Supported Playgroup Best Practice Principles

Supported playgroups work best with facilitators1 who have qualifications in early childhood education and care or community services, and strong engagement and relationship building skills. [1]

[1] Williams, K, Berthelsen, D & Kenny, K 2019, Supported playgroups: a practice guide for facilitators, Queensland Department of Education, Brisbane

Skills such as listening, demonstrating an unconditional acceptance and respect, showing genuine interest and care, and creating a responsive and flexible space contribute to families experiencing trust, emotional support, confidence in parenting and decreased feelings of isolation and inequality. [1][2][3]

[1] Armstrong, J, Paskal, K, Elliott, C, Wray, J, Davidson, E, Mizen, J & Girdler, S 2019, ‘What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups’, Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 81-102.

[2] Cumming, T & Wong, S, 2008, SDN playlinks: dimensions of a relationships-based service: the fifth of eight reports investigating SDN’S Child, Family and Children’s Services Programs, SDN Children’s Services Inc., Sydney

[3] Jackson, D 2013, ‘Creating a place to “be”: unpacking the facilitation role in three supported playgroups in Australia’, European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 77–93.

Supported playgroups require consistent and ongoing engagement strategies to retain families’ motivation to continue attending. [1] [2]  This can include a warm and welcoming approach, building a reputation in the community as a trusted service, and linkage with other established services.

[1] Commerford, J & Hunter, C 2017, Principles for high quality playgroups: examples from research and practice, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne.

[2] Grealy, C, McArthur, M, Jenkins, L, Holland, E, Butterfield, L & Andrews, N 2012, Supported Playgroups and Parent Groups Initiative (SPPI) outcomes evaluation, Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD), East Melbourne, viewed 15 February 2024

Peer support was identified as important in successful engagement in playgroups, with parents valuing connecting to other parents with shared experience, reciprocal learning and a sense of belonging. [1]  This was particularly important for parents of children with disabilities, who experience uncertainty about their children’s developmental trajectories and higher levels of social isolation and exclusion. [2]

[1] Armstrong, J, Elliott, C, Davidson, E, Mizen, J, Wray, J & Girdler, S 2021a, ‘The power of playgroups: key components of supported and therapeutic playgroups from the perspective of parents’, Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, vol. 68, no. 2, pp. 144-155.

[2] Ibid.

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To make supported playgroups more physically accessible, some services provide mobile outreach in parks and local shopping centres[1], schools[2] or community nurse health centres.[3] Offering services through an existing well-regarded universal community service such as Maternal and Child Health, can enhance service integration and engage vulnerable families in help-seeking and further support in an acceptable, non-stigmatising way.[4]

[1] Commerford, J & Hunter, C 2017, Principles for high quality playgroups: examples from research and practice, Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne.

[2] Perry, B, Dockett, S, Simpson, T & Mason, T 2007, ‘Successful transitions from prior-to-school to school for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children’, International Journal of Equity and Innovation in Early Childhood, vol. 5, no. 1, pp.102-111.

[3] Lakhani, A & MacFarlane, K 2015, ‘Playgroups offering health and well-being support for families’, Family & Community Health, vol. 38, no. 2, pp.180-194

[4] Hackworth, NJ, Nicholson, JM, Matthews, J, Berthelsen, D, Cann, W, Westrupp, EM, Ukoumunne, OC, Yu, M, Bennetto, J, Bennetts, S, Hamilton, V, Johnson, N, Phan, T, Scicluna, A & Trajanovska, M 2013, Early Home Learning Study: overview and outcomes: final report to the Victorian Government Department of Education and Early Child Development, Parenting Research Centre, Melbourne

Having a strong referral network in the local service system is important, as well as information sharing, visits from other services to the playgroup, collaboration with other services to recruit participants, and warm referral.[1] [2]

[1] Commerford, J & Robinson, E 2017, ‘Supported playgroups for parents and children: the evidence for their benefits’, Family Matters, vol. 99, pp, 42-51.

[2] Hackworth, NJ, Nicholson, JM, Matthews, J, Berthelsen, D, Cann, W, Westrupp, EM, Ukoumunne, OC, Yu, M, Bennetto, J, Bennetts, S, Hamilton, V, Johnson, N, Phan, T, Scicluna, A & Trajanovska, M 2013, Early Home Learning Study: overview and outcomes: final report to the Victorian Government Department of Education and Early Child Development, Parenting Research Centre, Melbourne.

Parents and carers prefer services advertised for the benefit of their children and framed around child development and play, rather than focused on correcting parenting skills which can be seen as stigmatising and shaming. [1]

To promote the playgroup and attract families, playgroups can create partnerships with early childhood services, health providers, and local neighbourhood centres.[2]

[1] Gibson, M 2018, Rapid evidence review of supported playgroups that support Aboriginal communities, Centre for Family Research and Evaluation, viewed on 1 February 2024, https://cfre.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Rapid-Evidence-Review-of-Aboriginal-SupportedPlaygroups_CFRE-2018.pdf.

[2] Commerford, J & Robinson, E 2017, ‘Supported playgroups for parents and children: the evidence for their benefits’, Family Matters, vol. 99, pp, 42-51.

Research has demonstrated that attending six or more sessions of supported playgroup was associated with over five times greater odds of achieving better outcomes for children and families. [1]

[1] Armstrong, J, Paskal, K, Elliott, C, Wray, J, Davidson, E, Mizen, J & Girdler, S 2019, ‘What makes playgroups therapeutic? A scoping review to identify the active ingredients of therapeutic and supported playgroups’, Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy, vol. 26, no. 2, pp. 81-102.

Effective supported playgroups have strong organisational governance and resourcing, a framework for practice including child safe principles, formal collaborative partnerships, and effective ongoing training, professional development, supervision and support for staff. [1]

[1] Williams, K, Berthelsen, D & Kenny, K 2019, Supported playgroups: a practice guide for facilitators, Queensland Department of Education, Brisbane