PARLIAMENT OF VICTORIA LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY Legal and Social Issues Committee Inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities Parliament of Victoria Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee Ordered to be published VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRINTER September 2020 PP No 167, Session 2018–2020 ISBN 978 1 922425 06 5 (print version), 978 1 922425 07 2 (PDF version) Committee membership CHAIR DEPUTY CHAIR Natalie Suleyman James Newbury St Albans Brighton Christine Couzens Emma Kealy Michaela Settle Geelong Lowan Buninyong David Southwick Meng Heang Tak Caulfield Clarinda ii Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee About the Committee Functions The Legal and Social Issues Standing Committee is established under the Legislative Assembly Standing Orders Chapter 24—Committees. The Committee’s functions are to inquire into and report on any proposal, matter or thing connected with ‑ • The Department of Health and Human Services; • The Department of Justice and Community Safety; and • The Department of Premier and Cabinet and related agencies. Secretariat Yuki Simmonds, Committee Manager Raylene D’Cruz, Research Officer (until 31 July 2020) Rachel Macreadie, Research Officer (from 20 January 2020) Richard Slade, Research Officer (from 9 December 2019) Christianne Andonovski, Administrative Officer (until 4 October 2019) Catherine Smith, Administrative Officer (from 18 December 2019) Contact details Address Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee Parliament of Victoria Spring Street EAST MELBOURNE VIC 3002 Phone 61 3 8682 2843 Email [email protected] Web www.parliament.vic.gov.au/lsic‑la This report is available on the Committee’s website. Inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities iii Contents Preliminaries Committee membership ii About the Committee iii Terms of reference x Chair’s foreword xi Executive summary xiii Findings and recommendations xxi Acronyms and terms xxxv 1 Introduction: approach and context 1 1.1 Inquiry process 3 1.2 Overview of culturally diverse communities in Victoria 4 1.2.1 People from refugee backgrounds 5 1.2.2 People seeking asylum 8 1.2.3 Settlement support services 8 1.2.4 Children in Victoria 11 1.3 Early childhood policy context 13 1.4 Report’s guiding principles and structure 16 Part A: Key elements across services 2 Barriers to participation and data 19 2.1 Experiences of people from refugee backgrounds 20 2.2 Participation in early childhood services 24 2.3 Barriers to participation 26 2.3.1 Racism and attitudinal barriers 28 2.4 Data 31 2.4.1 Determining refugee background 33 2.4.2 Measuring participation 39 2.4.3 Settlement data 42 2.4.4 Enhanced linkages between MCH services and kindergarten enrolments 46 3 Integrated and place‑based responses 49 3.1 Service planning and collaboration 51 3.2 Integrated and place‑based service provision 56 3.2.1 Victoria 58 Inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities v Contents 3.3 Service navigation roles 73 3.4 Outreach services 76 4 The early childhood workforce 83 4.1 The workforce 83 4.2 Professional development needs of the early childhood workforce 85 4.2.1 Cultural competence 85 4.2.2 Trauma‑informed care 90 4.3 Bicultural and bilingual workers in early childhood 96 4.3.1 Role in engaging culturally diverse communities 97 4.3.2 Bicultural and bilingual worker initiatives in Victoria 102 4.3.3 Increasing the number of bicultural and bilingual workers 106 4.4 Workforce strategy 121 4.4.1 The potential for a Victorian workforce strategy 122 5 Language services 127 5.1 Multiculturalism in Victoria: policies, laws and a strength‑based perspective 128 5.1.1 Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework 129 5.1.2 Department of Health and Human Services’ Delivering for diversity— Cultural diversity plan 131 5.2 Learning English in a family friendly environment 132 5.3 Interpretation and translation language services 136 5.3.1 The importance of language services 136 5.3.2 Victorian and Commonwealth Government language services 139 5.4 Language services and early childhood services 147 5.4.1 Language services and health literacy 147 5.4.2 Use of interpreters in MCH and other health services 150 5.4.3 Use of interpreters in early childhood education settings 157 5.4.4 Provision of translated multilingual information in early childhood services 160 Part B: Childhood health services 6 Maternal and Child Health services 167 6.1 Perinatal services in Victoria 169 6.1.1 Group Pregnancy Care 173 6.2 The Maternal and Child Health service 176 6.2.1 The Maternal and Child Health Program Standards 2009 178 6.2.2 Importance of a bicultural MCH workforce 181 6.3 Participation