Welcome to our first newsletter edition for 2024, and what a great start to the new year it has been!

By Five along with our allies and partners came together from across the Wimmera, Loddon Campaspe and Mallee region to passionately articulate the challenges our small rural communities face when it comes to equitable ECEC to the Productivity Commission inquiry.

Pride, fist-pumping and passionfruit - This month’s column has it all!

During his visit to the Wimmera last week, we were fortunate to have the opportunity to present Associate Professor Gehan Roberts with a replica of our prestigious Victorian Early Years Award for ‘Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing’ in 2023.

By Five had the pleasure of hosting three wonderful guests in the Wimmera last week from the Centre for Community Child Health and Royal Children's Hospital - Professor Sharon Goldfeld, Associate Professor Gehan Roberts, and Julia Mayes.

Emily and Hannah enjoyed a catch-up with our Friends of By Five member to discuss access to antenatal care across the region, and share stories of accessing care while pregnant, and post birth.

This International Women’s Day, Jo joined a panel of inspirational women on behalf of By Five.

To finish of February and farewell Summer Cara and Hannah welcomed a small group of diverse professionals involved in our flagship Paediatric Project to participate in an early morning breakfast and workshop to assist us in creating a visual to reflect this rural model of paediatric service delivery that integrates with local services on the ground.

By Five are very excited that the Wimmera and North Central areas are being provided an opportunity to meet with the Productivity Commission into ECEC to discuss rural challenges and feedback on the draft report in March 2024.

Take note, tired parents and carers! Our community has services that can lend a helping hand. One fantastic resource is the good old local library and their engaging ‘Rhyme Time’ and 'Story Time' sessions.

This project, in partnership with the Royal Children’s Hospital, was never intended to be ‘just another service’ in the ever coming and going, opening and closing, trying and trialling, revolving door of projects and programs that seem to fly in and fly out of places like ours.

Many of us will have driven or visited our hometowns over the Christmas and New Year break and for those who have been ‘home’ we can probably see firsthand the changes over time; some are fabulous and others, particularly population decline, are particularly more notable.

How often do you find yourself passing judgement on other parents, children or people in general - either outwardly or mentally? Perhaps more often than we care to admit?

As we all race to get everything done before going on Christmas leave, it is also nice to take the opportunity to reflect on the year that’s been.

The By Five Paediatric Program has been recognised with a prestigious Victorian Early Years Award 2023 for ‘Promoting Children’s Health and Wellbeing’., in partnership with the Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne.

By Five facilitated a trial handover session with some our Horsham kindergartens and Primary Schools at Federation University. A group of enthusiastic staff gathered together for a quick cuppa and then spent some time in a professional handover session.

By Five held our inaugural ‘Friends of By Five’ catch-up in the sunshine at the park, meeting with parents and children from across the Wimmera Southern Mallee, and hearing from them what it’s like raising a family in our region.

Let’s catch up in the September & October edition of our newsletter!

In late October, By Five along with our friends at the North Central LLEN, hosted an ECEC for Rural Communities Roundtable in Warracknabeal to discuss the barriers around accessing equitable childcare in small rural communities.

We are blown away by the response to the Children’s Week Street Art Gallery across the Wimmera Southern Mallee and we want to thank EVERYONE who got involved for such an important week.