Council to advocate for Go Goldfields funding

Published on 02 June 2023

At the May Council Meeting, Central Goldfields Shire Councillors resolved to write to the State Government to express their concern and disappointment that the State Government’s Budget does not include funding for the continuation of Go Goldfields.

Central Goldfield Shire Mayor Cr Grace La Vella said the decision by the State Government to discontinue the funding needed to support Go Goldfields was incredibly disappointing.

“This week we’ve written to the Victorian State Treasure, Minister for Regional Development and Member for Ripon requesting that the State Government allocate $500,000 to Go Goldfields program for the 2023/24 financial year with a commitment to exploring options for longer term funding to ensure the ongoing viability of the program.

“Go Goldfields is a high priority for our Council to address social disadvantage and ensure that children get the best start in life through programs that promote and support early literacy, numeracy, social-emotional skills, and overall school readiness.

“Go Goldfields is a community-led partnership in the Central Goldfields Shire that had its origins in Council’s “Gold Prospects” research study in 2008 which identified the social challenges and inequalities faced by the community. Go Goldfields received a commitment of funding by the Victorian Government in 2010 and was fully functioning by 2011.

“Since then, Go Goldfields has gained recognition and support from government, community organisations, service providers, and residents. Its success and longevity can be attributed to the strong partnerships that have been established and the commitment of stakeholders to work together towards positive social change.

“In 2020 the Go Goldfields Collaborative Table took a decision to focus on early childhood development and its critical role in shaping a child's future social and economic opportunities, In November 2020 Every Child, Every Chance initiative (ECEC) was launched.

“Through ECEC, the Go Goldfields backbone works closely with local early childhood services, health providers, educators, parents, and the broader community to ensure that Central Goldfields children have every opportunity to grow up safe, healthy and confident.

“Go Goldfields, and the ECEC initiative, is informed by local families and research noting that any interventions to addressing disadvantage in the early years must embrace the perspective of families and that the social and service environment must be easy to navigate and support all families.

“Go Goldfields backbone plays an integral role in ensuring State led programs and services in the early years are meeting the needs and demands of families on the ground. ECEC provides the framework, support, and connections to ensure investments in programs and resources are effectively dispersed, promoted, and coordinated – a challenging feat in a small rural shire with multiple changing fly in, fly out services and low physical presence and high need.”

The backbone staffing for Go Goldfields refers to the team of professionals who provide the essential support and coordination needed to drive the strategic collaboration, advocacy and demonstration activities. The backbone staff play a crucial role in fostering collective impact and maintaining the momentum of Go Goldfields in the Central Goldfields Shire.

The backbone staffing has been funded to date by the State Government through Regional Development Victoria. The current grant agreement expires in 2023 and the recent State Budget did not include a new allocation to support the backbone.

Since 2020 the Go Goldfields backbone has worked with our partners to develop and implement a plan to reduce developmental vulnerability of children in Central Goldfields. This has involved:

Place based Governance - The establishment of the Go Goldfields Leadership Table, that oversees, enables, and authorises activities of the backbone. The Leadership Table is capably led by an independent local chair. The membership includes executives from local and state government (DFFH, DH DE) service providers (MDHS, BDAC, Anglicare and CNV) and community leaders.
Engagement – Engagement with 574 community members and 45 stakeholders was a key foundation for the development of Every Child, Every Chance. The Nest and Go Goldfields role in governance groups spanning the priority areas ensure continuous and active engagement with families, services, community organisations and government.
Shared Strategic Vision – The Go Goldfields backbone led the development of the Every Child, Every Chance shared vision. Logic mapping workshops captured input from community, researchers, local institutions, and practitioners working with children and families in Central Goldfields for each of the five priority areas. The facilitated workshops enabled a codesigned problem statement, vision, activity and resource mapping, and desired outcomes for each of the priority areas.
Service coordination and integration – Governance groups aligned to the 5 priority areas bring together a range of services and practitioners to collaborate and work toward the shared vision and outcomes for each area. Importantly, Go Goldfields backbone has provided a much-needed anchor in Central Goldfields for the range of activities, programs and services that support children and families -building alignment and increasing the value of and family access to these investments.

Go Goldfields has led demonstration projects including:

The Nest – Go Goldfields took the lead on a partnership with central Goldfields Shire Council, Best Start, and Maryborough District Health Service to create an inclusive welcoming space for parents and carers from pregnancy to primary school. The Nest is staffed by facilitators and open from 10am to 4pm Monday to Friday. The Nest provides a safe space for families, peer support groups, warm referrals to local services and a welcoming place for parents and carers to feed, rest and connect. It is connected to Maternal Child Health and other vital local services for families.
Empowering Parents Empowering Communities - Go Goldfields is working with Murdoch Childrens Research Institute to embed the Empowering Parents, Empowered Communities in the Central Goldfields. The evidence-based program focuses on partnering with parents through the parenting journey rather than offering practitioner led advice. To establish the program an initial cohort of practitioners train to become facilitators. They then facilitate the first Being a Parent courses (8 week program). Parents completing the course can opt to undertake training to become facilitators of the course. This model fosters community capacity building and increases authentic parenting conversations throughout the community as participation grows.

Looking forward, Go Goldfields backbone is working in partnership with organisations leading on critical areas within the Every Child, Every Chance initiative.

Education Engagement – Go Goldfields is working with school principals, early years education providers, parents and services to build a culture of attendance. This means directly working families with challenges getting children to school regularly and identifying options and supports right for them.
Kinder to School Transition Plan – Go Goldfields partnered with kinders, schools, early years services and Department of Education to develop of a whole of shire collaborative approach to early years transition. The Central Goldfields Transition Plan provides an annualised approach for local professionals across Central Goldfields to ensure a consistent and informed transitions.
Kinder to School: A guide for families – Go Goldfields worked with the School Principals to develop a helpful guide for families with resources, information, and good questions to ask schools when making the transition. The guide was provided to every family in Central Goldfields with a child currently in 4 year old kinder.
Goldfields Babes –Goldfields Babes is a new program operating out of the Nest aimed at facilitating social connections for expectant parents in Central Goldfields. The program was developed in partnership with Maternal Child Health, Bendigo Perinatal Emotional Health Clinic and Maryborough District Health Service.
Central Goldfields Early Years Infrastructure Master planning – Go Goldfields partnered with Council’s Community Services branch to drive the development of the Masterplan. The Masterplan benefitted from the community engagement data collected early in the Every Child, Every Chance initiative and learnings, research and new approaches to supporting families in the early years demonstrated through the initiative.
Advocacy – The Go Goldfields backbone has provided leadership, data and strategic input to ensure service provision that meets the needs of local children and families for a number of government funded initiatives including the Infant Child and Families Well-being Hub currently under development for the Loddon region.
A system to monitor progress – The logic mapping process and governance of priority area groups lays the foundations for a system to monitor progress for the Every Child, Every Chance related activities, projects, and investments. The monitoring framework is currently being finalised.