A healthier start for school
Jenny Macklin,Julia Gillard
posted Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Federal Labor is putting the health and wellbeing of children and families at the centre of our welfare reform agenda.
A re-elected Gillard Labor Government will introduce new requirements for parents of four year olds who are on an income support payment to ensure that Australian kids get a healthier start for school.
These new arrangements will mean that the payment of the Family Tax Benefit Part A (FTB-A) end of year supplement for families on an income support payment, with a four year old, will be conditional on the completion of a health assessment, such as the Healthy Kids Check.
The purpose of the Healthy Kids Check is to ensure that every four year old child in Australia has a basic health check to see if they are healthy, fit and ready to learn when they start school. This check will promote early detection of lifestyle risk factors, delayed development and illness, and introduce guidance for healthy lifestyles and early intervention strategies.
Evidence demonstrates that children, particularly from low income households, benefit from a good quality education, and an early check can help detect any developmental barriers, such as hearing or sight impairment.
Many children receive health checks through child and maternal health clinics, through child care centre or through other health services.
In 2008, the Federal Labor Government also introduced a Healthy Kids Check for four year olds so that families also have the option of receiving these services from a GP or practice nurse.
Healthy Kids Checks promote early detection of chronic disease risk factors, developmental issues and illnesses - to ensure that our kids are ready to learn.
The 2009 Australian Early Development Index report indicates that a greater proportion of children from lower socio-economic communities were developmentally vulnerable in relation to their physical health.
The Gillard Labor Government’s approach is to invest in better services and more help for families and to expect clear responsibilities in return, especially in making sure that children are able to learn and develop in the ways that will benefit them for the future.
The Family Tax Benefit Part A end of year supplement is $726.35 per child, and is currently paid after the end of each financial year. For families on an income support payment, such as parenting payment, receiving the supplement is generally an automatic process during the month of July. The new requirements would apply from 1 July 2011.
There are around 50,000 children per year aged four whose parents receive an income support payment, such as a parenting payment, that will be affected by this measure.
Provisions will be made for exceptional circumstances where a family is unable to access medical services.
This new requirement will only affect the payment of the FTB-A end of year supplement in the year after the child turns four years old. It does not affect fortnightly payments of FTB-A.
The Government’s intention is to ensure that kids have received a health check before they start school.
These requirements are part of the Gillard Labor Government’s modernisation of Australia’s welfare system – to spread the dignity and purpose of work, end the corrosive aimlessness of welfare and bring more Australians into mainstream economic and social life.
Further information on this initiative is available at http://alp.org.au/agenda/more---policies/healthy-start-for-school/
Tags: Education, Gillard, Schools, Students, Teachers