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Welcome to the ARACY blog, where our team and guest experts share their wisdom for children's wellbeing including health. Explore evidence-based insights from the Nest framework, dedicated to physical and mental disease prevention, fostering a thriving future for every child.

Amara Bains 27 March 2024

Dekol means knowing our history, so we are not bound to repeat it

At the end of December 2023, ARACY signed an Equity Partnership Agreement with Indigenous consultancy, the culmination of months of internal reflection on how we can do better in supporting First Nations colleagues and communities by starting with ourselves. It is our tangible commitment to reconciliation and a beginning of our journey in decolonising our approaches.
Diana Harris 5 March 2024

Redefining Partnership: ARACY's Vision for Community-Centric Social Change

ARACY recently gained attention from Glyn Davis AC, the Secretary to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet, for our pioneering work in community engagement. In his address, he showcased our initiatives, like the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, as prime examples of how vital community and sense of place are in the quest to enhance child wellbeing in Australia. This blend of philanthropic innovation with governmental backing, underscored by the crucial inclusion of community voices, is what truly makes or breaks civil society's efforts.

This blog post uncovers the critical shift needed from traditional operations to a model that values deep, genuine collaboration and gives a platform to those at the heart of the community. It’s a call to action: real change requires hard work, listening, and a collective relearning of how to unite for the wellbeing of our children. It's tough but essential for crafting a society where every child can thrive.
Christina Rosato 8 December 2023

Investment Dialogue for Australia's Children - first national roundtable

The first Investment Dialogue for Australia’s Children Roundtable was held in Canberra on Monday 4 December 2023 – bringing together leaders from philanthropy and Government to discuss a new long-term collaboration to improve the wellbeing of children, young people, and their families, by working with communities to reduce intergenerational disadvantage in Australia.
Barbara Barker 24 November 2023

ARACY farewells Dr Rebecca Goodhue

This week ARACY bid farewell to Dr Rebecca Goodhue, or Becks as she was known to most, after almost 10 years with the organisation. Becks was ARACY's Lead for Capacity Building and CFO (Chief Fun Officer) and during her time with us has made considerable contributions to child and youth wellbeing as well as being a well loved and highly respected member of the team. Colleague Barb has written a piece for our blog to highlight some of her many professional achievements as well as the attributes that made her well loved by her colleagues.
By Dr Laetitia Coles, Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland 17 November 2023

Families in Focus

Researchers at the University of Queensland Brain Institute have been utilising The Nest - Australia's wellbeing framework for children and young people to guide their work in capturing the voices of children with a disability and their families. We are pleased to have Dr Laetitia Coles as a guest author on our blog to share details about how they have been using The Nest in their Families in Focus Project.
Liz Depers 17 November 2023

Every Child's Right to Thrive by Five

This week our partners at Thrive by Five launched their ambitious Every Child’s Right to Thrive by Five - Make it law campaign on the lawns of Parliament House. They are currently leading a push for national legislation that would ensure all children and families are entitled to universal access to maternal health services and three days a week of low-cost, high quality early education for the two years prior to school.
Caitlin Winter 26 October 2023

Raising awareness about the Common Approach across Australia

September was a busy month, with ARACY travelling from Darwin to Tasmania to raise awareness about the Common Approach.
Jackie Bennett 13 October 2023

What I would like you to know before you vote tomorrow

Our CEO, Penny Dakin, recently attended the Early Childhood Australia conference in Adelaide and whilst there met Jackie Bennett, Director of Connecting the Dots through Culture. Their conversation, as most currently do, turned to the upcoming referendum and Jackie mused that she wished she could speak to all Australian's before they vote. We are pleased to have Jackie share her pespective as a guest author on the ARACY blog.
Diana Harris 15 September 2023

Child unlimited parliamentary launch

This week ARACY was delighted to attend the parliamentary launch of Child UnLimited, a national network of young people and families affected by chronic illness and disability alongside researchers and clinicians from Australia’s leading research institutes, hospitals and not-for-profits. ARACY's Lead for Operations, Diana Harris shares more about this exciting network and the parliamentary launch in this blog piece.
Roslyn Dundas 8 September 2023

Voices at the top - SNAICC Conference 23

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organisations, policy makers, researchers, government officials, non-government organisations and industry representatives have come together in Garamilla (Darwin) for the SNAICC 2023 Conference. This sold out event bought together over 1500 delegates to share knowledge and experience about supporting children and families to thrive, while also advocating for the importance of supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander-led solutions to issues. ARACY CEO, Penny Dakin and Lead Advocacy, Roslyn Dundas were part of this exciting and inspirational event.
Roslyn Dundas 1 September 2023

Thriving kids brain builders

ARACY and Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP) are excited to partner with The University of Queensland for an Australian first initiative that will see professionals working with children and young people offered training in brain science.

Thriving Kids Brain Builders is a neuroscience translation initiative being developed with UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute (QBI) for people working across the health, education, social and community services, justice and housing sectors. This initiative has been developed to bridge the gap between research and practice.
Liz Depers 27 July 2023

It's more than a rabbit - Early learning matters week 2023

Organised by Early Childhood Australia, and in its sixth year, Early Learning Matters Week aims to raise awareness and increase understanding of the importance of early learning and the difference the profession makes. The theme for Early Learning Matters week 2023 is 'learning through connection'. To provide insight into the value of connections in early learning and care ARACY's Policy and Engagement Officer and resident Early Childhood Teacher, Liz Depers, shares a recent experience she had with a four year old in an early learning and care setting.
Barbara Barker 5 July 2023

From Taree to Helsinki: building workforce capacity in child wellbeing

Traditionally, conversations about wellbeing have been left to specialist staff, such as the school counsellor, but what we know is that all areas of wellbeing need to be seen as a priority by all the adults in a child’s community. ARACY supports the need for professional learning on how to engage in child-centred, strengths-based, holistic and collaborative conversations with children and families about wellbeing through the Common Approach®.
Sophie Morson 29 June 2023

TQKP Family Hubs Practice Framework Project

The Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership (TQKP) team have engaged consultant Mark Davidson Consulting to work with them and key stakeholders to facilitate development of a Family Hubs Practice Framework over the coming months.
Kirrin Sampson 26 June 2023

Could it be their ears?

