Yarran’s AGM 2021
Yarran’s Quote for our AGM reports for 2022
"Change is our chance to experience the new, to identify additional
options and generate different opportunities”.
Barbara Lucas
President’s Report
I wish to thank all the staff for their dedication as Yarran’s finds its way through the ever-changing Covid.
We find change around every corner. We are always aware of our options, and we grab those opportunities as they arise with both hands.
We can all see the success of the Play Links Program. of employing Occupational Therapy Assistants and accepting students for their university placements.
Opportunities that were just a discussion, just an idea that we had-are now being implemented. These opportunities allow Yarran to grow stronger, to offer more options and to focus on our core business.
But without the staff -they would still be just a good idea.
Thank you to all of you for making these ideas a reality and for the hard work that makes them successful.
Opportunities aren’t always about what we can gain but sometimes it’s about what we can cancel and not do anymore.
Not continuing to be a registered NDIS provider is a great example of such an opportunity.
I do wish to also acknowledge all of the beautiful babies that arrived this year and congratulate all of their amazing Mums and Grandparent.
Yarran welcomed new staff this year too– Tracey, Keli-Ann, and Lisa as Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants.
Teaghan, Keely, and Lily as Therapy Assistants. Shiree as our new administration at East Gosford. Yarran is very excited to announce that Teaghan will stay on as a speech therapist now she has graduated. The opportunities this provides to the young children needing speech therapy is massive.
To the Board, the CEO Glen-Marie and staff that continue to support our families and their children to have amazing opportunities – Thank you!
Tanya Kane
President
Financial Report
2022 proved to be another year affected by covid and lockdowns and an even more challenging return to work once lockdown was lifted and government supports ceased.
Just as we all breathed a sigh of relief that Yarran had weathered the storm from the first lockdown in the 2021 year, another covid wave crashed along with a newer variant and staff were directed to stay home yet again.
On 26th June 2021 the central coast, deemed at the time to form part of Greater Sydney, was plunged into yet another lockdown.
This time, it was announced that there was to be a partnership between the state and federal governments. Jobkeeper was out, the cashlow boost was out and instead the Covid-19 disaster payment and Covid-19 JobSaver payment was introduced.
Yarran applied for the Jobsaver payment through Service NSW to help support the organisation with business costs and, with childcare centres and schools closed or inaccessible, Yarran acknowledged how difficult supporting families and children were at this time, and after offering whatever telehealth supports possible, staff had their hours reduced as a result of the lessened demand for NDIS supports.
Staff were directed to Services Australia to apply directly for the Covid-19 Disaster payment. Throughout this time Yarran believed in supporting staff as best as possible so, whilst acknowledging the hit that the organisations finances might take, it was decided the best course would be to top up staff wages so they were not impacted financially as a result of the lockdown and we would eventually emerge from lockdown with the same level of staffing as before.
After more than 100 days of lockdown, this finally ceased on 11th October 2021.
Staff were able to gradually increase their visits whilst navigating access to support settings. Yarran amended its cancellation policy to encourage families to cancel appointments when unwell without the risk of being billed.
This non-billable cancellation policy remained in effect until Yarran reopened in January 2022. Staff experienced challenges with filling their cancellation timeslots and travel costs increased as staff could not always support children in the same geographical areas.
Start strong pathways program was extended for a further 12 months, start strong did experience a deficit in the 2022 year as extra staffing resources were allocated and wage and travel costs increased.
With the cessation of the previously funded Getting started program by the Benevolent Society, Yarran applied for club grants to support the continuation of Yarran’s Getting Started program. Diggers The Entrance contributed $8,500 in 2022 for the Getting Started program to help support families, who could otherwise not afford assessments or access therapists, to access these free of charge.
On 27/6/22 Yarran also received $1000 from The Rotary Club the Entrance for the purchase of books for the children’s xmas party to be held in November 2022.
Although it is acknowledged that Yarran had a deficit for the 2022 financial year, this has been a recovery from covid lockdowns and has been balanced out from the previous year when Yarran had a healthy surplus.
Yarran believes in the welfare of its families, children and staff and staff families.
Yarran is proud of how we weathered the storm and has strategies in place to continue our recovery process.
Matthew Haines
Treasurer
Secretary’s Report
The Yarran Management Committee members all elected to continue supporting Yarran for 2022. The AGM was held on the 30th of November 2021 with only management committee members attending due to the growing uncertainty in covid exposure and the changing rules for close contacts and isolation. We did not hold an end of year dinner for the Management Committee due to these covid risks. There were six Management Committee meetings during 2022.
A meeting was held via zoom on the 19th of May 2022
We were able to reunite & meetings were held at the Central Coast Leagues Club on the 24th of February,31st of March,30th of June,25th of August and the 11th of October 2022.
A quorum was present at each meeting, and I would like to commend those present on the efficient way business was conducted at those meetings.
I would like to thank Glenn-Marie, Lisa and staff for the excellent and timely information that is prepared for these meetings.
The Committee is always pleased to hear how Yarran staff have adapted to supporting families, particularly through extended lockdowns and changes to how you can access school. communities. We also appreciate the introduction of better technology & support, so Yarran staff can focus on their core business efficiently.
We as a committee welcome the CEO’s innovative ideas on how to best support the local children & families quickly, using donation money to help support communication goals when they are most needed.
We also welcome our young therapy support staff, who we know will be gaining excellent experience under the guidance of the CEO, our Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants, therapists, and teachers.
We know this shared knowledge will greatly support our young families.
