It may not have been an actual round table but our square table was just perfect!

The By Five project, a four-year initiative funded by the Andrew’s Labor Government, has been working tirelessly to narrow the vulnerability divide between rural and urban children. With funding set to conclude in 2025, this groundbreaking effort has already achieved significant milestones, demonstrating the power of collaboration and innovative approaches to service delivery across the Wimmera Southern Mallee.

For the second year running, By Five have facilitated an additional opportunity for education professionals in the Horsham area to collaborate and support children who are transitioning from Kindergarten to Primary School in early 2025.

Our Friends of By Five group met for the final time this year to chat about childcare and early childhood education.

Helen Creed, the inaugural leader of the Rural Early Education & Development (REED) initiative, recently visited Horsham to share her team's innovative approach to addressing Early Childhood Education in rural communities like ours.

What an honour it was to be an invited guest of Rainbow P-12 at the Early Years Awards on November 7th in Melbourne!

Antenatal care – the foundational piece of the child development journey, but how accessible is this care in the Wimmera Southern Mallee?

The Hon. Angie Bell, Federal shadow minister for Early Childhood Education, accompanied Hon Dr. Anne Webster on a visit to Hopetoun and Beulah where the dire childcare situation was once again highlighted as an issue for rural children, families and these vitally important towns.

By Five recently used their 2023 Victorian Early Years Awards funding to host “Network, Learn, Celebrate, Inspire,” a dynamic event bringing together dedicated professionals supporting children in the Wimmera region.

What are the principles of our Paediatric Project? They’ve always been the same… Innovative, place-based, equitable, multi-disciplinary and… TIMELY!

The By Five team are thrilled to announce that Dr Kate Monagle will be extending her time working as the Paediatric Fellow dedicated to our Paediatric Project until our current funding expires in June 2025.

Rainbow P-12 are a finalist in this years Victorian Early Years Awards!

Cara and Dr Nadia were absolutely honoured to be asked to present at the Victorian Paediatric Clinical Network forum on Innovative Models of Care in Melbourne.

The Jellybeans Playgroup didn’t know what they were in for when touring Federation University this week and ran into Tracey and Cara in the By Five office!

On National Early Childhood Edcuators’ Day, we celebrate ECEC champions from across our region.

From Hopetoun to Warracknabeal, our locals made the effort to rug up and caffeinate with Kate and chat all things Wimmera kids.

Oh what a night! By Five have launched their Paediatric Project short documentary with a celebratory evening which included a red-carpet entrance for our special guests and film stars!

By Five are thrilled to launch a short documentary on their flagship, award-winning, ‘born and bred’ paediatric project.

Last week Jo and Emily made the trek to Canberra to attend the Regional Australia Institute National Summit – ‘The New Frontier’.

“A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

This quote by Henry Adams was written inside a lovely Christmas card from a thoughtful parent, given to me at the end of a long school year, thanking me for teaching their child in their first year of primary school...