Young children the focus of new council plan

The draft plan aims to achieve its goals in a number of ways, including: council's delivery of Early Years Services; council's involvement in other facilities, activities and programs for children such as playgrounds, walking and bike tracks, Children’s Week and Activities in the Park; the council’s lead role in co-ordinating planning and service development in the interests of children; and the council’s ongoing collaboration and partnership with lead agencies to help deliver programs for families.

Cr Fern Summer said social, economic and environmental impact on early childhood required a significant investment.

“We are a highly disadvantaged population in some areas and the way forward is to break the cycle of disadvantage through early childhood learning,” she said.

“We've had some gains like an increase in breastfeeding and better language skills.

“Healthy, happy, well adjusted children generally become healthy, happy, well adjusted adults — so that's what we want to see.”

Cr Summer said the plan could be used as a platform to advocate for a parent baby centre at Goulburn Valley Health.

She said the council would need to be cautious with its language surrounding diversity in family groups.

“We're still calling one department the maternal child and health when that excludes quite a bit of paternal and the rest of us.”

Kim O'Keeffe, who seconded the motion, said there had been a collaborative approach in creating the plan.

“It will be a moving beast; I think there's always things that do improve along the way,” she said.

The first plan was developed in 2006. Previous plans have improved language skills, increased breastfeeding rates and increased enrolment rates in early start to kindergarten.

The new draft plan was put on public display yesterday and will finish on August 19, 2020.