A majority of correspondence to families is now emailing, via websites or cloud-based reporting. Families are sent hard copies of NDIS service agreements and progress reports to support plan reviews.
Planners will request these documents during reviews, or they may be needed for NDIS audits.
I would like to thank the CEO for her leadership and dedication to all the families who come to Yarran, and all the staff for the incredible work standard you have achieved this year.
Thank you.
Amanda Cutbush
Secretary
Chief Executive Officer’s Report.
In 2021 to 2022 Yarran has faced many changes. Some were new, some were positive and some just plain wrong. Yarran is always looking out for our options. Options become our goals. With these changes, we looked at our options and we created our opportunities.
What are the opportunities that Yarran created ?
1. We have moved our transition out of our registration with NDIS forward. I cancelled the appointments with the Auditor.
This brought a great sense of relief to everyone at Yarran – staff and Management Committee.
By the 28th of February 2023 we aim to have no agency managed plans at all.
This allows us to be independent of NDIS. To focus on us – our way.
It will be exciting to see what other opportunities Yarran can have as an unregistered provider.
2. The NDIS Early Childhood Reset lists a range of professionals and qualifications that NDIS deemed acceptable. But there is only one type of qualification, that of a BA
While Yarran is using this opportunity to lobby Federal Members, Tafe governance boards etc we saw another opportunity to engage a professional with a BA as a family worker using a child’s NDIS funding. This has been a Yarran goal for many years. But it came at a price.
3. The need to have more speech and occupational therapists posed the question.
What are our options ? What haven’t we tried ?
Yarran had the opportunity to employ students studying speech therapy and occupational therapy as Therapy Assistants. This worked out really well, so we thought we would try student placements especially when hearing that are not enough placements for the therapy students.
We were not quite sure of what we were doing so we made it look good and I think we pulled it off.
4. Covid continued to create changes for everyone .
During this time, the Management Committee’s dedication, and options to keep all staff safe, paid and valued at any cost was demonstrated and achieved.
5. The CEO announced the start of the transition to her retirement. This is a three-year process. Think of the options and opportunities this process will bring to Yarran. I want to thank all the staff for the hard work that you do. You make it look easy, but I know how much work, effort, and commitment you all put into your children and their families.
I am always very proud of Yarran, our staff, our management committee, and our achievements.
Good Job
On the 26th of April 2022, The Entrance Rotary Club celebrated their 50th year of community service by holding an 50th Anniversary Dinner.
They asked me to be the guest speaker for the evening which I did.
On the 25th of October Mingara celebrated their 50th Birthday dinner and invited Yarran to attend which we did.
It turned out to be an evening I will never forget, and I was so happy that Naomi was with me. I have changed the original speech so it includes all the clubs and partnerships that Yarran has had over the years with Diggers, Mingara and The Entrance Rotary club and it will be my presentation tonight.
Yarran has been supporting young children with disabilities and their families for 43 years.
This means that the Clubs and Yarran have worked together for at least 43 years.
Together we have enjoyed 43 or more sausage sizzles, Children’s Xmas parties, train rides, Xmas presents, Santa’s, community raffles, guest speakers, donations, Club Grants and changeover dinners.
But the relationship between the Clubs and Yarran is based on more than this and I wondered why and what that was.
Our “relationship” can also be defined as “a connection, an affiliation, rapport, a bond and linked”
This is exactly what the clubs and Yarran are to each other.
We have a strong connection, amazing affiliation, great rapport, strong bonds, and we are linked to each other.
A genuine liking for each other.
Yarran and the Clubs have always had a great time when we came together, whether to provide our children with a special Xmas event, Santa or as a guest speaker or at a changeover dinner over the years. We recognised the skills and dedication we both have.
“If you can laugh together you can work together” Robert Orben Respecting and Valuing each other.
We both value the different roles we play in our local community.
Our roles are different, yet we still value and honour the outcomes we both achieve.
We can see the change we help to create in our communities in our own way.
The support the club gives to other groups often finds its way back to help Yarran’s children and their families.
“None of us ever do great things.
But we can do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful”. Mother Teresa
Trust and Integrity.
When you support other community groups, trust and integrity is vital.
Trust is the most key factor in any relationship.
You need to know that the partnerships you form are trustworthy and are of the highest integrity.
Your names are linked. Your reputations are linked.
The Clubs and Yarran has always known about our high standards of integrity.
We can see it in everything we do for our families and our community.
Yarran would always trust that the Clubs would have our backs and to provide support if we ever needed it or asked for help.
We both have the confidence that we will do our jobs and we will do them well.
“Being in the same room as people and creating something together is a great thing.” Robin Williams
A strong sense of commitment to the relationship.
The clubs are committed to the work Yarran does. They are proud of us.
We know that. We have always known that. We have that bond.
A 43-year relationship demonstrates the Club’s commitment to Yarran especially when there are so many other groups that they could be supporting.
“A team is not a group that work together.
A team is a group of people that trust each other”
Simon Sinek
A shared philosophy of values and beliefs.
We share positive attitudes about our families, our community, and our individual roles. The clubs like Yarran, focuses on a strength- based approach – believing that all people are doing the very best they can and offer support without charity.
It’s a hand up not a hand- out.
We are both families centred- believing in the strength and power of families and what they can achieve when supported in the right way.
We are both resilient. Even when things change, and we are not sure of how to get through this – we always do.
“You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits.
When we all help one another, everybody wins.”
Jim Stovall
We welcome diversity, we both have a culture that accepts and celebrates individual differences.
