Early Childhood
Services
The NDIA extended our contract as an NDIS Partner in
the Community.
to June 2027.
Our performance
23,571 children and families
supported across
5 regions in NSW
3,332 children from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds
2,084 children from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) backgrounds
6,279 Early Connections
1,002 Early Supports
6,202 Scheme Access Support
7,188 Plan reassessments
8,999 Plan implementation
7,960 Check-ins
As an NDIS Early Childhood Partner in the Community, Northcott works with families and carers of children aged 0-9 years. Our focus is on supporting children to develop the skills to participate in everyday activities and reach their full potential.
Since 2018, our Early Childhood team has supported tens of thousands of children and their families. Our team works in Western and Northern Sydney, the Hunter New England area, Mid North Coast and Northern NSW.
In this time, Northcott has achieved “high” performance ratings against measures set by the NDIS.
In FY2024-25, our team was recognised for consistently strong results across all five service regions. This performance reflects the team’s excellence in service delivery and Northcott’s commitment to achieving positive outcomes for children and families.
Key highlights from our FY2024-25 performance include:
81%
of families were satisfied with the service they have received from Northcott.
93%
of families were connected with at least one service in their local community. These connections strengthen supports for children outside of the NDIS.
Supporting our Early Childhood team
All Early Childhood staff completed training in The Common Approach.
The leadership team completed The Leaders Mindset Program.
The Common Approach is developed by the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY). It is an evidence-based course that teaches participants to work collaboratively with families to support a child’s wellbeing. The course focuses on strength-based and family-centred approaches.
Our Early Childhood leaders attended The Leaders Mindset Program training with renowned coach and speaker, Cathy Burke. This program focuses on the power of mindset in leadership. It helped our leaders strengthen their ability to lead with resilience and vision.
Looking ahead
In the coming year, we will continue to build the capabilities of our team through targeted training opportunities. This will include:
- Hanen’s SPARK Communication training which focuses on coaching parents to support communication
- Bringing Up Great Kids program developed by the Australian Childhood Foundation. This program helps families to build their confidence and improve relationships with their children.
By upskilling our team, we ensure Northcott remains a leader in early childhood intervention, supporting positive outcomes for children, families and communities.
Community Capacity Building
Three impactful inclusion projects were completed to promote inclusion in communities.
As an NDIS Early Childhood Partner, Northcott plays a key role in building the community’s capacity to support children with developmental delays or disability. This includes working with community and mainstream services to increase their awareness and provide skills and resources to create more inclusive environments and improve outcomes for all children.
This year, our Early Childhood Community Capacity Building team delivered three projects to improve inclusion for children with developmental delay, development concerns or disability.
Under our new contract, there will be a shift in focus from community-based support to individual capacity building. As a result, Community Capacity Building activities concluded on 30 June 2025.
Supporting Aboriginal playgroups
The team collaborated with Playgroup NSW, families, playgroup facilitators and cultural leaders to support Aboriginal communities to create more inclusive playgroups.
To address barriers to inclusion such as traditional beliefs, socio-economic factors, language and education, the team developed culturally appropriate resources and strategies to support Aboriginal-specific playgroups.
Positive interactions with playgroups and community leaders resulted in more children with developmental delay attending playgroups. Facilitators and families reported growing confidence and engagement.
Partnering with ECEC services
In response to data that shows that many children start school without early support, Northcott worked with early childhood education and care (ECEC) services to improve their understanding of available resources and referral pathways.
Through training and knowledge sharing, 75% of participating services reported more frequent and effective developmental conversations with families. Additionally, 80% introduced ongoing processes and tools to strengthen inclusion regardless of staff turnover.
Inclusive community sport
The Northcott team shared resources and knowledge to support local sporting clubs and councils to build skills and confidence to create inclusive spaces for children with developmental delays and concerns.
Our team fostered relationships with peak sporting bodies and local organisations to help clubs become more welcoming and confident in supporting all children.
As a result of this project, parents of children with disability reported feeling more included, and clubs saw increased registrations from children with developmental concerns.
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