In their early years of life, approximately 80%, of Australian children will experience at least one episode of otitis media. Otitis media is the clinical term for middle ear disease and refers to all inflammation or infection of the middle ear. Rates of otitis media are significantly higher in some populations, such as indigenous children living in remote and regional areas, and children living in communities facing disadvantage.
Barbara Barker and Michael Hogan 15 June 2023

2023 International congress on evidence based parenting support (I-CEPS)

ARACY and its Queensland initiative, the Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, were proud to support the 2023 I-CEPS, with the theme of promoting wellbeing and health globally through effective parenting support, from infancy through to adolescence.
Dr Rebecca Goodhue 15 June 2023

Should we be moving away from student wellbeing apps?

Student wellbeing apps have been labelled as un-evidenced and simply mood tracking. What many of these apps enable is dedicated time for students to reflect on their wellbeing, something not typically fostered in many school environments. When using an app whose design is grounded in the umbrella concept of wellbeing, young people build their wellbeing literacy - an understanding that all these elements of life combine to create their sense of wellbeing.
Caitlin Winter 6 June 2023

The year of early childhood reviews

Over the past few months ARACY has put together four separate submissions to federal and state departments responding to calls for feedback for the National Early Childhood Education and Care Vision, National Early Years Strategy, Productivity Commission Inquiry into Early Childhood Education and Care, and the South Australian Royal Commission into Early Childhood Education and Care.
Kirrin Sampson 31 March 2023

Literacy begins at birth

The Australian Industry Group has identified critical skill issues facing Australian businesses, with 99% impacted by low levels of literacy and numeracy. Adult Learning Australia reports that, “1 in 7 Australians (14%) have very poor literacy skills and 1 in 3 (30%) Australians have literacy skills low enough to make them vulnerable to unemployment and social exclusion.”

Sounds pretty drastic, so what’s happening?
Amara Bains 7 February 2023

Connect. Reflect. Protect

With much of our modern lives spent online - from shopping, banking, learning, chatting, meeting and even dating - the effect of the internet and other digital technologies cannot be underestimated for both its benefits and its problems.

For ARACY, our support to present-day actions to address the systemic and structural social inequities that prevent children and young people from thriving, provides the foundation for our focus on the futures, especially where technologies are having significant impact on young people.

For Safer Internet Day 2023 we reflect on the opportunities to connect, and to action, for safer internet use.
Sarah Biggerstaff 9 December 2022

Equity in education: what can we learn from Nordic education polices?

As discussed in an ARACY blog earlier this year, Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have long been viewed as world leaders in socially progressive policy. What makes them so different from anywhere else? They are all what is known as ‘social democracies’, which simply means they are democratic countries where all citizens are well cared for. This includes generous policies relating to paid parental leave, childcare and early education, unemployment benefits, pensions for retired citizens, and access to free health care, including for mental health. The modern Nordic model is underpinned by the values of compassion, and the conviction that all humans are of equal worth.
2 December 2022

Why do nurse home visits stop a few weeks after giving birth? Extending them to 2 years benefits the whole family

Bringing home a new baby can be one of the most exciting and stressful times in your life. A nurse might visit a couple of times, then other than routine check-ups at the nurse’s office, you’re largely on your own.

Some people have a particularly hard time with a new baby because the challenges of parenting come on top of existing adversity, such as financial hardship, or poor physical or mental health.
Sarah Biggerstaff 2 December 2022

Measuring What Matters

As yet there is no metric or framework in place to gauge how well budgets meet the needs of Australians, but the Federal government is now seeking contributions from Australians to help develop a coherent and comprehensive framework to help better understand our economy and society and ‘support more informed policy making and improved accountability’.

This comes off the back of the Albanese Government’s first budget, released in October this year, which has been dubbed by many a ‘Wellbeing budget’. This presents some problems – as ARACY has highlighted before, the term ‘wellbeing’ is thrown around often and has different meanings for different people and different contexts. What is needed is a single, coherent and universally understood definition of wellbeing, and the recognition that it is in fact an umbrella concept, encompassing all different aspects of a person’s overall wellbeing, such as ARACY’s The Nest.
Roslyn Dundas 18 November 2022

Celebrating 20 years

In 2002 ARACY – Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth was formed. Our first annual report noted “The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth was established in 2002 to harness the expertise and resources of individuals and organisations in developing innovative solutions to the range of complex problems affecting the health, development and wellbeing of increasing numbers of young Australians.”
27 October 2022

The new Common Approach® blended learning course – a shoutout to our contributors

ARACY recently launched its new Common Approach® blended learning model of training. We are thrilled to have reached this milestone and would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful humans who contributed to the final product!

In just a few months, over 800 participants have already completed the new model of training, and this is what they’ve told us:

“Every piece of information from this training was very useful and has allowed me to embed my learning in my role.”

“It has helped me think differently about how to empower young people in more practical ways to support their own wellbeing. Particularly as I work with quite young children, it is helpful to have the knowledge reinforced that they can be empowered to help in identifying their own needs.”