This is an important connection that we share. This connection informs our practice.
It defines who we are.
It is reflected in the decisions we make and the actions we take.
We understand and value the benefit of the individual perspectives and experiences of our members.
We treat people with kindness, courtesy, and respect.
“I believe it’s our responsibility to show our communities the value of all people, to celebrate different, and to take a stand for acceptance and inclusion.”
Judy Foody And finally
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world.
Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has”.
Margaret Mead Thank you.
Speech Therapy Report
Yarran staff are blessed to work with wonderful children and families through the year. We have the opportunity to engage in team meetings and undertake external professional development to develop our skills so that we can continue to deliver improved services to families.
We have all undertaken professional development this year, to increase our current skills and develop some areas so that we can better support our clients and families.
We all strive to deliver evidence-based practice, which involves integrating the best available research evidence with clinical expertise and the patient’s unique values and circumstances during service delivery.
With the change in our caseloads, as demand for speech therapists increase, we have engaged in the opportunity to develop our clinical skills through formal training.
This includes paediatric feeding, responding to trauma, and supporting families from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
Updating our knowledge in these areas has developed our skills so that we can continue to deliver early intervention and routine-based intervention to our families.
Engaging in regular professional development allows us to further our knowledge and has also provided us with the opportunity to share this during staff meetings so that all staff, across disciplines, can further their knowledge in these areas.
With increased demands for supports impacting available therapy services, Yarran staff have responded by reviewing processes to demonstrate streamlined recording and reporting of IFSSP’s for families and meeting NDIS requirements.
Speech therapists recognise the value of transdisciplinary sharing and commitment of team members to educate, learn, and work together to implement coordinated services (Carpenter, 2005; King et al., 2009).
Our families have been able to access these enhanced supports needed through one key relationship (KW) to meet the complex needs of children with disabilities.
This new practice of reporting has freed the speech therapy team to redirect available time to offer intradisciplinary assistance with workload because of maternity leave and part-time employment.
Through improved communication between therapists, we have been able to sustain the newly formed Yarran initiative, ‘Getting Started’ program, which offers screening and assessment supports to disadvantaged families in the wider community.
Furthermore, opportunities for revisiting speech-language assessment skills have been generated for the speech therapists, which forms an essential element of our scope of practice. These have included articulation and phonological skills, receptive and expressive language, and pragmatic communication. As such, not only have our speech therapists benefited from fresh perspectives of the components of communication, the families and children will benefit from more refined therapy goals and potential funding to meet their functional and/or future academic needs, which would be otherwise unattainable without Yarran’s progressive program. One of the positives about service delivery at Yarran is that we cater to the family’s needs and adapt therapy so that children see us in the environments where they need the skills we are targeting. This includes home, preschool, in the community and schools.
Providing support during Covid was difficult in the school setting as they attempted to reduce the risk of an outbreak at school.
Many schools restricted or denied access and did not allow us to resume visits until second term, 2022. During this time, we had to be creative, especially with working parents, to continue supporting families.
Delivery in the school environment has had its challenges since NDIS was introduced with increased measures to allow us to support children at school. This requires us to spend time. completing child protection, CPR, and anaphylaxis training, as well as fill out a myriad. of paperwork. We understand these measures and back that it increases the safety of children. However, it becomes complex to manage when we are given a small window of time that we are allowed to attend, with many schools wanting us to choose a time and day and do not allow us to deviate from this.
With multiple children on our caseloads, this inflexibility can be difficult to work around and makes scheduling problematic.
Added to this is an increased focus on our goals and how we are achieving these goals. That is, should we be in the classroom to support skills in an environment where the children need and use these skills or withdraw the child from the group setting to work on goals in isolation.
More often than not we are able to make the best of the options we are given and manage to provide high quality, child centred therapy while catering to the requirement of schools. This identifies strongly with the thought that change is our chance to experience the new, to identify additional options and generate different opportunities.
Change is an ever-present element in our world.
As the quote by Barbara Lucas suggests, change can be viewed in a way that leads to more options and different opportunities.
This has certainly been the case for Yarran, as reflected by the speech pathology team as they pondered over the previous year regarding working with their Yarran families. Some changes that have been relevant to the speech pathology team this year include changes to the supervision structure and additional staffing changes to the team, with the introduction of Therapy Assistants.
The speech pathology team have admired the effects these changes have resulted in, as they have generated positive opportunities for the children they work with.
Clinical and Peer Speech Pathology Supervision
Yarran holds great importance on clinical supervision.
Not only does Yarran adhere to frequency recommendations from Speech Pathology Australia, the national peak body for the speech pathology profession, but it in fact also exceeds them. Yarran offers its speech pathology staff individual clinical supervision meetings on either a fortnightly, monthly, or six weekly frequency patterns.
It also provides peer supervision meetings at six-week intervals.
This is a greater frequency than the minimum requirements Speech pathology Australia mandate and is instead aligned with the best practise guidelines Speech Pathology Australia recommend. Yarran’s value on supervision demonstrates its commitment to providing a high quality and supportive service for its families and staff.
During the course of the year, the supervision process has responded to changes, resulting in an increase of options and resulting opportunities.
Below are two examples where this has occurred.
Changes to the speech pathology accreditation process
In 2022 the national peak body for the speech pathology profession Speech Pathology Australia, made some changes to the accreditation process for speech pathologists.
