Kids on Gallaghers Child Care Centre bringing health and wellbeing together through Healthy Places

This child care community in Glen Waverley has experienced the extended benefits of their centre participating in Healthy Places (formerly known as Achievement Program) and applying a whole-service approach to health and wellbeing. Since joining as members in 2023, the Kids on Gallaghers Child Care Centre has now completed all health areas of Healthy Places.

The centre was reassured using the evidence-based framework which highlighted their strong foundation of health and wellbeing. They then looked at extending their position, knowing the framework was aligned to Australian Children’s Education & Care Quality Authority's National Quality Standard.

Centre Director Stella Orlando said Kids on Gallaghers joined Healthy Places to apply a whole-of-setting approach. They also wanted to connect and build on the health and wellbeing initiatives at the centre, including those around sustainability and cultural diversity.

The centre expanded use of their kitchen garden to benefit the community. Families were encouraged to grow food in their veggie patch and take home excess produce, making healthy eating more accessible at home.

Thanks to the kitchen garden initiative, the community at Kids on Gallaghers now regularly exchange multicultural meal ideas with each other.

"We do a lot of activities around sustainability, healthy eating and inclusion. We wanted a way to bring all these activities together. The framework helped us find interconnectivity between these different areas and approach them from a whole-of-setting lens,” Mrs Orlando said.

Mrs Orlando said Healthy Places also supported the service to improve on the physical activity and movement priority area.

"Using the framework, we realised we could do more to support physical activity and movement," she said.

Kids on Galllaghers Child Care Centre is supported by Link Health and Community Health Promotion Officer, Irene Dunne Pfeiffer. Ms Dunne Pfeiffer said the centre has done amazing things, like involving families in their kitchen garden activities to extend the benefits of the vibrant garden to the community along with policy alignment.

"Kids on Gallaghers saw their health and wellbeing progress met both the National Quality Standards also the Healthy Places Framework. They then used the Healthy Places Framework to identify areas for improvement, confidently knowing changes would be aligned to the National Quality Standards," she said.

Healthy Places makes it easier for Victorian schools and early childhood services to support health, wellbeing and learning.

To learn more about the program or join, visit the Healthy Places website: https://www.healthyplaces.health.vic.gov.au/