“I found the online modules valuable as I was able to complete these at my own pace and the interactive activities enabled me to test my learning along the way.”

Development of the blended learning course took many months of hard work, and we could not have done it without the generous contributions of our supporters. Continue reading.
Penny Dakin 25 October 2022

Penny Dakin | Jim Chalmers budget 2022: Wellbeing cannot be improved by simply investing in infrastructure

While we know most Australian children thrive, for some of our youngest and most vulnerable Australians, work remains to level the playing field and give them a fair start in life. An essential part of this work is to understand what matters to children and young people. A child needs to have their needs met in all six domains of The Nest to thrive and if they're not doing so well in one or more, it's likely they'll struggle in others too. A child living in poverty, may not have enough to eat, may struggle at school and participate less in their community. A wellbeing perspective allows us to the see the whole. Perhaps this is the most exciting opportunity the upcoming budget will present. An opportunity for us to see all Australians as "whole" people. An opportunity for us to tackle the big issues like childhood disadvantage as the complex, multidimensional challenges they are. One thing is certain, the way we've been approaching these issues up to this point isn't working. The wellbeing budget is our next big step. You can read Penny's article in full here.
18 October 2022

ARACY's submission to the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care

ARACY welcomes the recent movements by the Australian Government to change the Paid Parental Leave Scheme, in light of the newly released submissions to the Senate Select Committee on Work and Care.

In ARACY’s submission to this Inquiry, we recommended a more equitable provision of parental leave among both parents.

What is the Work and Care Inquiry…and why is paid parental leave relevant?

The Senate Select Committee on Work and Care was appointed to inquire into the impact that combining work and care responsibilities has on the wellbeing of workers, carers, and those they care for. For more information, see the website here.
Amara Bains 14 October 2022

Technology is changing our children’s brains

A “cry for regulation” is how filmmaker, Todd Sampson, described his recent two-part documentary Mirror Mirror, which aired on Monday and Tuesday this week.

According to Sampson, the unfettered access to the internet and digital technologies by children is a global crisis; “..technology is an unregulated psychological experiment that is changing our brains” – but not in a good way. Many others share his concern. UNICEF released a report in 2017 highlighting the significant harm to children through digital technologies and the risks of increasing disparities among the disadvantaged if measures are not put in place to address them.
Barbara Barker 16 September 2022

AISNSW Wellbeing Conference: Along for the ride

The Association of Independent Schools (AIS) NSW Wellbeing Conference: Along for the ride took place on Friday 9 September 2022, with ARACY invited to present on student wellbeing approaches through a keynote and workshop on the topic of supporting family engagement for wellbeing and learning. Student wellbeing and learning are a shared responsibility between families and schools. Family engagement matters because by harnessing family knowledge of a child, schools and families together can develop their collective vision for the learning and wellbeing of that child.
9 September 2022

Child Protection Week speech by Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds

National Children's Commissioner Anne Hollonds launched National Child Protection Week at Government House in Canberra on Monday 5 September. Commissioner Hollonds has generously allowed us to reproduce her opening speech here.
26 August 2022

Using the Brain Story for better childhood outcomes

Imagine a world where we trained and looked after the health of our brains, in the same way we do our bodies. A world where we understood the brain in the same way we understood our cardiovascular system. For the past two weeks ARACY, Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership, and the Minderoo Foundation have been joining in discussions with Nancy Mannix of the Palix Foundation and the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative about how to create alignments between science, policy and practice in the areas of brain development and its implications for child development, mental health and addiction.
18 August 2022

Fixing the teacher shortage in our schools

On Friday 12 August, Australia’s education ministers convened to discuss the rapidly worsening shortage of teachers in Australian schools. This attention and activity is welcome after a decade of inaction. The question now becomes, will the plan to be created resolve the issues facing our education system?

The alarm has been sounding over teacher numbers for some years now, with high numbers of people leaving the role, especially in their first five years, and fewer entering teaching degrees in the first place. The stresses of COVID have also had a part to play in accelerating the existing issues in the workforce, even as many parents among us were sharply reminded of the level of skill teaching requires.
Penny Dakin 12 August 2022

Sharing the discoveries of the Early Years Catalyst Systems Mapping Project

March 2020 now seems like a lifetime ago. It was the BC era – Before Covid, that is. It is difficult to remember and catalogue all the things that have changed or stopped or expanded or have been created since then. Our ability to grow and exceed expectations have been a hallmark of the last two and a half years.

For many, the two-day gathering of the National Early Years Summit was a watershed moment. A moment in time where we stopped, entered into a purposeful dialogue, created a vision and then went forth to make it happen. Since then, it seems the Early Years have come to the fore in policy, political and importantly electoral debates. The dial is certainly moving. Continue reading.
11 August 2022

Jobs and Skills Summit: Remembering the needs of young people

The Government will hold a Jobs and Skills Summit at Parliament House in Canberra on 1-2 September. The purpose of the Summit is to bring together unions, employers, civil society and governments to discuss and ultimately address various aspects of employment in the current Australian climate. Over the last 2-3 years, the COVID-19 pandemic has had numerous and varying negative impacts on the Australian workforce, leading to unemployment for many. Some cohorts in our society were affected more drastically than others; young people were particularly impacted by the pandemic and continue to feel its effects on their employment opportunities and job security.