One of these changes was the introduction of the Certification Program, effective from July 2022. One of the key objectives of the Certification Program was to “support speech pathologists to set goals, plan and reflect on their learning with the aim of improving practice for the benefit of service users and communities.”(SPA 2022)
A recommendation to assist with this was for speech pathologists to make a Continuing
Professional Development Plan (CPD Plan) to outline learning goals for the coming year. Yarran Speech Pathologists have embraced this change, and during supervision meetings have begun or completed their individual CPD plans, in response to the change.
During the plan they have identified a range of options to meet the goals they have set.
The options are varied depending on the learning goal of the individual speech pathologist. Some examples are utilising independent research, reaching out to other Yarran team members in areas they have skills and experience in, or seeking formal professional training for topics that relate to their caseload.
As this process has begun, the team have already started to benefit from the opportunities that have resulted from this change.
For example, one speech pathologist’s goal was to reach out to the Occupational Therapy team to receive information about helping children reach their optimal level of focus during a session. This resulted in the opportunity for the entire Yarran team including Therapy Assistants, speech pathologists, Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and Occupational Therapists to benefit from a presentation by the Yarran Occupational Therapy team during a whole team meeting.
Members of the speech pathology team have commented how they have seen immediate benefits in engagement with their children when using information provided by the presenting occupational therapists.
By using the options available to us within our wealth of knowledge at Yarran, not only did the individual therapist and child benefit from this knowledge, but the entire Yarran team and their families are also able to benefit from the information shared.
Changes to Peer Supervision
Another change that occurred this year in the supervision process was changes to the peer supervision structure.
During 2022, each speech pathologist was invited to present a topic to the team for the professional development section of the meeting.
This resulted in a year’s worth of shared professional development between team members throughout the year, giving the team exposure to a range of topics.
Team members have reported an appreciation of this shared knowledge and have applied it in their caseloads as relevant.
When relevant, these trainings have also been chosen by our CEO to present at a whole Yarran team meeting, for all to benefit from.
Therapy Assistants
This year, Yarran introduced a new Speech Pathology Therapy Assistant role and Teaghan accepted this position, while completing her final year at university.
In the early months, change and flexibility were key components of this role as Teaghan and Lauren (her supervisor in this role) found themselves figuring out how to utilise this role so that families are provided with the best possible support.
After a few months of ‘learning the ropes’ at Yarran and providing support with some of Lauren’s families, the responsibilities of Teaghan in her Therapy Assistant role evolved. These changes saw Teaghan having increased independence and taking on a new aspect within the role by supporting her own caseload (with supervision).
This allowed for families to be provided with the option of more frequent visits from members of their Yarran team, which positively affected the amount of support provided.
This is an example of how a small change in staff roles can generate more options for support services and ultimately lead to a richer support network for our families.
In conjunction with a new Speech Pathology Aide joining the Yarran team, Yarran was fortunate to have two additional Therapy Assistants join the team, Lily and Keely. Lily and Keely are both currently studying occupational therapy at Newcastle University and have been assisting the whole Yarran team with their skills and position as Therapy Assistants.
The speech pathology team have benefited from having Therapy Assistants join the Yarran team.
Members within the Speech Pathology team have reflected positively on being able to work with Lily or Keely in preparation and implementation of their therapy sessions. For example, speech pathologist Jessica regularly invites Keely or Lily to her speech pathology sessions at the Yarran playroom for one of the children on her caseload. Benefits of this include being able to use Keely or Lily as a play partner for the child. This has resulted in opportunities such as modelling social language for the child and allowing the child to generalise skills learnt to a new person, other than the therapist or parent. It also gave opportunities such as allowing the parent to have a detailed discussion with Jessica about their child’s communication, while their child could simultaneously engage with Lily or Keely and to continue their NDIS goals.
This change has resulted in positive opportunities not only for the children at Yarran, but their parents also.
The Yarran team have appreciated having the addition of Therapy Assistants this year.
Change is all around us. The examples in this report show how Yarran embraces change and continues to successfully adapt.
Doing so ensures that we support our families and our staff to thrive. References
SPA (Speech Pathology Australia) (2022) Certification Program, speechpathologyaustralia.org.au, accessed 17 October 2022
Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants Report
2022 provided opportunities for Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants to utilize and expand our skills and experience in new and exciting ways.
The Getting Started Program
In 2022, Yarran was able to move forward towards new opportunities for early intervention in its Getting Started Program. Yarran’s CEO and Management Committee reached the exciting decision to self-fund Yarran’s Getting Started Program. This meant that the Getting Started Program was able to expand its support for families across the entire Central Coast region rather than its previous region of the Wyong LGA only.
It has also meant that all Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants have had opportunities to be a part of the Getting Started Program in the past 12 months and utilize their early intervention skills and experience in observation and screening of child development as well as opportunities to provide some shortterm early intervention.
Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants have also adapted and expanded their practice to support families in the Getting Started Program by providing referrals/community pathways, supporting families access to services, screening children’s development using the Ages and Stages assessments, liaising with relevant external services including Life Start and Central Coast preschools/childcare centres as well as working in partnership with Yarran’s Therapists.
Support to access pathways to the NDIS
Many families in the Getting Started Program received support from Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants to access LifeStart, (The Early Childhood NDIS partner) as well as Paediatricians, Occupational Therapists, Speech Therapists and Physiotherapists for assessments/reports of their child’s development.
Over the past 12 months, many of Yarrans Getting Started families received NDIS plans for their children and chose to purchase their Getting Started Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants for ongoing support. Yarran’s staff and families have celebrated much success in its Getting Started Program in the past 12 months.
