Strengthening family engagement: how a dedicated role is driving systemic impact at Gowrie Victoria Broadmeadows Valley

Gowrie Victoria Broadmeadows Valley’s re-awarding of the Excellent rating highlights how targeted investment in family engagement can deliver measurable, service-wide outcomes for children and families.

Gowrie Victoria Broadmeadows Valley (GVBV) has again achieved the Excellent rating under the National Quality Framework (NQF), marking the third time the service has received the sector’s highest recognition. The achievement reflects sustained leadership, innovation and a strong commitment to inclusive, responsive practice.

Central to this recognition is a deliberate, service-wide approach to strengthening family engagement through the introduction of a dedicated Engagement Leader role.

GVBV identified a growing number of families requiring additional support to engage consistently with early learning. In response, the service established an Engagement Leader role to provide coordinated, specialist support beyond the capacity of individual educators and leaders.

Now embedded for two years, the role focuses on:

• coordinating referrals and follow-up for families experiencing barriers to participation
• collaborating with external agencies to support continuity of care
• overseeing child safety and safeguarding practices
• advocating for additional supports and resources

The role also builds educator capability by guiding teams through referral pathways and modelling effective advocacy in complex situations.

One educator noted the impact on practice:

“Throughout this year, the Engagement Leader supported educators to think differently about engaging families. Attendance data was used to identify barriers, with program adjustments made to better support sessional families.”

Initially funded for two days per week through Victoria’s School Readiness Funding, the role expanded to three days in response to increasing demand.

This additional capacity has contributed to improved attendance patterns and deeper family engagement, supported through coaching, mentoring and reflective practice.

A service leader reflected:

“The Engagement Leader role has played a crucial role in improving attendance and family engagement. Through coaching and mentoring, attendance increased and was sustained across the year. The role has driven a positive shift across the service.”

To further strengthen practice, the Engagement Leader is completing a Diploma of Community Services (Case Management), ensuring alignment with contemporary evidence and approaches to family support.

The introduction of the Engagement Leader role has resulted in clear improvements:

• increased participation in funded early learning hours, rising from 51–64 per cent to 56–67 per cent
• reduced low attendance (less than four hours), dropping from 7 per cent to 1 per cent
• stronger referral pathways to government, community and specialist services
• implementation of a child development tracker to support informed, meaningful conversations with families

These outcomes demonstrate the impact of sustained, relational approaches to engagement on participation and continuity of learning.

GVBV’s approach illustrates how strategic investment in specialised roles can strengthen outcomes across the whole service. The model integrates:

• targeted use of funding
• ongoing professional learning
• critical reflection and data-informed decision making
• culturally responsive and relationship-based engagement

This integrated approach supports children and families to access and benefit from early learning, while building educator confidence and capability.

The success of the Engagement Leader role reinforces the value of intentional, system-level responses to complex family needs. As services across Australia continue to navigate participation and workforce challenges, this model offers a practical example of how dedicated roles can drive sustained improvement in engagement and outcomes.

Reference
 

Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority (2026). Strengthening family engagement: Impact of a dedicated educator position.