BUSHkids 2017-18 Annual Report

1,100

Training

Hours of staff Professional Development

Training and development has been a key focus for us this year, with many new staff joining our expanding organisation. BUSHkids is accredited to provide in-house training to new staff through a number of evidence-based programs, including:

y The Abecedarian Approach Australia (3a) y FRIENDS Resilience programs: Fun Friends, Friends for Life, and Strong Not Tough y Read and Grow y A Steady Start to School (ASS2S) .

A Steady Start to School (ASS2S) training ASS2S — the BUSHkids-developed school readiness workshop which helps parents prepare their kids for starting school — has its own accredited self-paced staff training program to ensure the consistency and quality of ASS2S delivery. All staff must undertake this program before they can conduct the program on behalf of BUSHkids. ASS2S training involves reading research, watching a training video and completing three skills demonstration sessions with a supervisor. After this, staff must successfully pass an exam before delivering the program.

FRIENDS Resilience training BUSHkids is now a licensed provider for the FRIENDS Resilience programs in Queensland, with two staff qualified to provide training to other staff and maintain the calibre of program provision delivery. The FRIENDS Resilience programs are a great way for kids to learn the social and emotional skills that will enable them to make and keep friends, build self-esteem and confidence, and help maintain their mental wellbeing throughout their lives. The World Health Organization has recognised the FRIENDS programs for the treatment and prevention of anxiety and depression, and all BUSHkids Centres use at least two of the FRIENDS suite of programs in service delivery.

22

20

BUSHkids staff accredited to deliver ASS2S

Workshops delivered to parents and carers

14

Read and Grow training BUSHkids has been collaborating with Read and Grow developer Karryn Johns since 2015

Abecedarian 3a training The Abecedarian Approach Australia — 3a is an evidence-based approach that teaches key strategies to help children and their parents understand the rudiments of learning. This approach is based on more than 30 years of peer-reviewed research that has shown significant benefits to the children and parents who engage in the use of the key strategies. The University of Melbourne oversees the training and development of Abecedarian Approach practitioners and trainers in Australia ( 3a ), and BUSHkids staff who complete the training have the opportunity to sit an exam which allows them to become a registered Abecedarian practitioner. Currently BUSHkids has one 3a trainer with a total of 33 BUSHkids staff and 16 workers from local communities trained as registered practitioners during the year.

to deliver Read and Grow training to our staff. Read and Grow programs promote the development of early literacy and language skills, helping to give children a good start to their learning. BUSHkids staff provide the three-hour training developed by Read and Grow as well as a parent program, developed by BUSHkids, which includes the one-hour parent workshop and a five-home-visit program.

147

73 FRIENDS

49 3a Abecedarian

25 Read and Grow

BUSHkids staff successfully completed program training