Therapists
Over the past 12 months, some of Yarran’s Therapists reduced their hours, went on leave, or moved onto their own ventures. This, as well as a general shortage of Therapists in early intervention, created a shortfall in therapy supports for some of Yarran’s families.
Yarran took this chance to identify additional options and utilized this opportunity to promote the expertise and versatility of its Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants. Families were given the opportunity to experience a Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and the valuable supports they provide.
Many families took this opportunity to purchase a Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and continued to access this support throughout 2022.
Yarran has had such a good response that more Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants have been employed.
Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants Meetings
Over the past 12 months, Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants meetings have been occurring twice a term.
The Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants meetings are a valuable support for all of Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants to connect, brainstorm, discuss topics and share ideas and experiences.
We’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve shared our joys, successes and challenges and we’ve learnt and grown together.
Yarran’s Whole Staff Meetings
Yarran’s termly whole staff meetings have been a great way to get all of Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and Therapists together to discuss and review policies, procedures, and practices and to share information learnt from professional development staff have attended.
These meetings have kept us updated and informed about NDIS changes, WH&S, housekeeping, and current practices including administrative processes and other procedures and practices that are required of us.
Yarran’s whole staff meetings have also been a great opportunity for staff to network and connect with each other.
Thank you to the Management Committee, Glenn-Marie (Yarran’s CEO), families and staff for their ongoing support and opportunities that we have been provided in 2022.
This year we felt like things were somewhat heading back into normal; but a new normal.
We had come out the back of lockdowns, restrictions and hurdles we had to overcome.
We accepted this new normal like we always do- with a fresh face and a can-do attitude.
We embraced changes thrown at us, embraced changes as an organisation.
We brought it back to what we know, what we do well, and where our passion lies. This re-emergence into our new normal allowed us the opportunity to sit down as an organisation to look at strategic planning, what we can change/happy to change, and what we cannot change/do not want to change. When changes happen, the Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants come together and adapt to the changes, we collaborate, we collectively make a plan moving forward.
We learnt so much during Covid and the challenges we had to face and overcome.
We have come out the other side to be more flexible to challenges, how to adapt to changes, and we have come back into face-to-face with more skills and adaptability.
As Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants, we brought in changes around our supports and how that would look. Whilst NDIS changed the way they view Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and made that title redundant when a child turns 7, We realised working with children 7 years and above was not where our strengths and unique supports lay. Our core philosophy and expertise are that of Early Childhood. Collectively, Yarran’s Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants have over 90 years of early childhood education experience that we bring.
We ‘get’ early childhood. We ‘get’ the emotional needs of how this impacts our families, and how we can support them in an informed and compassionate way. We have each other’s experience to draw on in situations.
We have worked with some tricky families, situations, and services, and we “don’t give up”- we bring true the emotional, informational, and material support for our families and their children we support.
With this change, we also supported families with ‘moving on’- Building their advocacy to be ok with finding different supports as their child matures and grows.
They relied on the Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants for emotional support, and for some of us who had been a part of the child’s life from a very young age, it was difficult, but we supported the families to transition to alternate services.
The ever-changing variations in formats, reports and documentation required from NDIA made it difficult to make sure we were always on the same page and giving relevant and concise information. Our families relied on us to have current information and support for them, and our CEO worked tirelessly to make sure we were always delivering the most current information and documentation for our families.
Within the last few years, NDIS ‘just happened’ to schools and early childhood centres- they had no idea prior to it starting what it was about. Then Covid happened with restrictions and lockdowns. We are now on the other side of this, and we have come back now to schools and childcare centres being restricted to times and what they expect from us.
Some schools and centres are still asking what a Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants or “what do you do?”.
Schools and childcare settings are now wanting us to withdraw/ work with the child 1:1, which is something we do not want to change. We embed supports within natural environments and everyday routines and trying to advocate for our children with skills to participate in their daily lives. We worked with the challenges of the mass exit of skilled childcare educators and teachers, and in turn, made it harder for us to advocate for our children and giving them equal access. Research over the last few years has shown a decline in the intellectual capacity of our young children- they were not exposed as often to social and emotional connective groups, being able to read family facial expressions (due to mask and social distancing), and not having those community connections. The research showed there was a decrease from average intellectual range of 110 to average range of 78- which is considered borderline.
But with all this change, we also embraced what we do well. We thrive on supporting our children and their families to be their best selves and work on skills in their everyday lives.
We have embraced the ‘Getting Started’ program, and being able to support families, who may not have had any access to supports.
This was a massive opportunity for those children to access early intervention that were part of that ‘grey area’- and in turn, be able to develop some skills. Families were appreciative of the support, of the guidance, and of the expertise that was brought to them for their child and family.
Having capacity to have regular Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants meetings allowed us as a team to come together, collaborate, share our successes, and get support collectively. It enabled us to be connected together and be able to work as aEarly childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants team. They have been instrumental in allowing us that opportunity to network, bring in external information to better understand our role vs the role of others when supporting our young kiddies within natural environments.
Our adaptability and achievements over the past year would not have been possible without the compassion, support and guidance from our CEO Glenn-Marie and the Management
Committee. Glenn-Marie has been, and always has been, an integral part of making sure that the core foundations and philosophy of Yarran is always upheld and has been our biggest advocator for our role as Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and the essentiality of our role.
The Management Committee has always been supportive of Yarran as a whole, and their advocacy of what we do and why we do what we do.
This support from the CEO and Management Committee are the reason that we as a team can come to work each day and be our best selves, supporting our children and their families in achieving their goals.
