Working with and supporting families

Explore our broad range of courses and resources designed to support practitioners in:

delivering child-centred and family-centred practice
having safe, strengths-based and productive conversations with families
connecting and referring families to reliable information and/or other practitioners.

Five key practice shifts to transform your work with children

This is a valuable guide for anyone working with children, helping you place the voice of the child at the centre of your interactions together. The practice shifts in this guide recognise children as active participants in their lives and in their work with you. They prioritise each child’s personality, values, relationships, ecology and rights.
Talking with parents about their children

Our evidence-informed PERCS Conversation Guide is designed to support collaborative, respectful conversations between professionals and parents about how adversity can affect children. There are several versions of the guide tailored to different child, parent and practitioner needs. Each version includes example questions designed to help you talk with parents about five important domains in a child’s life.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing learning pathway

This pathway offers strategies and frameworks to build your skills and confidence in supporting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. The online courses in this pathway will help you to build genuine partnerships with the children, adults and communities you are working with.
Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children toolkit

This collection of resources is designed to encourage and motivate non-Indigenous practitioners to develop the skills and understandings to build genuine partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, families and communities.
In focus: The child and their local ecology

Emerging Minds’ resources encourage a ‘whole child’ or ecological approach and consideration of their family context and stressors. This resource aims to equip practitioners to consider the impact that children’s relationships, environments and broader contexts can have on their development and wellbeing.
Getting through tough times

These fact sheets were co-designed with and for families experiencing social determinants of health inequalities. They share the stories of families who are navigating difficulties around money, housing, health and offer new ideas for creating connection and belonging, and standing up to shame and stigma. The suite includes guides for practitioners on using these resources to support families.

Resources for educators: Building family partnerships and enabling referrals

Emerging Minds’ Family partnerships for educators toolkit is a professional development training package (with versions for early education and care and primary school settings). It includes an online course for educators that outlines what family partnerships are and how they can be used to support children’s wellbeing. There is also a conversation tool to help educators have safe and productive conversations about children’s development and wellbeing, as well as a referral tool to support your role in connecting families to supports.

Family partnerships for educators toolkit

Explore other topics and resources related to Thriving Kids:

Preparing for Thriving Kids

Working with and supporting families

Five key practice shifts to transform your work with children

Talking with parents about their children

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and emotional wellbeing learning pathway

Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and children toolkit

In focus: The child and their local ecology

Getting through tough times

Resources for educators: Building family partnerships and enabling referrals

Explore other topics and resources related to Thriving Kids:

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