What We Do / Our Initiatives
Childhood Builders: translation of science to service using existing tools and frames
Purpose
To increase capabilities and alignment of leaders to steward systems through learning, development and shared frameworks (such as The Nest, The Common Approach, Restacking the Odds, Brain Story, Family Partnerships).
Partners
Led by Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership with partners and collaborators from across the sector. These include the Queensland Mental Health Commission, Emerging Minds, Yiliyapinya Indigenous Corporation, UQ’s Queensland Brain Institute and Dovetail, in collaboration with the Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network, Queensland Government agencies, place-based initiatives and non-government organisations.
We're supporting Queensland workers to weave 'wellbeing' into our work with children
Children thrive when they are supported according to their needs, in all aspects of their lives.
To do this fairly, we need to make sure that everyone who works with children understands concepts such as ‘wellbeing’ and ‘resilience’ and what these mean in the real-world.
We’re fortunate to live in a time when we have strong evidence and tested tools to support our work.
However, there is still more to do to:
- bring these different tools together as unified Childhood Builder programs
- make sure that all communities have equal access to practical tools that meet their local needs.
We’re excited that Queensland is already embracing tools such as The Common Approach and The Resilience Scale, and that many communities are eager to learn more.
Our job now is to equip all communities with Childhood Builder frameworks, so we can support all children to thrive.
What we're already achieving?
The Childhood Builders Initiative is already bringing tools to Queenslanders to support the way we work with children. Work has included:
Mapping & connecting:
- Mapped tools that we can ue to create ‘Childhood Builders’ programs.
- Built strong connections at state, national and international levels
- Childhood Builders – Operationalising Resilience Frames and Tools Evidence Review Report (Draft 1.0) prepared by Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland (September 2023)
Information sharing:
- Co-designed the ‘What surrounds us shapes us’: A framework for building children’s resilience to thrive in life explainer video
- Registered more than 1000 people for sessions with Nancy Mannix and the Palix Foundation on ‘The Resilience Scale: From Awareness to Implementation’
- Commissioned by the Queensland Mental Health Commission to develop 1 of 15 background papers to inform the Queensland Trauma Strategy.
- Co-designed and tested the Childhood Builders concept in multiple sites including the Queensland Child and Youth Clinical Network (QCYCN) Brain Builders Professional Development Day (May 2024). This event had 100 attendees and led to interest from Queensland Government departments (health & child safety) to use the tools to support their workforces.
- Designed Childhood Builders programs in Gladstone (Gladstone Region Together Engaging in Action) and Inala (linking together tools such as The Common Approach, The Nest, Resilience Scale, The Brain Story).
- Secured funding and agreement with Queensland Mental Health Commission for the Childhood Builders – Operationalising Resilience Frames and Tools Evidence Review Report project to embed tools and frameworks into government workplaces. More than 150 people (primarily Queensland Government agencies and authorities) have already engaged via briefings, workshops and interviews.
- Secured Better Futures grant with Queensland Mental Health Commission to operationalise frames and tools with FamilyLinQ and Logan Together.
What's a 'Childhood Builder' program?
It’s much easier to give children the right support at the right time, if we have a shared understanding of what children need as they’re growing up.
A Childhood Builder program is a tool (or set of tools) that can be used by anyone working with children.
A Childhood Builder program can give us shared language, evidence, metaphors and resources to help us see what is already working – or not working – in a child’s life. It can help us start the right conversations and make the right connections. And it can help us make positive change where it matters most.
We’re working with local communities to create Childhood Builder frameworks based on existing evidence-based tools such as ARACY’s The Common Approach, and the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative’s Resilience Scale.
How you can get involved
Developing Childhood Builder programs for how we work with children, impacts all corners of the community.
To find out more and talk about ways to get involved, contact michelle.cole@aracy.org.au.
Keen to jump in and learn more?
- Watch the explainer video ‘What surrounds us shapes us’: A framework for building children’s resilience to thrive in life
- Find out more about ARACY’s The Nest
- Find out more about the Brain Story (including the Resilience Scale metaphor) from our partners at the Alberta Family Wellness Initiative
- Watch the Insight/Dovetail/Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD) webinar ‘Understanding and supporting brain development’.
Related links & documents
Explainer video: "What surrounds us shapes us"
This short explainer video introduces the Resilience Scale and ARACY’s The Nest framework as models to help understand how experiences and environments shape children’s health and development.
Understanding & supporting brain development
Brains are not just born, they’re built over time. This webinar explores the neuroscience that underpins human brain development and how we can apply this knowledge to inform and strengthen our practices.
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‘The experience of trauma by Queensland children’ Consultation Paper
Consultation paper prepared by Thriving Queensland Kids Partnership for Queensland Mental Health Commission to support the development of a whole-of-government Trauma Strategy for Queensland.
DOWNLOAD
Childhood Builders – Operationalising Resilience Frames and Tools Evidence Review Report
TQKP commissioned this report by Institute for Social Science Research, University of Queensland (September 2023) to answer:
- How has resilience science been applied as part of a bio-psycho-socioecological (BPSE) framework in the context of improving child, youth, family and community wellbeing?
- What examples are there of systems-wide or specific BPSE resilience science frameworks in jurisdictions within and similar to Australia?
- How have BPSE resilience science frameworks been operationalised as system-level interventions?
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You should know...
Explainer video: "What surrounds us shapes us"
This short explainer video introduces the Resilience Scale and ARACY’s The Nest framework as models to help understand how experiences and environments shape children’s health and development.
Partnerships charter
Our Charter clearly sets out the partnership’s shared goals, values and ways of working to improve systems for Queensland’s children. We invite you to review the Charter and join us if you support our shared vision for Queensland kids.
Report: Queensland Place-Based Rivermap
The Queensland Place-Based Rivermap proposes systemic actions to support our many place-based initiatives. Let’s work together to create local conditions that are good for families and kids.