BUSHkids Annual Report 2018-2019

CAHS Bundaberg

Friends of BUSHkids Bundaberg

Co-located with the ECEI EarlyStart team, the Allied Health (AH) team members have been working closely with their colleagues to support the Bundaberg community. Staff from both teams have collaborated in determining the most appropriate services and supports for children in the region. The AH team represented BUSHkids in various events across the year including Agrotrend , Earth Day and our very own BUSHdance. These activities increase BUSHkids’ profile locally and are a great opportunity to provide information about the free services we provide. Bundaberg’s capabilities developed further with the introduction of a Social Worker in the Family Health Support Worker role. This allowed the team to expand social, emotional and behavioural supports and increase family-centred practices, confirming the specific focus in these areas for the year — in addition to resilience development (which is a significant percentage of reasons for referral). Support was provided through provision of universal and targeted The team provided outreach supports to outlying communities including Gin Gin, Childers, Moore Park, Goodwood and Mount Perry. Where transport or access prevented families receiving the support they needed, we adopted more flexible approaches, conducting teleHealth sessions, meeting families at halfway points between locations, home visits, and supporting educators with strategies and information to assist children in education settings. group programs including the Alert Program ® , PALS, 1-2-3 Magic ® , Fun FRIENDS © and the Zones of Regulation. ®

Although only small in member numbers, FoBk Bundaberg is a dedicated, committed group which enthusiastically champions the services delivered by our BUSHkids staff. Through donations by the local Rotary chapter and St Luke’s Anglican School, we created the Sensory Garden at the Bundaberg Centre. In October we held a working bee with members of FoBk and Rotary, and the staff of the BUSHkids centre to clear the area and create a garden including a sensory path, fragrant herb garden, water play area, blackboards and a large mural painted by Shane Foley (local artist). This garden creates an area where the team can take children and their families to experience these elements in an outdoor environment. We have had great feedback from families that the children love this area and it is regularly used for therapy appointments and group activities. We held our second Barefoot Bowls Day in October with plenty of skills (or not!) on show, with a number of our business partners joining us on the green. We were grateful to the Burnett Bowls Club for its support of this event. This past year we also participated in The Waves Charity Golf Day, for which BUSHkids Bundaberg was the recipient of funding towards establishing teleHealth services, providing accessibility to families in our region. The importance of connecting to families who are disadvantaged by distance or other circumstances and the ability to enhance the quality of life for them was something the management and Board of The Waves were delighted to support through this event. We hosted the inaugural Simply BUSHED in Concert for BUSHkids event in May as part of the two-day annual Agrotrend event, with the assistance of Rotary Club of Bundaberg and a number of local sponsors/supporters. A children’s play area was set up in the green open area of the concert so that children and parents could relax among the toys and activities set up by BUSHkids staff, or otherwise enjoy some great Aussie music and some line dancing — and, yes, we do have lots of photos but, fortuitously, space constraints preclude reproducing them in this report! The Bundaberg Country Music Club provided Matt and Keeley, two talented locals, and Scott Lamond’s equally talented brother Craig also played a set and and introduced some new local talent. Planning is already underway for the 2020 event! BUSHkids Bundaberg is being proactively sought-after online, with more and more people making enquiries or coming to the BUSHkids office as a result of networking contacts. Our attendance at community events such as Flourish Family Fun Day, Rainbow Day and many others continues to showcase BUSHkids as leaders in the field in our region and our FoBk members are always humbled by the energy these staff give to all they do. FoBk hosted Luke Napolitano, NDIA General Manager Local Area Co-ordination and Partner Performance, when he visited Bundaberg in May, and it was an opportunity for him to hear first-hand the true value delivered to families across the region by the NDIA funding and the staff — not only in their professional capacity but also through their community engagement and the importance of social support received through the Friends of BUSHkids committees. We are immensely grateful to the BUSHkids team in Bundaberg, as well as to CEO Carlton Meyn and Clinical Services Manager Susan Harrison for their attendance at our monthy meetings (whether in person or via Skype) to keep our committee informed and engaged so that we may continue to support this community and the vitally important work of this wonderful organisation.

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