Caption: New St Arnaud playgroup facilitator Lisa Gillard, left, is excited to present the revamped format next month. She is pictured with fellow Northern Grampians Shire Council playgroup facilitator Lisa Wisby.
St Arnaud playgroup will resume next month with a refreshed program, led by a new facilitator with extensive early years' experience.
The playgroup, launched by Northern Grampians Shire Council earlier this year, has been on hiatus for term three.
It will resume on Monday, October 6 at St Arnaud Early Learning Centre and run for the school term.
The playgroup has a new time slot, moving from a morning session to an afternoon session, between 1.30pm and 3pm.
Mayor Karen Hyslop said she encouraged St Arnaud and district families to make the most of the shire's playgroup program.
"Our playgroup leaders have revamped the St Arnaud program, which now caters for children up to school age instead of being aimed at babies and crawlers," she said.
"Playgroups offer a wide range of benefits for parents as well as children, including opportunities for social connection between people in similar stages of life. They aim to remove barriers associated with leaving the house with young children by offering a supportive environment with an experienced facilitator on hand."
Lisa Gillard, who spent 25 years working in early years roles in the UK, Northern Territory and Victoria, has been appointed St Arnaud playgroup facilitator.
Mrs Gillard first experienced playgroup as a mother of three young children and went on to work for Playgroup Victoria as a rural playgroup development consultant.
For three years she supported existing playgroups in the Grampians and Wimmera, hosted pop-up sessions during Playgroup Library Week, worked with playgroups to host events during Children's Week and supported the creation of new playgroups.
At the end of the funded project, Mrs Gillard stepped in to run Playgroup Victoria's Rural Transition Playgroups Project.
"During this second project I worked directly with community members to start up new playgroups with the aim of actually transitioning myself out of the playgroup, as the parents now had capacity and skills to run these playgroups themselves. That was extremely rewarding," she said.
"Parents are always children's first teachers and role models. I see my role as a playgroup facilitator as supporting that work by sharing my knowledge in the playgroup setting in a fun and relaxing environment.
"I do this in various ways, but my favourite is through play, singing and sharing stories through books and imagination.
"I'm excited to be stepping back into playgroups with Northern Grampians Shire Council and I'm looking forward to working with families in the shire, as well as our great playgroup team, to bring the annual Children's Week events to St Arnaud and Stawell later in the year."
People can follow Northern Grampians Shire Council on Facebook and Instagram for updates about Children's Week, which runs from October 18 to 26.
Cr Hyslop said 'new faces' were welcome at all playgroups in the municipality.
"Our council playgroup leaders also work collaboratively with community playgroups throughout the shire, which families can attend on different days," she said.
"Our Maternal and Child Health team also plays a role at council-run playgroups and attend sessions to talk about topics such as feeding, sleeping and dental health. This means if new mums did not attend the more formal mothers group program, they are still receiving some of the same information."
Cr Hyslop said playgroup facilitators could also offer independent support for families.
"They can actually provide in-home support to anyone who may need an extra hand navigating situations such as challenging child behaviour or families navigating the changes that come with going from one child to two," she said.
"They focus on building parents' confidence and providing support that is less formal than seeing a GP or mental health practitioner."
People can visit www.ngshire.vic.gov.au/Community/Family-and-Childrens-Services/Playgroup