While the Jobs and Skills Summit will aim to tackle employment and economic issues affecting Australia more broadly, it is important that the plight of young people is afforded the level of attention and care needed. For those newly entering the workforce and those who lost employment as a result of the pandemic, the summit presents a unique opportunity to have their concerns represented.
Sarah Biggerstaff 28 July 2022

Where are children and young people’s interests considered in our policies: The impacts of COVID-19 responses on children

Over the past two and a half years the COVID-19 pandemic has, in some way, impacted everyone across the country, but to date, little attention has been paid to how decisions about Covid responses affect children and young people. Last week, National Children's Commissioner, Anne Hollonds joined the ANU Children's Policy Centre Director Professor Sharon Bessell to discuss the impacts of COIVD-19 responses on Australian children. If you missed the discussion you can watch the recording YouTube, or read on for highlights from the discussion.
22 July 2022

Valuing Children Initiative survey: how our attitudes towards children impact policy

In 2016, the Valuing Children Initiative (VCI) commissioned their benchmark survey examining adult attitudes towards children. This research was based on the view that – although frequently missing from discussions – attitudes and the culture of a society are pivotal to children’s wellbeing. Attitudes to children, how we value them, individually and as a section of society, directly impacts the priority we give to their needs and rights. This in turn impacts how children are treated. Attitudes also inform policies, programs, and resources that directly and indirectly effect children. It is essential that we understand adult attitudes towards children so that individual and societal reflection and change can occur.
Sarah Biggerstaff 15 July 2022

What should we expect from a 'Wellbeing budget'?

There has been a lot of buzz around the concept of a wellbeing budget for Australia in the last week or so, following Treasurer Jim Chalmers announcement that he intends to “make measuring what matters, and an Australian approach to wellbeing, a focus of the budget in October”. This concept is largely modelled on New Zealand’s Wellbeing Budget process, introduced by the Ardern government in 2019. The NZ budget puts wellbeing at the forefront of the government’s spending and aims to measure progress in more sophisticated ways than standard indicators such as GDP. It does this buy channeling funds into areas that directly impact citizens wellbeing, with an extra NZ$580 million (about A$525 million) allocated for health and social and justice program contributing to Māori wellbeing.
6 July 2022

AERO guides for engaging families to support students' learning

New tools designed to assist school leaders and practitioners to plan for and monitor progress in their family engagement efforts were recently launched by the Australian Education Research Organisation (AERO).

As one of Australia’s leading experts in parent and family engagement, ARACY was invited to develop these planning and implementation tools on AERO’s behalf, leveraging our extensive research in family engagement in learning over the past decade.

In 2020 ARACY published the Parent and Family Engagement Implementation Guide for School Communities to assist school leaders and educators to better engage with the parents and families in their school communities. Our goal was to support the key ‘stakeholders’ in working together to support children’s learning and wellbeing outcomes.
6 July 2022

AIHW releases Australia’s health 2022 report

As the AIHW releases its biennial flagship report Australia’s health 2022, it should be commended for its holistic approach to health, which it describes as “much more than the presence or absence of disease – health reflects the complex interactions of a person’s genetics, lifestyle and environment, and is fundamental to an individual’s wellbeing.”

ARACY is proud to be one of these additional contributors, with the report making use of ARACY publications to add detail and currency (Children’s COVID-19 Knowledge Acceleration Hub Renshaw & Seriamlu 2021, and It’s Not Our Difference That Is the Disability Renshaw & Goodhue 2021).

However, the report also exposes the significant gaps in our national data collections.
1 July 2022

What do we mean when we say 'wellbeing'?

As Victoria introduces its new Child Safe Standards today, an important change is made. Wellbeing now sits alongside safety as a key responsibility of organisations working with children and young people.

For some types of organisation, this responsibility will not be new. The Mparntwe Education Declaration, for example, is explicit about the role schools have to play in promoting the wellbeing of children and young people, and many other organisations reflect a broader understanding of what it takes to have a good life in their policies and processes, over and above a child’s safety and protection. Tasmania, New South Wales and other governments have explicit whole-of-government strategies that guide policy and practice from a holistic understanding of wellbeing.
24 June 2022

Protecting Australia’s vulnerable children and young people on the care system
The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) has recently released updated data on the National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children Indicators, and its related data collection on the child protection system more broadly (Child Protection Australia 2020–21). The key findings include:
- The scale of child protection services: Australia's child protection system provided services to 1 in 32 children aged less than 18 years in 2020–21. At 30 June 2021, more than 46,200 children were in out-of-home care with 91% being in a home-based care placement.
- Continued overrepresentation of Indigenous children: In 2020-21 the rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children that received child protective services was 172 per 1,000 Indigenous children, compared with 21 per 1,000 non-Indigenous children. Nationally, 58 per 1,000 Indigenous children and young people aged 0–17 are in out-of-home care.
- Link between welfare and criminal justice systems: 58% of children aged 10-17 under youth justice supervision had receive child protection services in the last 5 years (2015-2020).
10 June 2022

South West Sydney practitioners adopt the Common Approach

ARACY is thrilled to be partnering with the NSW Government to deliver Common Approach training to 2,000 practitioners in South West Sydney. Work known as the investment approach for human services is currently occurring across NSW.
9 June 2022

What does a good life look like for children and young people in Australia today?

Many children in Australia are happy, healthy, and thriving. But this is not the story for every child or young person. The COVID-19 pandemic has both exposed and worsened the divisions that already existed between the children who do well and the ones who don’t.