of culturally diverse families in MCH services 183 6.3.1 Positive engagement 185 6.3.2 Best practice toolkit 188 vi Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee Contents 6.4 Structural barriers to engaging with families from refugee backgrounds 189 6.5 Extending MCH services for families from refugee backgrounds 193 6.6 Immunisations 195 6.7 Early Parenting Centres 196 7 Mental health and disability 199 7.1 Mental Health 199 7.1.1 Trauma 201 7.1.2 Parental mental health 203 7.1.3 Accessing mental health services 204 7.1.4 Attitudes towards mental health 207 7.1.5 Building mental health literacy 209 7.2 Disability 210 7.2.1 Cultural attitudes towards disability 213 7.2.2 Disrupted schooling 217 7.2.3 Disability support programs for early childhood education and care 219 7.2.4 Diagnosing disabilities and developmental delays 220 7.3 The National Disability Insurance Scheme 226 7.3.1 Eligibility for the NDIS 230 7.3.2 Early Childhood Early Intervention 232 7.3.3 NDIS Plans 234 7.3.4 Engaging culturally diverse communities in the NDIS 238 Part C: Childhood learning and development 8 Awareness on the importance of early learning 241 8.1 The role of early childhood education in child development 242 8.1.1 The role of early childhood education and care in early intervention 246 8.1.2 Developmental vulnerability 249 8.2 Awareness among culturally diverse communities and families 253 8.2.1 A clear policy statement 257 8.2.2 Public awareness campaigns 258 8.2.3 Strengthening word‑of‑mouth strategies 260 8.3 Entry points into early learning 264 8.3.1 Maternal and child health services 264 8.3.2 Community hubs 267 8.3.3 Libraries 268 9 Playgroups 273 9.1 Types of playgroups 273 9.2 Evidence supporting playgroups 275 Inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities vii Contents 9.3 Playgroups in Victoria 277 9.3.1 Acknowledging the value of playgroups 282 9.4 Playgroups targeting culturally diverse communities 283 9.4.1 Funding 288 10 Early childhood education and care 291 10.1 The early childhood education and care system 291 10.2 Participation of culturally diverse children 294 10.3 Three‑year‑old kindergarten in Victoria 298 10.4 Targeted support for kindergarten participation 299 10.4.1 Continued barriers to participation 302 10.5 Enrolment processes 306 10.5.1 Kindergarten central enrolment 310 10.6 Promoting inclusion 312 10.6.1 Current initiatives 315 10.6.2 Improving inclusion 319 10.7 Issues involving the Commonwealth Government 322 10.7.1 Child Care Subsidy 322 10.7.2 National Partnership Agreement on Universal Access to Early Childhood Education 323 10.7.3 Kindergarten placement for children of refugee background 323 11 School education 325 11.1 Victorian school education 326 11.2 School readiness and community hubs 327 11.3 Transition to school 330 11.3.1 Inclusion 333 11.4 Early years of school 336 12 COVID‑19 and early childhood engagement 339 12.1 COVID‑19 restrictions 339 12.2 Impact on culturally diverse communities 340 12.3 Access to information and language services 343 12.3.1 Interpreters 345 12.4 Maternal and Child Health services 346 12.5 Playgroups and community hubs 347 12.6 Early childhood education and care 347 12.7 Remote learning 350 viii Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee Contents Appendices 1 Easy English guide 353 2 CALD child inquiry poster 377 3 About the inquiry 379 Inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities ix Terms of reference Inquiry into early childhood engagement of CALD communities On 28 May 2019, the Legislative Assembly agreed to the following motion: That this House refers, an inquiry into early childhood engagement of culturally and linguistically diverse communities to the Legal and Social Issues Committee for consideration and report no later than 30 June 2020.* * The reporting date for this inquiry was changed to 17 September 2020. x Legislative Assembly Legal and Social Issues Committee Chair’s foreword It is my pleasure to present the first report of the Legislative Assembly’s Legal and Social Issues Committee (the Committee). Early childhood engagement of culturally diverse communities is a topic close to my heart, given my own cultural background, and my commitment to multiculturalism in Victoria. I strongly believe that Victoria’s strength lies in its diversity. Multiculturalism has benefited our State greatly, both culturally and economically. We welcome people from numerous countries every year, many of whom bring young families with them or expect to start a family soon after arriving in Victoria. These families, like all Victorian families, have the right to access and benefit from early education and health services to ensure their children get the best start in life.