Bicultural Support Pool
Does your service need help to include an Indigenous child or a child from a Culturally and Linguistically Diverse background into care?
What is the Bicultural Support Pool?
Bicultural support is time-limited, free-of-charge, specialist assistance to child care services to help them successfully include children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse backgrounds (CALD) and Indigenous children.
Bicultural Support Workers are available to:
- assist in the initial settling-in period of children from CALD, refugee or Indigenous backgrounds for a limited period;
- provide initial language assistance to children, parents and staff, in order to help families and the service communicate;
- introduce the child’s culture to the service by assisting children, staff and parents to develop and present multicultural games, songs, food, and culturally appropriate activities;
- assist staff to understand diverse cultural practices and child rearing practices in Australian society; promote children’s self esteem about their cultural heritage; and encourage maintenance of, and support the development of, the child’s home language.
Who can use the service?
- Private and community-based Long Day Care centres;
- Outside School Hours Care services (including vacation care);
- Family Day Care services;
- Occasional Care services;
- In-Home Care services;
- Flexible/multifunctional services;
- Non-mainstream Outside School Hours Care services;
- Non-formula funded Occasional Care services;
- Multifunctional Aboriginal Children’s services (MACS);
- Mobile Child Care service.
How do you access the Bicultural Support Pool?
You need to be referred by:
- Children’s Services Central (call 1800 157 818) or
- Your regional Inclusion Support Agency (ISA) – click here to access details.
To find our more about Ethnic Child Care, Family & Community Services visit their website.