HIPPY - Circular Head

Circular Head

Rural Health Tasmania

Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters

CAPITOL SHOWCASE

Innovation in Action

Showcasing excellent community-based health and wellbeing initiatives

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Why was this program needed?

• Circular Head residents face challenges associated with socioeconomic disadvantage, including impacts from social determinants of health.

• Reduced access to good nutrition, physical activity and social inclusion may contribute to a range of conditions, including overweight and obesity.

• However, local programs focused on community strengths provide great opportunities for improved health and wellbeing.

• Brotherhood of St Laurence engages with over 60 organisations Australia-wide to run the Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY).

The HIPPY Program aims to encourage a love of learning in early childhood, facilitating successful learning throughout life, with increased education linked to better health and wellbeing outcomes.

• Rural Health Tasmania provides a range of services to meet community needs, including managing HIPPY. • Based on the need for increased learning opportunities in Circular Head, HIPPY assists in improving educational outcomes.

HIPPY goals and activities

Positive outcomes for the Circular Head community

• HIPPY is a free, two-year early learning program, with the main goal to help children make a successful transition to school by empowering parents and carers as their first teacher.

• HIPPY has achieved various successful outcomes for the community.

• HIPPY is located at Rural health Tasmania, Smithton, coordinated by one staff member and eight tutors who are usually parents employed in the program.

• Funding is fully provided through the Department of Social Services, Australian Government.

• The program consists of a structured 60-week curriculum adhering to Australian Early Years Framework and National Quality Standards.

• HIPPY is framed across five areas: role play; two-year home-based learning; everywhere learning; home visits and group meetings; and parents and carers as tutors.

• Activities involve children working through weekly or fortnightly packs of play-based educational activities with parents and family, developing confidence and school readiness.

Further information: https://utas.edu.au/health/community-programs/capitol http://www.ruralhealthtas.com.au/programs-services/hippy/

• Children are enabled to develop a love of learning.

• Families become empowered and engaged in their child’s learning, which builds confidence, knowledge and skills.

• As HIPPY employs local parents as tutors, this builds capacity through training, goal setting and professional development.

• As HIPPY engages local families, this leads to strengthening of local communities.

• Outcomes for graduating children indicate above average numeracy and literacy skills, together with parental satisfaction.

• As educational attainment is linked with improved health and wellbeing outcomes, HIPPY provides a positive program for communities of Circular Head.

CAPITOL (Critical Age Periods Impacting the Trajectory of Obesogenic Lifestyles) is a community-based and community-driven project which aims to build capacity in North-West Tasmania to more effectively prevent obesity. This content has been produced in collaboration with Rural Health Tasmania and HIPPY staff.