PARENTS in Dudley Park will benefit this year from the new Child and Parent Centre based at Dudley Park Primary School.
Create a free account to read this article
or signup to continue reading
The centre, which opened late last year, aims to provide early learning opportunities for children and help parents get enough support.
Centre manager Cheryl-Lynn Magro said apart from getting children ready for school, the centre offered a range of other services, all of which are free.
“We offer emergency relief to families, counselling and we promote an oral language workshop,” she said. “That helps to build the capability of parents to develop their child’s speaking skills.
“There’s a community health nurse who attends every day and a speech therapist that is here part time.”
Families can opt to have health checks for their children aged zero to four at the centre.
Dudley Park principal Aaron Thomas said it would benefit parents who already had older children at the school as well as those living in the area.
“There’s an early years librarian who does a rhyme-time session on Thursdays right after school drop-off time in the morning,” he said. “We’re also planning to collaborate with the Department of Sport and Recreation to hold a junior sport session for children over the age of 18 months.”
Premier Colin Barnett, who opened another centre in Perth’s north last week, said a child’s early years strongly influenced their success in school and later in life.
“Centres such as these make it easy for families of greatest need to access essential services and importantly, help the children become familiar with school from an early age,” he said. “These centres will ensure kids who are at risk of falling through the cracks or drifting into anti-social behaviour in the future – and potentially crime – have access to a range of services.”
There are sessions for parents that focus on several issues that affect families, including making ends meet, domestic violence and separations.
The centre holds an Aboriginal parents and carers group on Tuesdays during the school term from 9.30am-12.30pm.
The State Government began its $48.7million investment in 2013 into setting up 16 centres across the state by 2017.
The facility is a collaboration between the departments of health, local government and community and child protection and family support.
Parents who want to have their child’s health checks moved to the centre should call 1300 749 869.
For more information on the centre and the services it offers call 9537 5603.
