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Wellington
Best Start
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Activity | LGA Profile | Downloads | Contact
information
On the ground activity in Wellington
- Updated November 2004
- Establishment of a partnership made
up of parents, community members, local service providers
and state and local government representatives, that meets
on a regular basis.>
- The selection of 5 small, rural and/or
isolated townships within the Shire to be the focus of the
local Project. These towns are Dargo, Maffra, Rosedale,
Seaspray and Wurruk.
- Facilitation of a Planning Day where
over 50 local service providers attended to identify specific
early childhood issues in the 5 towns.
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Coordination of community meetings and surveying
of parents in all 5 locations.
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Development of a Local Action Plan which
outlines 45 strategies to be piloted locally.
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Establishment of a Parent Advisory Group
made up of parents from each of the five Best Start towns, who
provide input on strategies currently under way.
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Establishment of three Workgroups made up
of parents, community members, and service providers who meet
regularly to implement local strategies. Workgroups have been
developed around three broad activity areas:
- Health & Wellbeing, and Support &
Information for Parents
- School Readiness & Learning
- Safe & Friendly Communitie
Activities currently under way include:
- Health & Wellbeing, Support & Information
for Parents
- Develop information kits for pregnancy and
newborns
- Information sessions for grandparents and
older carers to update knowledge of early childhood 'best practice'
- Increase support to mothers who are breastfeeding
- Increase access to antenatal classes
- Asthma education in all five Best Start towns
- School Readiness & Learning
- Information sessions for parents and carers
on transition from preschool to school
- Increase parental participation in schooling
and education through supporting programs such as 'Families and
Schools Together' and 'Investing in Parents'
- Trial an amended Primary School enrolment
form to improve exchange of information and transition to school
- Develop a 'Play and Learn' library
- Safe & Friendly Communities
- Mandatory Reporting and child protection
training to local service providers
- First Aid and Water Safety training in isolated
communities
- Community Safety Audits on playgrounds
- Establishment of a Wellington Early Years
Network consisting of early childhood service providers to identify
needs and organise local training opportunities
Future activities planned include:
- Investigating possibilities for additional
child care, day care and preschool options
- Improvements to visiting immunisation services
for isolated communities
- Providing training to parents to establish
and run local playgroups
- Investigate opportunities to develop mobile
and toy library services in all five Best Start towns
- Education sessions for safe food handling
practices in the home
LGA Profile
see Data Source Explanation
Population
- The 2004 total population of Wellington Local Government Area (LGA) was 41,450.
- The Department of Sustainability and Environment projects the 2020 population of Wellington LGA will reach 41,481.
- There are 4,744 children aged 0 to 8, comprising 11.4% of Wellington’s total population. This compares with 11.3% for Victoria as a whole.
- There are approximately 364 people of Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander origin in Wellington, making up approximately 0.9% of the area’s population.
Socio-Economic
- The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ 2001 Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSED) for Wellington was 1006.3. A lower score indicates a higher level of disadvantage. This compares with the State IRSED of 1016.
- Wellington was ranked 38 out of the 78 LGAs in Victoria on the IRSED. A rank of 1 was assigned to the most disadvantaged LGA.
- Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, the unemployment rate in Wellington was 7.2%, compared to 5.5% for Victoria as a whole.
Language/Cultural Background
- 9.8% of Wellington’s population were born overseas, compared to 23.3% of Victoria as a whole.
- Of those born overseas, 73.4% speak only English and 17.6% speak English “well” or “very well”.
- 2.5% of those born overseas speak English “not well” or “not at all”, this compares to 13.6% of all Victorians born overseas.
Families
- There are approximately 4,405 families with children aged 15 and under in Wellington.
- 79.4% of the 4,405 families are couple families, compared with 80.6% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
- 20.6% of the 4,405 families are one-parent families, compared with 19.4% of all families with children aged 15 and under in Victoria.
Immunisation
- Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 93.5% of children in the 12 to 15 month age cohort in Wellington were fully immunised. This compares to 92.0% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
- Based on the 3rd Quarter of 2005, 97.1% of children in the 24 to 27 month age cohort in Wellington were fully immunised. This compares to 92.5% of children in this age cohort across Victoria.
Child Health
- From July 2003 to June 2005 there were 271.1 Hospital Separations per 1000 of all children aged 0 to 8 in Wellington.
- This compares with a rate of 229.5 Hospital Separations per 1000 children aged 0 to 8 across Victoria for the same period.
Teen Pregnancy
- There were 35.4 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 in Wellington during 2003 and 2004.
- This compares to 19.0 births per thousand females aged 15 to 19 across Victoria for the same period.
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Downloads
Contact Information
- Address
- Kilmany Uniting Care
- 126 Raymond Street
- Sale 3850
- Telephone
- (03) 5144 7777
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