13 MarSupporting multilingual families to engage in kindergarten
Victorians come from more than 200 countries and speak more than 260 languages. Children who attend kindergarten programs in Victoria reflect this rich diversity.
Children from multilingual families, including children newly arrived or from a refugee background, are less likely however, than the overall population to enrol and participate in kindergarten programs. This may be because of language and communication barriers, limited awareness of services and their benefits, and hesitation around enrolling ‘so early’ in a child’s life.
In partnership with fka Children’s Services (fkaCS), the Department of Education has developed two resources to support services to engage with multilingual families:
• ‘Engaging with multilingual families’ – a guide to support kindergarten services to engage with multilingual families and overcome any communication barriers. The guide includes information about creating welcoming and inclusive environments, using different ways to communicate, promoting identity and belonging, and getting the right language supports.
• ‘Hello Kinder’ – an editable social story to support orientation for multilingual families and children. The booklet can include photos and features of the kindergarten service, including where children put their bag and play, as well as highlight routines such as drop-off and lunchtime.
These resources complement the new ‘Engaging with multilingual families about kindergarten’ interactive learning eLearning modules, which are available on the fkaCS website.
You can find further resources on the department’s Supporting CALD families to engage in kindergarten webpage, which also has links to translated information and information about free interpreter and translation services.
