The Hive helped to launch the place-based initiative Check Ups Before School (CUBS) Program to help increase participation in developmental checks that support the early identification of developmental delays and disabilities before children start school. After The Hive successfully managed the project for 3 years, in 2022 the CUBS Program became embedded in Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD)’s community nursing strategy for the Mount Druitt area.
We know that families in Mount Druitt face many barriers to accessing services. CUBS operates on the ground, in the heart of the community to build trust, and reach children on the margins who would otherwise miss these crucial health screenings.
A child and family health nurse is integrated into local spaces such as preschools, playgroups, schools and community centres. This enables the holistic support of the child’s wider eco-system – educators, community workers, the nurse and the family work together to identify the child’s needs and access the right supports.
The CUBS team also holistically supports children through a speech pathologist who supports children’s speech and language needs within the childcare service, and the Hive’s Health Linker who supports families to overcome barriers accessing allied health, specialist appointments, or the NDIS through practical and brokerage supports.
The CUBS Program underwent a formal evaluation with Western Sydney University which can be found in the ‘Our Learnings’ section on our website. Through this evaluation and the success of the program, The Hive was able to advocate that this model must be adopted for Mount Druitt to ensure an increased number of children can access their developmental checks. The CUBS Program is now operated by WSLHD and is attending local preschools with support from speech pathologists, as well as available fortnightly at community locations, and still works collaboratively with The Hive’s Health Linker to navigate referrals following the assessment.
Bound by a shared goal and developed in collaboration with the community, The Hive’s initiatives enable sustainable change.
Working collaboratively with local services in four suburbs across 2770, The Hive forms a community backbone, responding to the communities needs and priorities.
