All groups run at various times throughout the year and are generally aligned to school term dates. Numbers are limited, so sign up early to reduce disappointment. All groups can be funded privately or through NDIS plans, where it relates to your or your child's goals.
Seedlings
Seedlings is a parent-child playgroup for children under four focusing on developing social communication and emotional regulation. Each group will reflect participating children’s individual therapeutic goals through a variety of child-led play experiences. Facilitated by qualified and experienced practitioners, the group provides opportunities for children to develop and practice the skills required for positive social interactions; communication, play skills and regulation. Small group sizes promote quality interactions with peers in a supportive environment while providing social networking opportunities for parents and carers.
Kinder Kids
This group is facilitated by Behaviour Therapists, who are qualified Early Years Teachers with experience & knowledge of this exciting time, with its fill of high hopes for positive transitions to school for each child. Our team have expertise in supporting children when behaviour affects their learning or participation in school. Whilst being offered as a group experience, Kinder Kids is flexible and responsive and is based on individual goals for your child and your family.
Sprouts
Sprouts is a parent-child playgroup with focus on school readiness and transitions to kindergarten and beyond. This group is facilitated by our qualified and experienced practitioners. Using the DIR/Floortime therapy approach, this group focuses on developmentally appropriate regulation, engagement, communication, problem-solving and development of symbolic play. This group aims to promote and upskill children to calm and concentrate, think, problem-solve and reason. This group integrates all aspects of a child’s development and learning including physical, emotional, social, creative and cognitive. This program promotes school readiness and movement to school settings with focus on transition routines, socialization, building and practicing play ideas to share in peer play settings.
Saplings
Saplings is the next group progression from the Sprouts playgroup. Parents are not required to attend this group. It is designed as a 4-week program, held after school hours. This program focusses on building social skills with peers to support problem-solving and emotional regulation in a naturalistic peer environment.
Saplings builds on higher order play skills of the floor time/DIR framework established by Stanley Greenspan and Serena Wieder in the 1980's. This program focusses on the Developmental Individual Differences and Relationships in children as they continue to develop their social communication and self-regulation strategies.
The group will have hands on themes to offer construction activities: (young engineers, nature science, mini beast worlds, working with wood and simple tools) as a partner, or team activity where the product being developed will work toward conclusion over the 4 weeks - encouraging persistence, robust ideology & developing ideas with time for re-design.
Social explorers
Social Explorers is for children aged 4 (kindergarten) – 7 years. ‘The ‘Social Explorers’ social skills group is part of the We Thinkers! series from Michelle Garcia Winner’s Social Thinking concept. It helps children build foundational social skills through stories and play. It supports children to improve their social competencies. The program aims to support children to better understand themselves and others, develop self-awareness, perspective taking, social problem solving and support their social-emotional learning, relationship building and academic learning.
Westmead Feelings Program
This program is delivered by our Psychology team and is an evidence- based group for Autistic children (8 - 12 yrs) to explore and understand their feelings and strategies to regulate their emotions along with empowering approaches to navigate the social complexities of life. Run over 5 weeks with an additional two caregiver sessions and designed to align with term dates.