Kinship Carers Victoria’s series of Resource Booklets and other resources for carers.
Education Resources
KCV Board members enjoyed the National Kinship, Permanent and Foster care conference ‘24
All the Board members who attended enjoyed the friendliness and relevance of the conference, noting that carers freely mingled across their different carer roles and irrespective of which state they came.
Highlights included the opening remarks from Minister Blandthorn, the Victorian Minister for Children, who referred to the age-old truism that it takes a village to raise a child. Since the conference this theme has been revisited with gatherings of kinship carers exploring their own village and how to duplicate the best of the village mentality in the 21st Century.
Another highlight was the case for the observance of rights made by Commissioner Liana Buchanan. Carers are increasingly becoming aware that they have rights and that those rights are not always honoured in the hurly burly of the out of home care world.
Next there was a presentation by Fleur Ward, lawyer. She tackled the subject of Carers and Childrens Law in Victoria. She spoke about carers to a packed breakout room and has caused ongoing conversation amongst kinship carers since.
The final highlight was the address given by Dr Emma Goodall from South Australia. She spoke about autism and impressed even the most experienced kinship carers with her fresh insights into the world of autism. Since the conference Dr. Goodall has agreed to be interviewed by KCV in a podcast. The production is underway.
Kinship Care Week is coming up in the first week of September and I expect to hear many more comments about the conference at the gatherings held during that time.
Cheers
Anne L McLeish OAM
LOOKOUT Centres supporting kinship carers
Podcast 40
For many kinship carers, one of the biggest challenges is supporting a child’s education. Navigating enrolments, dealing with schools or early childhood services, managing transitions and making sure the right supports are in place can feel overwhelming.
In this episode, we speak with Murray Geddes, Executive Principal of the South-East Victoria LOOKOUT Centre. LOOKOUT Centres were established by the Victorian Government to improve educational outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care.
Murray explains how the LOOKOUT Centres work and what support they can offer kinship carers.
Government schools need our support
Podcast 33
In this podcast, Director of Grandparents Victoria and Kinship Carers Victoria Anne McLeish speaks with Trevor Cobbold, national convener of Save our Schools. Before retiring, Trevor was an economist with the Australian Government’s Productivity Commission and its predecessors for over 30 years. Trevor talks us through the economic and structural inequality in our education system, in particular the under-funding of public schools in Victoria.
MORE INFORMATION
– KCV’s ‘Improving education for all’ campaign
– KCV campaign paper – ‘The facts about school funding in Victoria’
– Download the ‘Education’ resource booklet
– Download the ‘Let Us Learn’ report by the Victorian Commissioner for Children and Young People
– Download letter to Victorian MPs on “Exposure of shocking shortcomings in education in Victoria
Issues with Education for Children and Young People in Out-of-Home Care
Podcast 29
Victoria’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Liana Buchanan, talks about her report ‘Let Us Learn’, tabled in the Victorian parliament in November 2023. The report shows that the education engagement and outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care trail significantly behind those of their peers. Liana outlines reaction to the findings and discusses the recommendations.
Carer Learning and Development
Podcast 24
The role of kinship carer is challenging. Gaining the skillset and knowledge required to fulfil their role can seem like a daunting task. In this podcast we speak with Director of Kinship Carers Victoria, Anne McLeish, who explains the importance of learning and development and the Carer KaFE program. Adam Lyons, Managing Director of Lancaster Consulting, describes the program he runs for carers.