Newsletter February 2008
In this edition
- Web-site update
- Childrens’ day 2008 news
- WellChild /Tamariki Ora Week 2008 update
- Minigrants
- Resources
- WellChild /Tamariki Ora framework review
- Themes for 2008
Attachments
(Click on each of the headings to view)
Web Site Update
Coalitions are reminded that they can register their Well Child Week 2008 event and project information at www.wellchild.org.nz by accessing the “Register” link on the wellchild.org.nz homepage. Registering your project and event information is helpful in giving others a better understanding of when and what you are planning to do in relation to WellChild / Tamariki Ora New Experiences.
Please note that any group organising any WellChild /Tamariki Ora event at any time of the year is welcome, and indeed encouraged, to register on the web-site to help publicise their event and also share their details and ideas with other similar groups.
Childrens’ Day 2008 – March 2nd Celebrating “New Experiences”
Are you holding an event to mark Childrens’ day and the beginning of WellChild/Tamariki Ora week this year? If you have held one before you will know that the Commissioner for Children’s office have some really cool resources fro free – visit www.childrensday.org.nz to register and get tips and ideas for your event - events don’t have to be huge public happenings - even a celebration of Childrens’ Day within the normal work you undertake for example having a session on “New Experiences” and acknowledging Childrens’ Day with your normal childhood related activities on the Friday or Monday around 2nd March would be appropriate.
WellChild / Tamariki Ora Week 2008
As with previous years we are following on the theme of Childrens’ Day so have taken on the title of “New Experiences” for our week too. Like Childrens’ day this doesn’t have to be a huge scale programme but an opportunity within your area to reach the under fives and their carers with a message about a new health experience - it may be that you use it to highlight the issues of being a new parent and target your first time parents, maybe you would like to link in with our 1st quarter theme of dental health and the new experience of teeth brushing or dental enrolment. Perhaps in your area it would be appropriate to link to our up and coming 2nd quarter theme of immunisations and concentrate on the experiences there or maybe you have some other burning issues locally that fit in – the choice is yours.
Our WellChild /Tamariki Ora packs have gone out earlier this week to those on our database so if you haven’t received yours in few days or aren’t on our list just contact us. All the resources mentioned and featured there are available to everyone whether your event is funded or registered with us or not. Feedback as to what you get up to during the week is really valued - it helps us justify the continuation of the week and the resources and also gives us ideas we can pass onto other groups, so please let us know what you are planning and how it goes.
Minigrants
Applications for these are now well and truly closed - we are in the process of dealing with the last stragglers so if you have applied and haven’t heard in the next 2 weeks please let us know. We have increased the amount this year with the expectation that the coalitions will use the extra funds to increase the local media coverage and publicity so I will be looking for evidence of that in the reports at the end of June, please. It was a little bit disappointing that not many of the coalitions found new partners this year as we had suggested as part of their own “new experience” but it is encouraging to see there is good cooperation across different agencies generally and that WellChild activities are alive and well across the country as a whole.
Please note that we would encourage you to still do a WellChild /Tamariki Ora event even if you don’t have direct funding for us - many groups now find alternative funding or manage to do these events as part of their existing budget.
Resources
We have just had a new delivery of WellChild/Tamariki Ora balloons (blue and orange) and have dispatched them out to the local public health resource centres so there should be some at a centre near you …..Let us know if you have problems locating them.
As always we have street banners and small pop up banners here at National Office if you wish to borrow any of those (a refundable bond applies) the Ministry Health Education site (www.healthed.govt.nz) has stickers and posters applicable to WellChild/Tamariki Ora and SPARC and Childrens’day have their own web-sites with resources we would also endorse.
WellChild/ Tamariki Ora framework review
The review continues and the B4 school checks are hopefully being extended out from their pilot sites too. What caught my attention recently was Canterbury’s solution to the tricky problem with handover from LMCs to WellChild /Tamariki Ora providers – they have all come together to jointly produce a couple of resources for LMCs/ Midwives which outline the choices parents and care givers have for WellChild /Tamariki Ora services and a concise clear referral form to go along with this – with their permission we have scanned these and they should be attached for you to see a good example of working together for the benefit of our tamariki.
Themes for 2008
Finally just a few lines to update you on our quarterly themes for this year
Quarter 1 – Dental health
It was great to see that Plunket are making February Dental month in support of this theme too. You will hopefully have seen our earlier media release (attached if you didn’t) – just a reminder that while the national average for dental caries free at 5 years is 52.9% which is bad enough this means that in some areas the statistics are even worse – e.g. in Northland the percentage falls to only 35.5% caries free – so clearly we have a lot of work still to do in this area.
WellChild /Tamariki Ora week March 3rd – 9th
Theme of New Experiences - use your imagination and create some event locally little or large to celebrate the week in a new way with your tamariki.
Quarter 2 - Immunisation
A chance to promote the introduction of Prevenar (Pneumococcal vaccine) into the schedule. Also consider the other vaccines that are in growing demand such as Chicken Pox and HPV.
Quarter 3 - Hearing
A chance to look again at another problem that doesn’t seem to go away namely glue ear. Also what is happening re. Universal neonatal hearing screening in your area?
Quarter 4 - Healthy Eating
This is likewise a topic that we constantly need to pick up on - with good nutrition, relating to dental health, issues around obesity and deficiencies still widespread.
So plenty to focus on for the year ahead. Enjoy the sunny weather, don’t forget the sun block and drive safely.
Marguerite Dalton , WellChild /Tamariki Ora Week Coordinator
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