Peninsula Health has a number of programs to assist families with children development.
For more information on these programs, please contact ACCESS on 1300 665 781.
Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies program
The Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Program aims to reduce the burden of chronic disease and improve the health and wellbeing of mothers and babies. To achieve this, the program:
- works to improve access to antenatal, postnatal and other health and human services
- supports women during their pregnancy
- delivers health promotion messages that encourage healthy behaviours during and after pregnancy.
The program supports pregnant women who are having difficulty accessing antenatal care or who need extra support because they have greater health risks due to social factors.
This is a free and confidential service.
Aboriginal Healthy Start to Life program
This program is part of Peninsula Health’s commitment to Closing the Gap and seeks to make a difference early in life when intervention can make the greatest difference, birth to school age.
The nurse can help families where any parent identifies their child as Aboriginal and /or Torres Strait Islander
- Build connections with culture and gathering places
- Connect you to the universal services you are entitled to like child and family health services, playgroups, kinder and schools
- Provide useful information on parenting practices that give your child the best start in their development
- Connect you to practical health, material and other services you may need
- Assist you to improve your own health so you can better support your child’s health
- The service is confidential, culturally safe, free and non-judgemental.
School Readiness Funding
Peninsula Health is pleased to have partnered with the Department of Education and Training (DET) to provide allied health supports to all eligible kindergartens in the Frankston and Mornington Peninsula region, as a part of the government’s School Readiness Funding initiative.
School Readiness Funding is a permanent and ongoing part of the Victorian kindergarten funding model. It funds programs and supports that build the capacity of kindergarten services, educators and families to support the learning and development outcomes of children.
The allied health capacity building supports aim to supplement children’s learning and development in three priority areas:
- communication (language development),
- wellbeing (social and emotional),
- and access and inclusion.
These supports include:
- Speech Pathology
- Psychology
- Occupational Therapy
School Readiness Funding will support children in all funded kindergarten services in Victoria from 2021. It will be available in all kindergarten settings, including long day care, and for both three and four-year-old children in funded kindergarten programs in line with the roll-out of two years of funded kindergarten.
To contact the SRF team at Peninsula Health please email: schoolreadinesspenhealth@phcn.vic.gov.au
Or call 9784 2729
Learn more about the School Readiness Funding initiative.