So, thank you for having our backs.
Thank you for your ever-continuing support.
And thank you for believing in us as Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and what we bring to Yarran as a whole.
Knowing what we want to keep is dear to our hearts as Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants.
Not changing or staying loyal to our grass roots while adapting will always be important to us, especially keeping the needs of our families at the centre of all we do.
The success of our families and children and their feedback will continue to be the driving force in choosing to change or not.
From a parent
My Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy AssistantsEarly childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistant... wow just wow, when Glenn paired us up our family started to see light in a very dark room. I can’t thankyou enough for your hard work, dedication, and adaptability. You managed to keep up with her constantly changing needs, you listened with an open mind and no judgement to our struggles and difficulties and just kept smiling big and coming up with new and wonderful ways to help her become a part of the community and the world around her. You took the fear and anxiety and turned it into positive action and solutions and created trust, a very hard thing to do with such a nervous mum. You were there during diagnoses, a month’s long and scary ordeal, you were there during our hardest and best moments and never let us feel vulnerable or lost.
AND let’s not forget the paperwork and reports you saved me from and did. mountains of it, all done so professionally the doctors, specialists and school always sang your praises. I would not have understood half of it without your help, everything so clear and concise.
From start to finish you have been such a positive important part of both her and her family's life. You will be sorely missed and never forgotten, you were an integral part of her growth and development and your techniques, advice and positivity will be regularly used long into the future. You helped provide confidence, lifelong tools to grow and develop as best we can together, thank you.
By 2022 we had come to expect change. At first, they were felt as challenges but as a tried-and true team, Yarran has never shied away from the work.
We have been tested and have proven our metal; but have we been able to find the opportunities? The gems that come from pushing against the previous storms to success.
The answer may lie in “How do we measure success?”
Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants a highly mindful of the journey, for the children, the families, those that collaborate with them and for us.
We are no strangers to change. Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants reflect, restore, and move forward.
Staff
We have had changes amongst our team. Sadly, a valued team member whilst having to choose her Family over Yarran, she will always be part of our Family. It was a heartfelt struggle for herself and for us. She has continued her journey with our love and blessing.
We had the pleasure of Keli-Ann, Tracey, and Lisa A and with them came the opportunity of sharing in their knowledge, skills, and experiences as Keyworkers.
Getting started/Ready to Go
As Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants we have been able to access our skills of flexibility, resilience, and general ability to do “multiple things at once” to the table in supporting the Getting Started and Ready to go Programmes. Being a part of this process allowed for Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants to fill any gaps in their timetable whilst supporting the pathway for Children into the NDIS scheme, Early Childhood education services or therapeutic supports to address their developmental needs.
It created the opportunity for us to provide Early Intervention for children yet not funded by NDIS, support Families in navigating the web of confusion and worry that faces “the beginning of the journey”.
Personal Lives
This group of four keyworkers reflected on the significant changes that have occurred in our personal lives and the impact these lessons have had on our early childhood intervention practices, whether it be strengthening our resolve, reminding us of what is precious, revisiting those delightful stages of typical early childhood development.
Some of us have shed the old and embraced the new. These personal experiences influence our abilities to see the opportunities amongst the adversity and challenges experienced by our Yarran families.
NDIS change formats.
We have had to adjust to new changes with NDIS formats.
As Keyworkers we take on these changes with a positive attitude. We come together as a team and share our ideas, opinions and listen to one another.
It can challenge us at times but with support around us we have the ability to accomplish the changes with a cheerful outlook.
Sharing the proforma
With changes on how we gather and provide information with our team at Yarran, has seen the Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistant role create an Individual Family Service Support Plan.
This document has become the backbone of gathering information for the whole team working around the child. The document has provided an opportunity for Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants to engage with their families and children to have a holistic view of the child and their world around them. This has provided a deeper understanding of the whole family with the added addition of the ECO map and allowing families to identify the supports they have around them whether direct or indirect. These opportunities are invaluable and have created the opportunity for deeper discussion and a connection built on understanding, trust, and connection.
It allows families to tell their story completely and underpins the development of early intervention goals.
What new experiences
An exciting and inspirational experience for Yarran has seen the addition of our Women’s Circles for families and staff. The Women’s Circles provide a setting to experience a new way of sharing individual stories and to hear the stories of others.
These stories may resonate within, and they may not but it gives opportunities for one to reflect on their own stories in an intimate setting of safety and security.
The ability to share your story with others is an opportunity for a learning journey with oneself.
Selfcare allows us to care for others.
We are more than just standing- we are continuing, developing, reflecting, and growing. What opportunities have we discovered in the challenges- We are good at this, we support and trust each other, we are family.
We want to do this.
Occupational Therapy Report
Lily: The year of 2022 has been a year of change where I have experienced new opportunities and learning experiences since joining the team at Yarran.
With starting my journey as a Therapy Assistant this year, I have meet amazing and welcoming staff members who have supported and helped me navigate through the NDIS early intervention service provision. I’ve had the opportunity to work with a wonderful team of occupational therapists who have taught me everything I need to know about supporting children in a range of environments from home, school, preschool and community under the routine-based philosophy which underpins Yarran. From observation and collaboration with the occupational therapy team at Yarran to having my own caseload of children I have grown and developed as an emerging therapist and have gained an immense amount of experience since taking on these new responsibilities.
I feel privileged to be working with amazing children and families and continuing to develop rapport with every session and watching them grow and progress.