ARACY – Australian Alliance for Children and Youth and UNICEF Australia have partnered to create the Australian Children’s Wellbeing Index.
27 May 2022

Celebrating Reconciliation week and early learning with the Children's Ground

On Wednesday 23 May, ARACY proudly hosted guest speakers William Tilmouth, Arrernte man and member of the stolen generations, and Jane Vadiveloo from the Children’s Ground to discuss their work in bringing Indigenous languages and practices to the forefront in their Early Childhood Care and Education programs. We were also joined by Senior First Nations educator Felicity Hayes and Children's Ground head of Learning, Dave Holmes. The webinar highlighted the importance of applying culturally appropriate practices in early education and privileging Indigenous language as a first language for learning in First Nations children.
20 May 2022

Celebrating National Families Week

May 15-21 is National Families Week, which celebrates the vital role families play in Australian society. The enduring theme is ‘Stronger Families, Stronger Communities’. This theme highlights the important role families play as the central building block of our communities and reinforces the fact that when families are happy and thriving, so too are communities. National Families Week is a time to celebrate the meaning of family and to make the most of family life. This week is also a time to reflect on the critical role that families play in teaching, supporting and nurturing children and young people as they grow.
13 May 2022

Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership launches

ARACY was formed twenty years ago with the purpose of translating research and the best possible evidence into practice, so that children and young people can thrive. And we know we can create more significant change by working together. When we channel the efforts of our many and varied partners and stakeholders, we can contribute to disrupting disadvantage and adversity and to building capability, connection and resilience, and ultimately see improvements in the daily lives and futures of children and young people.
8 April 2022

Climate Change is the greatest challenge facing Australian's youth

With the Federal election expected to be called any day, new analyses of policies are currently appearing daily. A key issue that is associated with many different policies is the need to reduce the impacts of Climate Change. Climate Change has devastating impacts across a range of areas beyond the obvious environmental ones, including on the economy, health and overall future sustainability and viability of life as we know it. ARACY founder Professor Fiona Stanley has written an incisive piece for The Guardian, saying “Climate change is our greatest health challenge – we must act to protect future generations”.
Roslyn Dundas 1 April 2022

Federal Budget Review 2022

In our pre-budget submission ARACY outlined how the government can choose to respond to the profound impact the COVID-19 pandemic has had on children and young people. We have seen work already begun through recently published strategies such as National Children’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy, the National Cabinet Framework for Managing C-19 in Schools and ECEC, and Safe and Supported: National Framework for Protecting Australia’s Children 2021 – 2031. With the urgency of the pandemic still upon us, these strategies need to be resourced for implementation, and children and young people centred in our policy and Budget approaches.
24 March 2022

The Nordic effect: Generous social policies for greater equality

Nordic countries like Sweden, Norway, Finland and Denmark have long been viewed as world leaders in socially progressive models of welfare. What makes them so different from anywhere else? They are all what is known as ‘social democracies’, which simply means they are democratic countries where all citizens are well cared for. This includes generous policies relating to paid parental leave, childcare and early education, unemployment benefits, pensions for retired citizens, and access to free health care, including for mental health. The modern Nordic model is underpinned by the values of compassion, tolerance and the conviction that all humans are of equal worth.
18 March 2022

Same sex or co-ed? Social and educational outcomes explored

Whether or not single sex schools provide advantages to students in education or general life outcomes has long been debated. Existing research suggests girls who attend single-sex schools are more confident in their abilities in STEM subjects like mathematics and physics than in coeducational schools. In the absence of boys, girls have also said they feel less constrained in engaging in classroom discussions. For boys, their confidence levels in physics and mathematics are found to be equally high, and they engage in classroom discourse whether they are at an all boys school or not. However, there is no consistent evidence to show that students achieve higher grades in single-sex than in coeducational settings.
Sarah Biggerstaff 11 March 2022

Highlights from the Victorian Women's Trust and Thrive by Five event: What can childcare reform deliver for women and children?

Speaking at an International Women’s Day forum, Jay Weatherill, CEO of the Thrive by Five observed “We are a long way short of where we need to be in our support of children and women who bear the caring responsibilities in our society. We need an integrated service system that includes child protection, health, child care, early education” to better support women and improve gender equality.
8 March 2022

Celebrating ARACY's founder Prof Fiona Stanley on International Women's Day

ARACY founder Fiona Stanley was and is a trailblazer in a number of ways; as a medical professional, a researcher, and as an advocate for a holistic approach to the wellbeing of children and young people. Early in her medical career, Fiona treated children from remote Indigenous communities of Western Australia. She wanted to understand the deeper social and environmental factors that impacted on their health and wellbeing. Her passion for this work ultimately led to being recognised as Australian of the Year, and the founding of ARACY, in 2002.
Sarah Biggerstaff 3 March 2022

Flooding, trauma and resilience

Over the past week large areas of Queensland and New South Wales have been inundated with devastating floods. This has resulted in loss of life, property and infrastructure. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues across the country whose lives continue to be drastically and dangerously impacted by these floods.
25 February 2022

Australia’s Children report update

New data added to the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) Australia’s Children report shows most Australian children are healthy, safe and doing well, but there is scope for further gains, particularly among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and children in socioeconomic disadvantaged areas. It also includes some data collected directly from children, giving them a voice on their wellbeing.
18 February 2022

Standing up for early childhood education with Thrive by Five

Despite Australian Governments spending an estimated $13 billion per year, one in five children are developmentally vulnerable when they start school. On 17 February Thrive By Five took the call for reform to make our early learning and childcare system high quality, universally accessible, affordable and staffed by a properly valued workforce to Federal MPs.
11 February 2022

The need for a reading revolution

The Griffith Review recently published an article by Catherine Keenan on the decline of reading and literacy in Australian children and what parents can do to give them a solid foundation for future literacy. Literacy in Australia and other countries has been declining over the last decade or so, with children’s performance in reading and comprehension tests slipping across all age groups. The article deserves a considered read, and a summary of key points is available here.
Sarah Biggerstaff 5 January 2022

