Port Stephens’ Council Children’s Services Team win LG Excellence Award

The Port Stephens’ Council Children’s Services team have been awarded the 2020 NSW Local Government (LG) Excellence Award for Community Development and Services, local news source News of the Area has reported.

A recent expansion of the services offered by the team, as well as rebranding to Thrive Kids was the main instigator for the award, which was presented at a virtual awards ceremony held online. 

Coordinator Lynette Fiz Henry said the Thrive Kids team were incredibly excited to win in a field of strong competition, saying the award is “a wonderful reflection of all of the hard work the team has put in to expand our services and help even more families across our region.” 

Children’s services have been operating in the Port Stephens’ community since 1982, with the expansion of services and re-branding occurring as a result of a service review, during which the team realised they could build on their success and adapt to better meet the needs of their community.

Under the expansion the number of outside of school hours (OOSH) services doubled from four to eight, and the number of family day care educators jumped from 39 to 65. 

“To reflect these updates, Council created a new brand in-house that would combine all of our services. When people see Thrive Kids, they know that it’s quality childcare services offered by Port Stephens Council” Ms Fitz Henry said.

Thrive Kids offers a range of services for children aged up to 12, including OOSH, Family Day Care and Mobile Preschool, which Ms Fitz Henry explained as “a unique concept where we drive the van to 5 different venues in Port Stephens to help children get ready to start school.”

To read this piece in full, as published in News of the Area, please see here.