Thrive by Five launches NT early education action plan

The NT’s major political parties have given their first impressions of a five-point plan to boost school engagement and tackle youth crime.

Thrive by Five NT launches the campaign's five-point action plan.

A plan to tackle the “root causes” of crime and boost school engagement has been welcomed by the Territory’s major political parties.

It comes after the Territory’s Thrive by Five campaign on Wednesday called for a $10 million investment in early childhood educators, more First Nations designed programs, and independent office, a new early learning system, and federal partnerships.

But despite the campaign’s warm welcome from Territory Labor and the Country Liberal Party, neither has given an early indication of whether they plan to implement any of the campaign’s five focus areas.

In response to the campaign, the CLP said it planned to boost early childhood outcomes by “working with communities”.

In doing so, Opposition Education Spokeswoman Jo Hersey said the CLP would “ensure kids get the support they need, are prepared for school, and understand that school attendance is the key to their future“.

“The CLP’s focus is not only to take immediate action on crime but to address root causes,” Mrs Hersey said.

“Despite speaking about early intervention, Labor have never delivered it, we can see their failure demonstrated by the ever increasing rise in youth crime.

“By improving our liveability here in the Territory, we will be able to attract more skilled workers who are invested into early education and support programs.”

Opposition Education Spokeswoman Jo Hersey. Picture: Che Chorley

Education Minister Mark Monaghan. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Education Minister Mark Monaghan also welcomed advocates’ feedback and said learning was “the most important factor in a child’s life”.

“Enhancing a child’s education before its schooling years is vital to improving overall outcomes long into the future,” Mr Monaghan said.

“The Territory Labor Government welcomes the Thrive by Five campaign and will take into consideration the Minderoo Foundation’s plan as we continue to advance education as a whole in the Northern Territory.”

Mr Monaghan said the Families as First Teachers program already focused on Aboriginal education and had been running since 2009.

“Fourteen years on, FaFT continues to grow, recording its most successful year on record in 2023 with over 530 children participating, new sites opening across the Territory in remote locations and 52 per cent of the workforce employed in FaFT being Aboriginal,” he said.

Early education action plan tackles NT youth crime

Initial, May 29: Early education advocates have pieced together a five-point plan to reduce youth crime and set the Territory’s kids up for a better academic future – but they need a major cash splash to do it.

The Territory’s Thrive by Five campaign called for a $10 million early childhood workforce fund at its launch on Wednesday.

It comes after concerns were raised last week about the accessibility of safe childcare in the NT.

Thrive by Five NT spokeswoman Sarah Rheinberger.

Thrive by Five national spokesman David Mundy.

Thrive by Five NT spokeswoman Sarah Rheinberger said the early childhood sector had a “chronic workforce shortage”.

“We don’t have enough educators who are skilled and qualified in the Northern Territory to deliver really important essential services to the families and children that need it the most,” she said.

“If we don’t follow this plan... we’re going to see children in makeshift playpens by the side of the road in unsafe workplaces.

“We’re going to see children not meeting their developmental milestones.

“We’re going to see children rolling up to their first day of school already behind, we’ll see children disengaged from school.”

The other four points of the campaign’s action plan called on the NT government to invest in an independent Early Childhood Development Office, enhance existing and establish new First Nations early years services, strike a balance with the federal government to sustainably fund early childhood services, and develop an Early Childhood Development system for kids from birth to age five.

Thrive by Five national spokesman David Mundy said doing just a “little bit” to change the course of kids’ futures while they were young could have “lifelong benefits”.

“If we can have children entering the school system ready to go, we know that will divert them (from) a track that might lead to juvenile justice systems, which then leads to corrective services in later life,” he said.

Originally published as Thrive by Five launches NT early education action plan