Save the Children's Marie Stuart had a very different upbringing to most people.

Her parents ran boys' homes in rural New South Wales, where at one point there were 120 boys, Marie and her two siblings,and a whole host of social workers and support staff. It's not surprising then that Marie also decided to work with children and is now Save the Children Australia's Early Childhood Care and Development Adviser. We spoke to her about Save the Children's Intensive Supported Playscheme program and why early childhood education is so important.

What is Save the Children Australia's Intensive Supported Playscheme program?

Just think: fun, laughter, games, and lots of children playing and talking! It's a very lively and happy place to be.

In technical terms, a ‘Supported Playscheme' is essentially a playgroup with structured activities that is staffed by early childhood workers (unlike normal playgroup which is unstructured and parents and kids come along to play as they like). The structure is important as it builds familiarity and routine. Research has found that vulnerable families can be reluctant to access services (such as health care or even banking) because they are unfamiliar and the language used by professionals can be quite daunting.

Kids and parents come along to our Playscheme where each week the structure is similar - play, sing, read a book as a group, and have a snack together before home time. The ‘Intensive' part of our Intensive Supported Playscheme is our Family Support Workers who get to know families during the two-hour weekly play session, and visit them outside of these hours to provide extra support where needed.

Our Playscheme program runs in over 80 locations throughout Australia in rural and urban areas, giving thousands of children access to fun, yet essential, learning activities.

How do Family Support Workers help?

As an example, we take our Intensive Supported Playscheme program into caravan parks in Queensland. Vulnerable families often live in caravan parks as it requires less forms and identity checks than government or rental housing.

One of our Family Support Workers learnt about a mum who was living in the caravan park with her children to escape an abusive partner. A warrant was also out for her arrest due to a minor police charge. The mum was too scared to ask the police about the charge because she feared her children would be put into foster care.

The mum had been in care when she was growing up and had been abused by her foster carer. She was afraid that this would happen to her own children. All she wanted to do was protect her children. The Family Support Worker - after much research and discussions with the mum - spoke to the police. She learnt that all the mum had to do was pay a $500 fine and the charge would be dropped.

The relieved mum spent three months raising the money and was able to pay the fine. And she has turned her life around; she has moved into her own home with her children, is attending TAFE and the future is looking more secure.

Around 80% of families in our Intensive Supported Playscheme program have experienced intergenerational poverty, abuse, unemployment, welfare dependency, crime and violence. In many cases our work is about breaking this cycle.

Why do families attend our program rather than other early childhood development centres?

In many cases we go to the communities, rather than the communities coming to us. For example in the Tiwi Islands kids run to the Playscheme when the bus arrives - they love it! But if we didn't come to the community and parents had to drive to a fixed location, fewer children would attend our program. In many cases parents don't have a car or money for transport, making attendance difficult.

All of our Playschemes are also free of charge, which means families aren't burdened by the cost. Our staff are highly trained and very welcoming and friendly, which helps to break down barriers and encourage new parents and kids to the program. We also run the program in difficult environments.

For example, our Playscheme goes to a women's prison in Queensland, giving children a chance to play with their mums. We also run a program in South Australia where kids under protection orders can bond with their parents once a week 

Shouldn't the Government be providing this service?

Actually, the Government - both Federal and State - do fund some of our Playschemes. We receive significant support from the Australian Government Department of Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs. The rest of the money comes from our donors and support from the general public. I'd really like to thank our supporters for their help in continuing this important program; together we are helping the most vulnerable children in Australia.

Find more about our playscheme and early learning centres.