The Shire of Northern Grampians is a local government area in the Wimmera region of Victoria, located in the western part of the state. It covers an area of 5,730 square kilometres and in June 2018 had a population of 11,431. It includes the towns of Stawell, St Arnaud, Great Western, Marnoo, Glenorchy, Stuart Mill, Navarre and the tourist town of Halls Gap. Northern Grampians has a strong economy based on agriculture, gold mining, manufacturing and tourism.
Stawell is home to brick, textiles and meat production and an operating gold mine. The St Arnaud area is well-known for its broadacre cropping and the Grampians National Park is a popular tourist destination, attracting more than one million visitors each year.
Let’s Read Northern Grampians aims to support every young family to read to their babies from birth. Discussion will be held, and reading will be encouraged at key ages and stages visits with families. The program providers will have discussions around using the babies name often in conversation, songs and storytelling and support families to value and share books together from day one. We acknowledge that reading to children, even before they can understand words, teaches them to associate books with love and affection. Book packs will be provided at the 4 month, 12 month, 18 month and 3.5 year key ages and stages visits. A program magnet and information sheet will be placed in the first home visits pack given in the early days following the babies birth. A partnership has come together with maternal and child health and local libraries to implement the program.
The program was launched locally via the maternal and child health program and the local libraries and local media and newsletters will be utilised to promote and launch the program. Conversations are held with families at visits to the maternal and child health nurses and library visits. Reading stations will be established in waiting areas at the maternal and child health centres, and at our monthly immunisation sessions to enable reading as families waiting for these services pending COVID practice recommendations.
One of our new parent group sessions is offered at the library to introduce families to the facility and the resources found within. Our annual Christmas break up with families has a focus on the value of books as gifts and the joy of reading as a family.
The Let's Read program in the Northern Grampians, Victoria, is sponsored by the Northern Grampians Shire Council.
https://www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Home