ARACY lists their top 10 initiatives, achievements, and activities of 2021 to support children and young people

To acknowledge the incredible work done by so many community members, partners and colleagues we have put together a list of some of the biggest achievements from 2021. Read the full list here.
Sadhana Seriamlu 1 October 2021

When is the Right Time for Action, if not Now? - Youth Health Forum 2021

The recent Youth Health Forum Summit led by young people alongside experts is a great example on how policymakers are still missing young people in their action plan across different areas. This blog touches on the need to include young people in policymaking conversations. Read the blog here.
Penny Dakin 24 September 2021

We've ignored one-fifth of the population, and no one's asking why

As published in The Canberra Times/ACM

Since the pandemic began, roughly 20 per cent of our population has been left unheard. Their voices, calling out to be listened to, are effectively ignored. We've seen crisis convenings of leaders of businesses, charities, workers, and governments. We've had blueprints, road maps, plans and strategies, and more announcements than we can count.

But we haven't heard from Australia's children and young people.
Dr Rebecca Goodhue 29 July 2021

More than a race to the moon

How and when will real action occur to improve the wellbeing of our young people?

The recently released Young Voices of the Pandemic report by Mission Australia is a brilliant piece of qualitative research that analysed 1650 written responses from 15-19 year olds who identified COVID-19 as their biggest issue they have been dealing with over the past year ...
Penny Dakin 27 May 2021

What does it take to truly embed evidenced based initiatives?

On the same day as the Queensland Government’s domestic violence taskforce handed down 13 recommendations to curb abuse against women and children, the Queensland Department of Children, Youth Justice and Multicultural Affairs has confirmed to ARACY that it will cease funding the right@home program in one of the most disadvantaged areas of Australia, Logan, Queensland.
13 May 2021

Budget 2021 wrap

Budget 2021 scan

There’s a lot to like in this Budget, particularly when compared to the last Budget in October 2020. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 has allowed the Government to walk back from fiscal restraint and produce a big-spending budget that seeks to prove they have listened and learned from the events of the past six months.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the raft of new measures targeted at women, with Annabelle Crabb noting that this Budget spends more on legal assistance for women facing domestic violence than was spent last year in the entire Women's Economic Security Statement.

But while this may be hailed by some as a budget for women, it’s less clear if it’s a budget for children.
29 April 2021

The Myth of Early Intervention

With waiting lists blowing out to years, ‘early intervention’ is effectively a myth. As such, it’s time to review the system, and move from the concept of early intervention to one of true early engagement, with young people, families and colleagues, writes ARACY’s Dr Rebecca Goodhue.
26 November 2020

Bad for kids: Cutting COVID supplements now is like walking through a minefield blindfolded

As a Senate Committee considers a Bill to put families back on pre-COVID-19 rates of Income Support from 1 April 2021, what they are really considering, perhaps unknowingly, is whether or not to rob Australian children of a fair chance of a happy, productive and fulfilled life, writes ARACY CEO Penny Dakin.
ARACY 8 October 2020

The 2020 Budget: young people, families and evidence

The Morrison Government this week handed down its Budget which had been positioned as being designed to help Australia deal with the COVID induced economic crisis, and more recently, as being “all about jobs”.

By now much has been written and said about the winners and losers from this Budget.

As an evidence-based organisation that brings people and knowledge together to work for children and young people, ARACY adopts this same approach to our overview of the Budget, linking some of that which was announced, and some that wasn’t, with the evidence as to why these decisions are important to young people in Australia.

This overview is intended to give readers a way to assess the Budget’s impacts on children and young people in the frame of evidence which is also important in helping our readers make their case for reforms in the interests of young people.
Penny Dakin 9 July 2020

Children should not be victims in the welfare wars

With more Australians looking for work than there are jobs available, it’s clear that low unemployment benefits will not create jobs for families. But evidence strongly suggests that punitive benefits do have profound and potentially life-long negative effects on children. Sound evidence and the needs of kids must be factored in as Government considers the future of welfare payments.
26 June 2020

Family engagement lessons learned during COVID-19 must not be forgotten by schools

COVID-19 has forced schools to engage with students and their families at an unprecedented level. Now as schools increasingly return to ‘business as usual’ it’s important that the focus on and lessons learned from this intensive period of family engagement are not lost.
Penny Dakin 12 June 2020

Infrastructure and home renos: A stimulus package that leaves women and our children behind

By investing solely in infrastructure instead of the human capital of our kids, our leaders are not making the smartest use of your money, writes ARACY CEO Penny Dakin.
Penny Dakin 26 March 2020

There’s more to protecting your kids from COVID-19 than keeping them virus-free, fed and learning.

