Navigating the early years

Helping young children get the best start in life

The first 2000 days of life is a critical time for children’s physical, cognitive, social and emotional health. What happens in the first 5 years has been shown to have an impact throughout life. We know vulnerable families need earlier access to critical services to improve developmental outcomes for young children.

How is Big Futures Start Small making a difference?

CXU partnered with NSW Health, Department of Education and Department of Communities and Justice to lead community-based research with families across NSW and develop a suite of early intervention programs that support the needs of young children. With almost 100,000 births per year in NSW, it’s important for government agencies to work together to design and implement effective, accessible, connected solutions that improve children’s lifelong health and education outcomes, including: 

• Improving awareness and access to health and development checks in Child and Family Health Services
• Family Support Finder, due to be piloted later this year, helps families triage their needs and find support and services in their local area with the ability to translate the content into community languages
• Child Health Reminders which help families keep track of their child’s 8 health and development checks using an online tool
• Coming soon - new Big Futures Start Small Hub for parents of children 0-5yrs to search for online information and support they need which includes tailored information for Aboriginal families

Access the Child Health Reminder service. Find child and family support services in your local area at Family Connect Support.