Central Great Southern

Two young boys and educator playing with toys on a table

Improving children’s wellbeing and school readiness in Central Great Southern

Located in the vast Central Great Southern region of Western Australia, the Central Great Southern EYP includes the Shires of Kataninng, Kojonup, Gnowangerup and Broomehill-Tambellup. Central Great Southern is the regional community of the EYP.

The total population of the four shires is almost 8,500, which includes approximately 553 children under the age of four (Reference: Australian Bureau of Statistics 2021 Census). Of these 553 children, 13 per cent are First Nations and 8.1 per cent are from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CaLD) families.

Notably, nearly 1 in 7 (16 per cent) of children in the Central Great Southern experience vulnerability across two or more domains, almost 5 per cent higher than the state average.

Central Great Southern was selected due to the demonstration of interest and capacity to benefit, taking into consideration a need for better outcomes for children 0-4 and their families, sufficiently broad and genuine interest within the community to achieve change, and a level of capacity to do so.

With a commitment to work differently with communities, the EYP is designed to deliver the support Central Great Southern families need to improve their children’s health, wellbeing and school readiness.

Key Community Priorities

The Central Great Southern EYP community and working group is committed to achieving the following outcomes for all.

Child Health

To improve the health of babies and children including reducing the number of preventable hospitalisations of children due to dental conditions

Child Development

To increase the number of children meeting developmental milestones and entering school developmentally ready.

Maternal Health

To improve access to and attendance at antenatal services to ensure mothers are healthy and babies have the best possible start to life.

Financial Well-being

To increase the number of families with children aged 0-4 who have a stable home and regular, nutritional meals.

Family Safety

To reduce the number of children aged 0-4 who have interactions with family and domestic violence.

Local Working Group

A new approach to co-designing, implementing, and evaluating the delivery of early childhood and family services.

The Early Years Partnership local working group oversees the development and implementation of a local community plan, aimed at improving children’s well-being and school readiness.

The community plan is an active document that outlines the community’s priorities for achieving better outcomes for children and their families. The working group work together to provide specialist advice, local knowledge, and transparent decision-making, to inform the strategic and operational priorities of the EYP in Great Central Southern and ensure these are successfully achieved to meet the local need.

To ensure local knowledge and representation from all four shires, the group is made up of representatives from local and state government and non-government agencies, families and community members.

The local working group includes representatives from the following organisations:

Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation
Department of Communities
WA Country Health Service (WACHS)
South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS)
Anglicare WA
Shire of Katanning
Shire of Gnowangerup
Uplyft (formerly Wanslea)
Katanning Primary School
Palmerston
A Smart Start Great Southern
Amity Health

Local Partner Organisations

Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation

Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation is a strong voice for the Aboriginal people in the Central Great Southern Region of WA and delivers social and economic outcomes through jobs and training opportunities.

Badgebup Aboriginal Corporation achieve their vision through building effective and sustainable capacity building partnerships, and establishing innovative land enterprises and social programs for the Aboriginal communities of the Central Great Southern.

Amity Health

A not-for-profit organisation providing health and wellbeing solutions to regional Western Australia.

South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS)

The South West Aboriginal Medical Service (SWAMS) is a Noongar Community Controlled Health Organisation, founded on the principles of self determination, empowerment and freedom of choice.
Our mission is to provide high quality, culturally appropriate and holistic healthcare which builds strong and healthy Aboriginal communities.

Great Southern Development Commission – A Smart Start

A Smart Start is a Great Southern initiative delivering community-based early learning intervention for children aged from birth to four years old.

The initiative provides families with the necessary foundation skills required for life-long learning, social interaction, plus physical and mental well-being. The initiative supports health and development milestones across all five developmental domains and aims to improve outcomes for children in the years before school.

Resources