Through incorporation of meaningful occupation, I’ve been able to identify additional alternatives to overcome difficulties children may be experiencing and generates new. opportunities for me as a Therapy Assistant to trial new strategies which facilitates professional development.
As a whole the community at Yarran has embraced change and seen it as an opportunity for development and growth.
Shannon: 2022 at Yarran has been my first year working uninterrupted by a pandemic or lockdown as an Occupational Therapist since graduating.
This change has allowed me to have the full Yarran experience and grow as an Occupational Therapist in many ways. Like, many of our families 2022 has been a year of returning to and navigating the new norm. For some of our kids this year has been the first time they have had many new social and community experiences as well as increased involved within the school settings. This year I have experienced many changes in my case load capacity, the diversity and complexity of the families I support and an increase in endurance to provide supports throughout the year. Ironically these new experiences have further taught me the value of partaking in meaningful occupations both personally and professionally.
On a personal level it has allowed me to recognise the importance of self-care and essentially practice what I preach. Professionally this has generated opportunity for reflection on my practice and further my knowledge through professional development.
It has advocated Yarrans core values of routine -based family centred practice by generating the conversation with clients and their families about the routines that bring fulfillment and joy to their day are just as important to support as those goals that are academic.
As a community I have noticed that we all have rejoiced in this change and welcomed opportunities that followed.
Nicole: My first full year at Yarran has been full of change as I navigated a new workplace and role. This change has presented me with several opportunities including working with new families, meeting new staff members, understanding the NDIS, and working across various environments. Through being presented with new experience and opportunities at Yarran this has allowed me to grow as a physiotherapist.
I have increased my toolbox to be able to adapt quicker to ongoing challenges.
I feel better equipped to help my families identify what change is important to them and their child and how best to reach their goals. It has been an amazing year watching my children grow and change as they experience new opportunities.
Helping my families implement new strategies and achieve their goals has been my highlight for the year. In the year to come I look forward to continuing to seek out change to further develop and expand my opportunities as a therapist.
The year of 2022 didn’t start quite how we thought it would.
With probably the biggest wave of COVID yet, it felt as though you couldn’t go anywhere without being a bit frightened.
Luckily, we were able to get back to some sort of “normal” after having multiple lockdowns from covid.
Finding a way to experience the new after what had been a roller coaster of a ride over the last couple of years.
Navigating and getting back to seeing people for face-to-face sessions and being able to interact with each other was something that felt a bit different at the start.
However, it somewhat felt like it had never changed.
This change allowed us to be creative in how we deliver the services that we provided. It also allowed us to reflect on the change that had just happened to then experience something new and improve on generating opportunities for Yarran, children and families.
Creating new opportunities is something that the Occupational Therapists at Yarran are passionate about.
We are always looking for new ways to generate different and exciting opportunities for our clients.
This year we had 2 therapy aids join the Yarran occupational therapy team and offered OT university placements for the first time at Yarran.
Keely said (OT Therapy Assistant): Yarran created so many new opportunities for me and I was able to see a range of different sessions and visit preschools, homes and Yarran playrooms.
It was quite nice to see that the kids were excited to have another friend to play with.
I have learnt so much this year and look forward to continuing to grow and learn in 2023. Chloe said: Change has allowed me to develop this year by encouraging me to think outside the box.
I have learnt that by working as a team and consistently discussing with colleagues and families, I am able to generate new ideas and different opportunities.
Brigette said: Throughout the year I have experienced change within my daily work.
I found myself in opportunities that were new and unfamiliar, such as having our new therapy assistants buddy with me, and supervising university students.
This has been a wonderful experience that I have thoroughly enjoyed.
At times during these new experiences, I have looked for support from my supervisor (Leah) and colleagues to assist me through these different and exciting opportunities.
I am grateful for these experiences.
Leah said: I have enjoyed the opportunity this year to grow and learn with all the changes we faced. This was the first year we offered OT University student placements. It was a challenging experience, having to learn within a few weeks how to supervision university students, what to do to prepare for them and how to complete the SPEF-R evaluation form! It has also been a great opportunity to work with OT Therapy Assistants (OT university students) and provide supervision and support their learning journey.
I have thoroughly enjoyed continuing to supervise and learn from our OT team!
This year, my caseload included a large number of assessments for Yarran’s ‘Getting Started’ program.
This was such an amazing program to be part of and see the difference Yarran was able to make in family’s lives.
Performance report for Ready to Go: October 2021 to June 2022
Please describe the activities you have delivered to support educational engagement of children too young to receive a preschool education.
Ready to Go staff supported the educational engagement of children too young to receive a preschool education by providing regular early childhood education play sessions in Yarran’s playrooms.
During these play sessions, Ready to Go staff provided a range of resources and educational activities to nurture children’s development.
Some children too young to receive a preschool education were supported to access an early childhood playgroup or long day care setting.
Ready to Go group programs remained non-operational due to the impacts and restrictions of COVID-19.
What were the outcomes of the activities you have delivered to support the educational engagement of children too young to receive a preschool education?
Children too young for preschool accessed individualised early childhood education programs delivered by an experienced Early Childhood Teacher or Educator.
Playroom sessions also provided opportunities for Ready to Go staff and parents/carers to discuss and highlight the benefits of early childhood education.
During playroom sessions, parents/carers were able to discuss their concerns and expectations about their child’s transition into a long day care setting.
Children too young for preschool developed skills to support future entry into preschool.
Children too young for preschool and parents/carers were able to develop a relationship with an Early Childhood Teacher or Educator who could support their future transition into preschool.
