The Best Start for Canberra’s Children: The First 1000 Days Strategy (Best Start), released today, sets out the ACT Government’s vision for working with community partners and service providers to ensure early support for children and families.

The first 1000 days is the time between a child being conceived until they reach about two years of age – a time when children’s brain and body development is critically shaped. Throughout the first 1000 days, a child starts to adapt and respond to their environment. This environment is largely shaped by the health and wellbeing of the child’s parents, carers, and the people they are in close contact with.

The early experiences of a child’s life are: a predictor of school performance, adolescent pregnancy, and involvement in youth justice; linked to risks of drug and alcohol misuse, self-harm, and antisocial and violent behaviour; related to obesity, elevated blood pressure, and depression in 20 to 40-year-olds; predictive of coronary heart disease and diabetes in 40 to 60-year-olds; and related to premature ageing and memory loss in older age groups.

Yvette Berry, ACT Minister for Early Childhood Development, said early support in pre-conception, pregnancy, and infancy is critical for the long-term health and wellbeing of children.

“The first 1,000 days is a critical time for shaping children and setting them up for a happy, healthy, and fulfilling life,” Ms Berry said. “If families are supported early, they are more likely to engage with services, and will be better prepared in the lead up to school and beyond.”

Best Start sits alongside the Maternity in Focus strategy, which aims to to improve maternity services and outcomes in the ACT, and will be delivered in three phases. The first Action Plan will provide practical steps to deliver the strategy.

This includes improving access to playgroups and playschools for vulnerable families, and building better connections between Maternity and Child Health and other early support services.

Early intervention and support are critical for children who have developmental vulnerabilities or delays. The ACT Government will invest more than $7 million over the next four years to expand the Child Development Service.

With this new funding, the service will hire 14 more allied health professionals to provide critical early intervention therapy services for families with two- to three-year-old children.

Best Start and the expanded Child Development Service will support the wellbeing and development of children in their first 1,000 days, then up to 36 months for early intervention, before eligible families have the option of transitioning to quality early childhood education from age three.

The Child Development Service will continue to provide assessment, referral, and information services to families and children from birth to the age of six, in addition to the new early intervention services.

This expanded service is due to start in 2023.

Health minister Rachel Stephen-Smith said Best Start was developed with input from an Expert Reference Group and feedback from families, frontline workers, carers, and community organisations.

“When designing Best Start, we heard parents want holistic support and information to help them navigate through pregnancy, birth, and the early years,” Ms Stephen-Smith said. “People also want continuity of care from services.

“Best Start supports a more co-ordinated effort across government and the community to increase awareness of the importance of the first 1,000 days.

“This will enable parents to feel more confident, supported, and connected, and for services to be accessible for when children and families need them,” Ms Stephen-Smith said.

The Best Start strategy and interim action plan can be viewed in full at: https://www.communityservices.act.gov.au/best-start.