School transitions in the spotlight with Connected Beginnings announcement

Tasmanian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children will be supported to improve their health and wellbeing outcomes and make positive transitions to school, the Australian Government have said, through the introduction of the Connected Beginnings program, which launched late last week at the tagari lia Child and Family Centre in the south east of the state.

The program will provide early childhood education, maternal and child health, and family support services to the Bridgewater and Gagebrook community, with a joint ministerial announcement outlining the funding provision of $21.9 million for the Connected Beginnings program.

Federal Minister for Education, Dan Tehan, said the program would help ensure Tasmanian children were prepared for school, adding “every child deserves the best possible start in life, and making sure kids (sic.) are ready to start learning from day one of school is a key goal of the Connected Beginnings program”

Federal Minister for Indigenous Health, Ken Wyatt, said the program would help close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous children, with a core goal being the improvement of children’s health and wellbeing.