BUSHkids 2017-18 Annual Report

432

Inaugural Early Start Bundaberg team Bundaberg was our first NDIS ECEI team, established in August 2017 and, in its first full year of operation, has worked with no less than 536 families, with more than 200 NDIS plans approved. Part of the team’s success has been community engagement — promoting BUSHkids and the NDIS services we provide — and this has included network meetings, visits to other agencies to promote our service, and participation in numerous community events. BUSHkids’ high profile in the community has led to increased support with generous donations from community organisations and local schools — for example, a $1,000 donation through St Luke’s Anglican School for our sensory garden project, which in the coming year will help us develop an outdoor therapy area at the Bundaberg service centre. Community capacity-building has also been an important part of the Bundaberg NDIS delivery, with a series of professional development workshops conducted for early educators in association with Parentshop, a leading educational specialist in bringing about lifelong behavioural change. We have also successfully supported 19 childcare centres by conducting group work with children and supporting the work of the early educators. In partnership with the NDIS, we have continued to develop our processes and reporting to make improvements to data-capture, and continue to be diligent in maintaining a constant regime of quality checking to ensure reporting is accurate and timely.

NDIS Plans approved in total across ECEI services

221 BDB

74 ROK

92 GLT

45 EML

Queensland North ECEI Teams: Rockhampton, Gladstone and Emerald coming online

27

Established in late 2017, our ECEI teams in Rockhampton, Gladstone and Emerald began working with children and families at the end of January 2018. By the end of June, BUSHkids teams across Central Queensland had worked with more than 730 families and had 211 NDIS plans approved. Like the Bundaberg team, community engagement has been very important to establish the organisation and our new NDIS services, particularly in Rockhampton and Gladstone where BUSHkids has not had a high profile since the closure of the Yeppoon Bush Children’s Home in 1995. Over the year, the teams have taken part in more than 200 community engagement events — including a number of Under-8s’ Week events, the Gladstone Harbour Festival and Ag-Grow in Emerald — ensuring that families and their communities are aware of the supports available through our NDIS ECEI services. BUSHkids has also successfully developed collaborative partnerships and referral pathways across the region, building positive relationships with key organisations and groups.

Representative of these groups are Carers Queensland , Queensland Health Paediatric Services , Playgroup Queensland and Early Childhood Networks . To reduce NDIS ECEI waiting times, the Rockhampton team provided families with the opportunity to meet early intervention practitioners on Saturdays to discuss their key concerns, receive advice and information and to determine the most appropriate pathway for their child.

This was a very successful initiative with more than 200 families across the region attending during April, May and June, with the Saturday service days receiving very positive feedback from those who attended. The Central Queensland Early Start Teams continue to work in close partnership with the NDIS to grow our skills and knowledge and to provide an outstanding service to all families with whom we work.