But don’t panic. You’re likely already doing well. Here are some research-informed tips to help you build on what you’re doing, writes ARACY CEO, Penny Dakin.
Barbara Barker 3 February 2020

“Beyond the school gates” - helping families and students work out what comes after school

We are well used to the term “beyond the school gates” when talking about getting parents and families involved in their child’s education. But in relation to family engagement, the term is just as relevant when it comes to working with families to help students decide what to do once they finish school, writes Barbara Barker.
19 November 2019

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) turns 30 today

As the UNCRC turns 30 years it’s time to reflect on how to have conversations with young people about wellbeing
Professor Gervase Chaney 29 October 2019

Raise the Age: It’s time Australia stopped behaving like an 18th century penal colony

Locking ten-year-olds in gaols is immoral and flies in the face of all the evidence about child wellbeing, writes paediatrician and ARACY Board Member, Professor Gervase Chaney.
Penny Dakin 17 October 2019

Anti-Poverty Week: As the Newstart debate rages, it’s time to give all our kids a fair start

Families trying to nurture their children are sometimes rocked by events they can’t control, such as unemployment or illness, and when this happens it’s down to all of us, and it benefits all of us, to do what we can to help.
Penny Dakin 6 September 2019

Identity and culture matters to children and young people – we need to measure it

New work by ARACY reinforces the importance of culture and identity to the wellbeing of young Australians and offers guidance on how these can be better measured and managed.
Penny Dakin 4 September 2019

The humanitarian argument has failed: we must now argue for our kids on the economics

Arguing for a better deal for our kids on purely humanitarian grounds is failing to cut through. It’s time to reframe the debate in terms of economics.
Penny Dakin 28 August 2019

Join the Every Child campaign and help speak up for ‘the quiet Australians’

ARACY is proud to strongly support of the quietest of Australians, our children, as part of the Every Child campaign. Launched this week, it sets concrete goals to be achieved in ten years.
Penny Dakin 14 May 2019

The first thousand days: A case for investment

The first thousand days: A case for investment has been released by The Strong Foundations: Getting it Right in the First 1000 Days Partnership.

The report uses economic modelling to further the case for early investment in the lives of children. It finds that stable housing in the first thousand days of a child’s development could lead to societal benefits of around $36,000 over a child’s life. It also finds that for each woman who stops smoking during pregnancy, there is an estimated saving of $29,000 over her child’s lifetime.
12 April 2019

Federal Election 18 May: Obligations and opportunities to speak up for our kids

An election provides the obligation to ensure the needs of our young people are not forgotten in the heat of political debate, and the opportunity to argue effectively for evidence-based policies to help ensure young people can reach their potential.
21 February 2019

A case study in philanthropic support as a path to government funding in politicised times

As politics polarises, there is a growing need for apolitical funding to trial new ideas and provide independent evidence for government investments in system-changing programs. The right@home sustained nurse home visiting trial demonstrates that philanthropic funding is perfectly placed to fill this role.
Paul Kindermann 1 November 2018

ARACY invited to the Joint Standing Committee on Electoral Matters

On 31 October 2018, ARACY's Paul Kindermann attended the Joint Standing Committee on Eletoral Matters for the Inquiry into the Commonwealth Electoral Amendment (Lowering Voting Age and Increasing Voter Participation) Bill 2018
Paul Kindermann 11 September 2018

ARACY/NAPCAN kick off National Child Protection Week with Canberra forum

On Monday 3 September ARACY and NAPCAN hosted an award ceremony and panel discussion in Canberra to launch National Child Protection Week (2-8 September).
Diana Harris 10 September 2018

Keeping right@home right on track

right@home is a Sustained Nurse Home Visiting program with the primary goal of helping ensure kids from families facing tough times are well prepared to start school and don't find themselves behind the curve. The consortium leading the project met recently to set strategy.
Penny Dakin 23 August 2018

KidsOffNauru Campaign – A great example of the power of many

This week saw the #KidsOffNauru coalition of about 30 of Australia’s leading humanitarian and human rights organisations call on the Federal Government and Opposition to release the more than 100 children trapped on Nauru.
Penny Dakin 1 August 2018

Australia should follow the UK Government in focusing on the first 1,000 days

On 27 July 2018 the UK Government announced the establishment of a cross-Government working group to review how to improve the support available to families in the period around childbirth to the age of two – and work completed by an ARACY partnership shows Australia should follow suit.
12 July 2018

The important role of families and libraries in early education

A recent study from the US-based Global Family Research Project adds to the growing body of international evidence of Family Engagement’s contribution to children’s learning success.
9 November 2017

The Nest embedded in Government Policy

As a result of ongoing consultations with the Tasmanian Government, its development of the Child and Youth Wellbeing Framework and related policies such as the Strong Families – Safe Kids Implementation Project and Out of Home Care Reforms have been strongly based on The Nest, Australia’s first evidence-based framework for national child and youth wellbeing, developed by ARACY.
30 August 2017

Aspiring to Inspire: Reflections from the Parent Engagement Conference

Thank you to our 2017 ARACY Parent Engagement Conference scholarship sponsors; Goodstart Early Learning and The Ian Potter Foundation. Some of the 17 sponsored delegates have written reflections on the conference experience, highlighting key learnings and describing how the event has contributed to each of their practices.
Simon Rosenberg 14 July 2017

Alasdair Roy OAM is the convener of the Middle Years Network (MYN)

ARACY is delighted to announce Alasdair Roy OAM as the national convener of the Middle Years Network.
23 March 2017

Parents need to get involved to improve a child's educational outcomes

Dr Lisa O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer of The Smith Family, shares her experiences on why parents need to get involved to improve a child's educational outcomes.
3 March 2017

Turning 'shy voter'* power for those who have no vote

Dr Bret Hart, Public Health Physician and Chair of the Social Determinants of Health Alliance (SDoHA), shares his views about the importance of the social determinants of health and the future of the Alliance.
2 March 2017

Georgie McKelvie – Heywire Winner Temora NSW

One of the young winners of ABC’s Heywire storytelling competition, Georgie McKelvie, shares her experiences attending the 2017 Youth Heywire Summit.
23 February 2017

Capable parents, capable teachers, capable children

Professor Bill Lucas, one of our international keynote speakers at the Parent Engagement Conference challenges us to reconsider some of our assumptions about parent engagement.
15 February 2017