Parents/carers gained knowledge of the many early childhood education programs offered to children too young to receive a preschool education including playgroups, Long Day Care and Family Day Care services.
Parents/carers recognised the importance and value of early childhood education, demonstrated by their ongoing attendance and engagement in their child’s individualised early childhood education play sessions and their interest in securing a future preschool placement for their children.
Please describe the activities you have delivered to support pathways to preschool.
Parents/carers were provided with information and knowledge about the different preschool programs in their local area and were assisted to complete the preschool waiting list or enrolment process.
Parents/carers were provided with information about different early childhood education programs offered in their local area, e.g., Community Based preschools, Department of Education preschools, Private and Not for Profit Long Day Care, Family Day Care, community playgroups and supported playgroups.
Parents/carers were supported to access and gather documents and information required for their child’s preschool enrolment including birth certificates, immunisation statements and childcare subsidy entitlements.
Ready to Go staff assisted families to complete enrolment forms (due to literacy challenges or lack of access to the internet for online enrolment forms).
Family support and advocacy were provided at preschool meetings, visits, and tours. Staff facilitated and provided support at preschool orientation visits to assist in smooth transitions into preschool.
Parents/carers were provided with information and support to access specialised services and assessments necessary for the successful preschool inclusion of children with additional needs, e.g., LifeStart – ECEI partners in NDIS & KU Inclusion Support Agency.
Parents/carers were provided with information and support to access family support services and agencies to assist in reducing barriers to preschool enrolment and sustaining their child’s access to a preschool education, e.g., Central Coast Family Support Services & Uniting Supporting Families Program.
Ready to Go staff provided information, guidance and support to preschool Teachers and Educators to increase their capacity to include all children.
What were the outcomes of the activities you have delivered to support pathways to preschool.
Families were able to make an informed decision about an early childhood education program that best meets their needs.
Families were able to obtain the necessary documentation to complete their child’s preschool enrolment.
Eligible families were able to access the childcare subsidy.
Children and families were able to attend a preschool orientation program prior to their child’s start date.
Children successfully enrolled and engaged in their preschool program.
Children’s enrolments at preschool were successfully sustained.
Children with additional needs were able to gain specialised support in their preschool. Preschool Teachers and Educators successfully included all children including children with additional needs.
Some families were supported to engage in Family Support Services.
Some families reconnected with the Ready to Go program to gain subsequent support to re-enter preschool.
Please describe the activities you have delivered to promote the importance of early childhood education to parents and communities.
The NSW Government Education “Early Education Matters” online print out https://education.nsw.gov.au./early-childhood-education/what’s-happening-in-theearly-childhood-education-sector and a Ready to Go flyer promoting the importance of Early Childhood Education were distributed to families on enrolment.
The benefits of Early Childhood Education were discussed during family meetings, playroom sessions and at preschool visits.
Please describe the outcomes of the activities you have delivered to promote the importance of early childhood education to parents and communities?
Community members and services regularly referred families to the Ready to Go program for support to access an early childhood education program.
Families made direct contact to self-refer to the Ready to Go program for support to locate and access an early childhood education program in their local area.
Please describe any changes you made to the original application.
Ready to Go Playgroups did not operate due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Many community events and expos did not occur due to COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions.
Yarran’s toy library is no longer operational and therefore family access could not be facilitated.
Ready to Go staff worked in partnership with NDIS Early childhood Intervention Educators and Therapy Assistants and therapists to assist in successful preschool transitions and inclusion for children with developmental delays and disabilities.
Ready to Go staff formed working partnerships with family support agencies to support and assist vulnerable children and families.
Staff supported younger siblings (too young for preschool) to access long day care.
Please provide any feedback from families etc?
Family feedback included:
- Without support from Ready to Go, some families indicated that they would have delayed their child’s preschool enrolment.
- Some families believe they would have remained on waiting lists due to a lack of knowledge of alternative options.
- Cost and lack of vacancies continues to be a significant factor impacting Central Coast families access to preschool for their children.
- Some families reported feeling more confident about their child starting preschool due to the support they received from Ready to Go.
- Many childcare centres and preschools expressed their support of the Ready to Go program and appreciated working in a partnership with Ready to Go staff to best meet the needs of children and their families.
Anything else you want to reflect or share?
There are many vulnerable children and families on the Central Coast that require additional support to overcome barriers to accessing Early Childhood Education programs and preschools. Ready to Go staff’s skills knowledge of relevant support services and ability to partner with these services has assisted in achieving positive outcomes for these families.
Children with disabilities and developmental delays and their families have required specialised support from Yarran’s Ready to Go staff to access preschool. Yarran’s Ready to Go staff have utilised their experience and skills in early intervention to provide the support required for the successful preschool inclusion of children with additional developmental needs. Yarran has a long-standing reputation in the Central Coast community as a skilled, valuable and trusted early intervention service for children with disabilities and developmental delays.
Ready to Go staff have developed positive working relationships with families, preschools and children’s services across the Central Coast and value and enjoy their role in this program.
The number of children reflected in this report accounts for a period of 9 months during which time Yarran had a 4-week shut down over December & January 2022.
During the months of January and February 2022 many services on the Central Coast were either closed or not permitting external providers.
Other children supported that are not listed below?
Total number of children supported? 35
Disability? 6
Aboriginal? 4
Low income? This is not a question asked of our families.
CALD? 2
At risk of significant harm? 3
Socially isolated? 2
Total number of children enrolled in childcare / preschool who were not enrolled before? 7