NSW Health To Offer Free Health and Development Checks For Children In Preschool Settings

As part of Brighter Beginnings, the Health and Development Checks for children in early childhood education and care (ECEC) program is a partnership between the Department of Education and NSW Health to provide free development checks to children in the preschool environment.

At this stage, there is no agreed approach to how these checks will work as they are co-designing these with experts and practitioners. Early consultation findings have revealed several successful models already in place across the state. ECE services have partnered with Community Health Family Nurses and Allied Health professionals to provide not only the checks but also the wrap-around support required to meet the needs of children.

To design the approach to health and development checks, the Department of Education and NSW Health are leading a co-design process with stakeholders including ECEC and health professionals, academics and families.

Teams from NSW Health and the Department of Education are now consulting with health and early learning professionals to shape the program’s design and delivery. The first phase is focused on discovering what the current practices, challenges and opportunities are from services that are already delivering health and development checks in preschool settings.

Once the program has been established, more information will be available.

Reference:
Brighter Beginnings, Department Of Education and NSW Health