How we communicate about the national Thriving Kids initiative matters for children, families and communities, especially those who are experiencing uncertainty with NDIS reforms.
That’s why the Queensland Framing Champions Group, an initiative of Queensland Kids Partnership, has collectively developed the boxed messaging below – ‘Supporting every child to thrive’. The aim is to provide consistent, accessible language that clearly introduces the Thriving Kids initiative and the opportunities for children and families.
This approach is grounded in mindset research, which shows that people do not simply respond to facts, but interpret issues through deep patterns of thinking about responsibility, community and change. Current mindset research points to the importance of strengthening a broader ‘village’ understanding: children and families do best when the relationships, services, policies and places around them are designed to support healthy development. It also helps position government as an essential partner in creating the conditions that enable families, communities and services to work together – rather than as a distant fixer or sole authority.
In this framing, the message is clear: what surrounds us shapes us, and when we strengthen the environments around children, we create more opportunities for every child to thrive. You will see this embedded in the shared message below.
SAMPLE TEXT INFORMED BY FRAMING EVIDENCE: Please feel free to use, copy and share the following wording when communicating with parents, carers and families about the national Thriving Kids initiative.
Supporting every child to thrive
Every child can grow, learn, belong and participate in everyday life when the people who care for them have the relationships, information and practical help they need.
Children learn and develop through everyday interactions with parents, carers, family and other trusted people, and through the places and communities around them. The early years, from birth to eight, are an important time for children’s health, learning and development. It’s natural to have questions about how a child is growing and developing. Having somewhere trusted to turn for clear information, reassurance or extra help can make a real difference.
Thriving Kids is a new Australian Government initiative designed to make it easier for families to find trusted information and advice, and to work out what to do next when questions arise.
By bringing families, educators, health workers, government and community organisations together, Thriving Kids strengthens the connections around children and families so they can get the information and help they need earlier. This gives every child more opportunities to grow, learn, belong and thrive.
Queensland Framing Champions Group
The Queensland Framing Champions Group is an initiative of Queensland Kids Partnership, bringing together people from across the early years and family sector who are committed to using evidence-informed framing to strengthen how we communicate about children, families and communities.
We know that our words, images and stories are powerful tools for creating understanding and building support for positive change. By using evidence-informed framing, we can communicate in ways that help families and the broader community understand the importance of early childhood and the role we all play in supporting children to thrive.
As advocates for the wellbeing and development of Queensland’s youngest children, the Queensland Framing Champions recognise the transformative power of framing in fostering understanding, collaboration and action. By applying evidence-based framing strategies developed and tested for the early years in Australia, members of the Queensland Framing Champions Group are strengthening public understanding, building support for effective policy and practice, and engaging the broader community in creating the conditions for children to thrive across our organisations and networks.
We invite you to:
– Use the boxed text ‘Supporting every child to thrive’ as a way to introduce the Thriving Kids initiative.
– Share the messaging across your networks to help build consistency so we are all ‘singing from the same song sheet’
– Join us in learning more about framing, and promoting a shared understanding of how we can support every child to thrive.
Explore more about framing:
Framing resources are available through Queensland Kids Partnership, and the Queensland Framing Champions Group stands ready to support organisations and partners to adopt this shared approach to communication.
