Noah's Ark Annual Report 2019

Our highlights

Noah’s Ark is always busy across its many branches, participating in community events, leading advocacy, supporting inclusion for children and investing in staff.

An annual staff forum is held every year and showcases key speakers from across the globe on topics such as innovations in best practice, early child intervention, the latest research in children’s development, family research, case studies on therapeutic methods and cultural trends.

Noah’s Ark and university collaborations have continued this year with a partnership between the organisation and RMIT University on an exciting PhD scholarship placement program. The successful PhD candidate has been investigating evidence-based strategies that support the inclusion and learning of young children with a disability. Over the three-year program the candidate will work with staff from Noah’s Ark and RMIT to develop, create and publish a series of articles that provide valuable knowledge and understanding about:

• The evidence base for practices that support the inclusion and learning of children with disabilities and developmental delays in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) programs.
• The expected child outcomes from using evidence-based practices and their relevance to Australian ECEC frameworks.
• The implications of the implementation of evidence-based practices, including for professional development and the organisation of ECEC programs.

The organisation partners with many diverse community groups and actively participates in the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP), currently developing the Stretch RAP. This type of RAP is focused on implementing longer-term strategies and working towards defined measurable targets and goals.The Stretch RAP requires organisations to embed reconciliation initiatives into business strategies to become ‘business as usual’. In the last corporate planning year Noah’s Arks Executive and Board decided its focus was sustainability in the NDIS, therefore the RAP’s focus was to create ongoing awareness, staff participation and community engagement in important events such as NAIDOC week, Share our Pride program and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Children’s Day.

Advocacy and leadership within the sector are extremely important, especially within the landscape of the NDIS and ensuring families and children’s needs are being met. Our CEO, John Forster, with support from the Board and the Leadership Team makes submissions to a range of government inquiries on the NDIS, disability and children. This ensures government and policy makers are kept abreast of issues with regard to service delivery to families and children.

Industry training also enables Noah’s Ark to lead workforce standards and innovative service delivery.Recognised by the Victorian Department of Education, Noah’s Ark is successful in many tender applications to develop and implement training. The organisation was also a finalist in the Victorian Early Years Awards in 2018 for the Let’s Chat program, a collaborative venture with schools and preschools.

Download the full 2019 Annual Report (PDF 2MB)