How to Assess Family Engagement Using Data, Not Intuition

Ms. Jenni Brasington, one of our international keynote speakers at the upcoming Parent Engagement Conference shares her expertise in how to assess family engagement.
23 January 2017

Bullying and impact on youth and children

Jenny Holt, freelance writer and mother of two, write about the impact of bullying.
Susan Kilgour 11 November 2016

A Day in the Life of a… School Principal

Local Parent Engagement Champion, Susan Kilgour, Principal at Wulagi School in the Northern Territory shares her strategy is to listen for the ‘no’ and seek its wisdom…
Mal Galbraith 11 November 2016

A Day in the Life of a…Program Manager

Local Parent Engagement Champion, Mal Galbraith, Manager of the Families and Schools Together program (FAST) in the Northern Territory shares his thoughts about the benefits of parent engagement…
Associate Professor Gerry Redmond 11 November 2016

How crucial are the middle years for child and youth development?

Associate Professor Gerry Redmond from Flinders University writes about the importance of investment in the middle years.
Trevor Fletcher 3 November 2016

The importance of parent engagement in the high school years

This article examines the importance of parent engagement in both primary and secondary schools.
Amanda Croker 27 October 2016

See the Nest in Action in Queensland

On 18 November, practitioners implementing ARACY's Outcomes Framework – The Nest – in Queensland will be showcasing how it has contributed to their capacity to measure the outcomes of their work. Learn how The Nest can assist you to achieve better outcomes for children, young people and their families.
Judi Gray 6 October 2016

Transition to school – How can the transition process work for child

This article examines how the transition to school process works for children and families from diverse backgrounds with limited English.
Vivienne Cunningham-Smith 30 September 2016

See The Nest in Action in Victoria

On October 27th, practitioners implementing ARACY's Outcomes Framework - The Nest - in Victoria will be showcasing how it has contributed to their capacity to measure the outcomes of their work. Learn how The Nest can assist you to achieve better outcomes for children, young people and their families.
David Zarb 23 September 2016

Playgroups, bug catchers and school readiness

Does attending playgroup increase school readiness? This article examines the benefits of playgroups while focusing on preserving childhood innocence and the freedom to explore.
Dr Rebecca Goodhue 19 September 2016

A new mums view of ARACY

This article provides an insight on what it is like working at ARACY and a personal view on ARACY's mission in promoting child health and wellbeing from a new Mum!
Catherine Phillips 1 September 2016

Parent engagement – An approach

This article examines the challenges that face schools in developing effective parent engagement strategies. It describes The Smith Family's strategy for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents in the Northern Territory that shows positive outcomes.
Jacynta Krakouer 25 August 2016

Relationships are paramount: Indigenous children's transition

This article examines the value of relationships in supporting transition to school and is based on Jacynta's “Literature Review relating to the current context and discourse surrounding Indigenous Early Childhood Education, School Readiness and Transition Programs to Primary School”.
Dr Andi Salamon and Lyn Farrell 18 August 2016

Working in integrated ways to support transitions to school

This article outlines an integrated services perspective on transition to formal schooling. As an integrated service The Infants' Home provides transition to school programs for children and families experiencing complex support needs, as well as children and families from mainstream backgrounds.
Prof Greer Johnson 1 August 2016

The role of NGO's in schools key to relationship building

The findings from a recent research and development project encouraging disadvantaged, middle-school girls to persist and achieve at school, has confirmed that the presence of an NGO in a school can play a key role in building trusting relationships between school, families and communities.
Donna Sirmais 29 July 2016

A Day in the life of a... Community Partnerships Officer

We profile one of our Local Parent Engagement Champions, Donna Sirmais. Donna is a Community Partnerships Officer at Cambridge Park Public School, in NSW.
Jo Rann 29 July 2016

Launching ‘Learning in Families Together’ (LIFT)

For the last 10 years of my teaching career my work has revolved extensively around families. My roles as Being a Parent (BAP) Program Facilitator; Family Partnership Training Facilitator; Launching into Learning teacher; and Child and Family Centre based educator have developed my capacity to build relationships with families and support community organisations.
Dr Debbie Pushor 29 July 2016

Queensland’s Gentle Revolution in Parent Engagement

What a privilege it was to be invited by the Federation of Parents & Friends Associations of Catholic Schools in Queensland to be keynote thought provoker at their 2016 Queensland Catholic Schools Parents Conference and then to travel throughout the State for the following two weeks to present to parents and educators in each diocese.
Dr Yasmin Harman-Smith 27 July 2016

Transition to school

Only six months ago, parents around the country experienced a raft of emotions associated with children starting school – some parents for the first time and others for the second, third or, courageously, forth, fifth or sixth time. I was among the hundreds of thousands of people taking a deep breath and holding it for what seemed like an eternity to hear all about the ‘first day’.
Sue Brown, SMAG Cluster Engagement Leader Never

Professional Learning to Support Teachers in Parent Engagement

The SMAG Cluster (St Mary’s School, Dandenong, St Anthony’s School, Noble Park, and St Gerard’s School, Dandenong North) has been working together with a strong focus on family and community engagement for the past four years. The SMAG Cluster employs a Cluster Engagement Leader and each of the schools has a Position of Leadership, a Family Engagement in Learning Leader with one day of release.
Philippa Davey Never

Western Australian Schools Working Together to Embed Parent Engagement
Dominique Smith Never

A Day in the Life of a… Child and Parent Centre Manager

Dominique Smith, a Child and Parent Centre Manager in Fitzroy Crossing in Western Australia describes a typical day. Her popular talk at the 2017 Parent Engagement Conference is available at pecaustralia.com.

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