data access (Armadale)

Our Co-Founder, Nicola Forrest AO, said the budget boost would also help deliver improved access to early learning, support early identification and intervention of developmental delay, and provide critical family supports to enable children’s development and school readiness.;

“Minderoo has a core focus on community-led, placed-based approaches to uplift child and community wellbeing and we congratulate the state government on having the conviction to co-fund and the courage to trial innovative solutions that can circuit break cycles of intergenerational disadvantage. This firm commitment will enable the Early Years Partnership to have real, lasting impact on children and families in WA and beyond,” she said.

How you start can determine how you go in life, and for Minderoo this increased investment in the EYP is just the beginning. Because what we are helping to create in the EYP communities could help make changes in other WA communities, and beyond.