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NFP community organisations in WA gain $2.9m in funding to boost regional ECEC
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Freya Lucas
May 28, 2024
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Three not-for-profit community organisations have been awarded nearly $2.9 million in funding to develop and deliver new initiatives and models of service that support and strengthen Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) services across regional Western Australia.
One Tree Community Services Inc, Child Australia and Regional Early Education and Development Inc have all received grants to develop initiatives that address key barriers facing the sector in regional areas, including WA's vast geographic size.As with much of the country, ECEC services in regional WA can have significant issues when it comes to attracting, developing, and retaining a high-quality workforce.
In response, One Tree has been funded to deliver the Regional Early Years Learn and Lead (REYLL) program in the Gascoyne, Goldfields-Esperance, Kimberley, Mid West and Pilbara regions.
Through the REYLL program, participating services will access supports including cultural practice training, online supported traineeships, navigating service transfers, management training, and recruitment resources to attract and retain staff.
Child Australia will deliver the ECEC Support, Empowering Regional Services WA coordination support model program in the Great Southern, Peel (excluding Mandurah), South West and Wheatbelt regions.
"I look forward to seeing the positive impact these initiatives developed by One Tree Community Services Inc, Child Australia, and Regional Early Education and Development Inc will have on services across regional Western Australia," Early Childhood Education Minister Sabine Winton said.
Regional Early Education and Development Inc will expand their existing REED Cluster Model to the Goldfields-Esperance, Great Southern and South West regions.
The funding announcement corresponds to commitments made by the WA Government to allocate $5.1 million to supporting ECEC in regional WA for a range of activities to assist regional services to address challenges.
This investment included $1 million in grant funding to support the regional ECEC workforce through the Attraction and Retention Packages for Regional Child Care Workers Program.
More information about the grants is available here.
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