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Health and development check support
Preparation for local health district checks, plus allied health involvement in check delivery and follow-up where the service and funding stream are eligible.
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Early childhood support is changing
Sunshine Connect: Early Learning
Speech pathology and occupational therapy educator training for preschools and early learning services in Ballina and the Northern Rivers. Practical, neurodiversity-affirming partnerships designed around the educators, children and routines already in your centre.
Notice. Understand. Support. Know what to do next.
Applications open now
2027 HDP Grant
Support for checks and capability that lasts.
Eligible standard early learning services can apply for up to $7,500 ex GST across Category 1 participation support and Category 2 capability uplift and resources. Early learning-led Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations can access a separate, more flexible stream of up to $7,500 ex GST.
Application window –
Eligibility, assessment and permitted expenditure are determined by the NSW Department of Education guidelines.
Why this matters now
Policy changes are the context. Educator confidence is the work.
Thriving Kids is being introduced across NSW in stages. General supports began rolling out from October 2026, including supported playgroups, parenting and peer support, information and help connecting with services. From January 2027, targeted supports will begin to include goal-focused, short-term allied health therapies for children who need extra help.
A diagnosis is not required to access Thriving Kids. Families can start by speaking with their GP or Child and Family Health nurse. Targeted supports will use a central intake process managed by the NSW Department of Communities and Justice, with local services and access details published progressively as the rollout continues through 2027.
Early learning teams are already central to this. Sunshine makes the policy direction practical: strengthening educators’ confidence to notice developmental differences, respond supportively within everyday routines, communicate with families and understand what to do next.
Read the official Thriving Kids rollout informationBuilt around your service
What a Sunshine partnership can include.
Not a generic one-off presentation. We combine education, consultation and practical resources in a way that reflects your educators, rooms and community.
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Whole-service education
Accessible learning about development, early identification and supportive responses across communication, regulation, movement and participation.
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Room-specific workshops
Age-relevant sessions shaped around the routines, developmental questions and cohort needs within individual rooms.
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Observation and identification tools
Practical prompts and quick-reference resources to help educators notice patterns and understand when further discussion may be useful.
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Everyday strategies and resources
Cohort-wide approaches that can be embedded into play, transitions, group times, communication and daily routines.
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Family conversation support
Respectful language, preparation and pathways for raising developmental observations with families without creating alarm.
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Clear referral pathways
A practical process for moving from observation to family conversation, referral and the right next source of support.
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Implementation follow-up
Time to review what is working, troubleshoot barriers and strengthen educator confidence after new strategies are introduced.
Already put into practice locally
What we built with Rainbow Early Learning Centre.
Sunshine Speech & Allied Health worked alongside Rainbow educators to deliver a whole-service developmental capability uplift — moving beyond one-off professional development to create useful tools, shared understanding and clearer next steps.
“The focus wasn’t on turning educators into therapists. It was about helping educators feel more confident to notice, understand, support and know what to do next.”
Whole-service education
A shared foundation for understanding development and early identification.
Age-specific support
Workshops tailored to the questions and routines within different rooms.
Practical tools
Developmental observation prompts, resources and clearer referral pathways.
Real-world problem solving
Collaborative planning around challenges educators were seeing every day.
A practical partnership
From your current challenges to everyday change.
The program can be delivered as a focused capability uplift or staged across the year, depending on your priorities, grant plan and educator availability.
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Listen
Meet with leadership and educators to understand your service, community and priorities.
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Design
Shape a practical program around identified cohort needs and the capability your team wants to build.
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Work alongside your team
Combine education, consultation, modelling, resources and collaborative problem-solving.
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Embed and review
Support educators to use new approaches in everyday practice, then return to reflect and refine.
Both funding categories, clearly mapped
Support before, during and after health and development checks.
The 2027 grant rules differ by service type and funding stream. SSAH can help you plan an accurate, practical pathway that connects check participation with meaningful follow-up and educator capability.
Category 1 — Participation in the Health and Development Checks (HDC) program ($1,500 ex GST). For standard early learning services, this funds staff time, relief, administration, family liaison and support for children to participate in checks delivered through the local health district team.
Category 2 — Capability uplift and resources ($6,000 ex GST). Services can engage SSAH to collaborate with educators, deliver specialised education, model cohort-wide strategies and help select practical developmental resources.
Early learning-led ACCO stream — Check delivery and follow-up. Eligible ACCO-led services can use their more flexible funding to engage allied health professionals. SSAH can provide health and development checks within professional scope, follow-up assessment, educator capability building and cohort-wide strategies.
A connected plan. We can help your service link check preparation and results with communication, hearing, motor, regulation and participation supports that educators can use every day.
Your questions
Questions about your early learning partnership
Clear information to help you decide on the next step. You are welcome to ask our team about your circumstances.
Can SSAH provide speech pathology and occupational therapy training for our educators?
Sunshine Connect brings together educator education, consultation and practical resources across communication, regulation, movement and participation. We can shape whole-service education and room-specific workshops around the routines and questions in your early learning service.
Can Sunshine Connect support our HDP grant plan?
We can help you plan educator capability uplift, cohort-wide strategies and resources that align with the current Health and Development Participation Grant guidelines. Funding eligibility and permitted spending depend on your service and funding stream; the NSW Department of Education determines the grant requirements.
Can HDP funding pay SSAH to deliver health and development checks?
For standard early learning services, Category 1 supports participation in checks delivered by the local health district; it does not fund a private provider to replace that check. The separate early learning-led ACCO stream permits eligible services to engage allied health professionals for check delivery and follow-up. SSAH's involvement depends on the stream, professional scope and the service's approved funding arrangements.
Are workshops tailored to particular rooms and age groups?
Yes. Room-specific workshops can focus on age-relevant developmental questions and everyday situations such as play, transitions, group times and communication. We work alongside educators to choose strategies that fit the cohort and the environment.
Do educator observation tools diagnose a child?
Observation prompts help educators notice patterns, prepare respectful conversations with families and identify when a referral may be useful. They do not replace an individual clinical assessment or establish a diagnosis.
How do we discuss a partnership for our centre?
Contact our Ballina team on 02 6610 9200 or hello@sunshinespeechalliedhealth.com.au. Tell us about your service, current priorities and grant plan, if applicable. We will discuss suitable options and current capacity with you.
Planning your 2027 HDP application?
Let’s build something genuinely useful for your team.
Tell us whether you need support with HDC participation, an eligible allied health check pathway, post-check follow-up or educator capability uplift. We’ll help you shape a practical, compliant program grounded in everyday early learning.
Sunshine Speech & Allied Health is an independent allied health provider. SSAH is not representing or commissioned by the Thriving Kids program, the HDP Grant or the local health district HDC program. The availability of private allied health check delivery depends on the service’s eligibility and funding stream. Government eligibility, funding and permitted expenditure are determined by the current program guidelines.