Karla Kuliny

Children and young people have a right to feel and be safe. Without safety, children and young people cannot heal and thrive. A sense of safety and wellbeing comes from trusting relationships and a sense of belonging and connection.

Kaadininy comes from the Noongar language meaning ‘listening and learning’. Connected meaningful concepts of hearing, thinking and understanding provide instructions for how we attend to stories and take the meanings into our work appropriately with Aboriginal peoples. Tuning into stories also requires attention to the silences and the spaces in between, drawing on many senses beyond what is heard. The words and meanings teach us how to communicate and relate to each other. The listening involves hearing, thinking, and understanding to follow cultural protocol, respect people and relationships, and know how to look after country. The thinking and doing, it is about how to relate to each other and the world around us; and is a process to build relationships, be respectful and work in cultural ways. To listen with an open heart, open ears and closed mouth is also to listen when no one is talking and hearing the silence. It communicates to the person, ‘I have heard you and your story’, and is saying ‘in listening and talking to you, I am learning from you’.

The most valuable tool we bring to our role is ourselves. We believe that relationships serve as the vehicles through which children and young people are supported to heal and become resilient and strong. Children and young people rely on connection in relationships to establish a sense of self, sense of others and their place in their world. We offer relationships to children, young people families and carers that foster and build respect, openness and trust to ensure change is possible. By setting clear boundaries with consistent warmth and care, we form positive and supportive relationships with children and young people. Our role supports the architecture of network of safe and supportive relationships around children and young people that can act as resources across their lifetime.

By maintaining a focus on children and young people’s’ rights, needs, care and support, we ensure that children and young people feel valued, heard and are protected. We develop plans with and for children and young people which reflects their capacities, strengths, and agency to support them to grow and play in healthy and safe ways. Guided by principles of empowerment, we promote children and young people’s participation and acknowledge their expertise in their own lives. Aiming to lift their voices in decision making that affects them, we respect their ways of experiencing their world. We also support the engagement of children and young people in activities of their choice, such as sporting, cultural or community activities, encouraging them to pursue their interests, social networks and community connections.

By working actively in partnership with carers, families, communities and Elders, we ensure a holistic approach to meeting the needs of children and young people through inclusive planning, collaboration and decision-making processes. We acknowledge that culture is the life force that has sustained First Nations peoples and is central to the wellbeing of their children and young people. It is a spiritual and relational resource that gives First Nations peoples meaning and purpose. It outlines the way in which family is connected and defines the relational responsibilities and obligations across broader communities. We will always ensure that all children and young people are supported to maintain connections safely with family, be they birth parents, siblings, or other family members. These relationships are important to the development of their identity, as well as their feeling of belonging in the world.

We believe that children and young people can and do recover from the effects of trauma and significant disadvantage to be able to lead positive, meaningful and fulfilled lives. Children and young people are not defined by what has happened to them. Each child holds unique strengths, capabilities and hopes that should be recognised, strengthened and upheld. By ensuring that each child or young person has an individualised plan, we address their needs, ambitions and preferences in a holistic way. We support the building of a positive sense of identity, aiming for children and young people to feel good about themselves, and celebrate their successes. In supporting children and young people to make sense of their pasts, we help them to know their life story, ensuring that their lives, memories, celebrations and experiences are recorded as they grow. By providing timely access to formal and informal supports, specialist services and educational pathways, we support children and young people to prepare for what lies ahead.

We believe that diversity enriches and strengthens all communities. We embrace a definition of diversity that includes all people, regardless of age, nationality, religion, disability, gender, socioeconomic status, education, marital status, language, and physical appearance. Our definition also includes a diversity of ideas, perspectives, and values. We embed equity, access, fairness and opportunity for all children, young people, families and carers in all aspects of our work. Ensuring that inclusiveness is embedded in all our policies, processes, practices and relationships, we offer environments in which all people can be and feel welcomed, respected, supported, and valued to fully participate.

Holding a belief that development takes place continually over the course of a person’s life, we see how current and future stages of development are inextricably linked to our past. Thus, each stage must be understood in the context of other earlier life stages. All people, but especially children and young people need an enduring network of people with whom they feel connected, and who can act as relational resources for them into their futures beyond our care. We support, strengthen, and empower relationships between children, young people and their families, carers, friends, and communities.

We believe that children, young people, families, carers and communities share a fundamental right to shape their own lives. Whilst self-determination can mean different things to different people, we commit to providing opportunities for meaningful participation, equity and equality with respect and integrity. We support children, young people, families and carers to understand their needs, desires, interests, strengths, and limitations and use this information to make choices with self-confidence. We support children, young people, families and carers to be strong advocates in their own lives.

Our strong focus on delivering high quality care and support to children, young people, families and carers is driven by a commitment to, and processes that support continuous improvement. We will continue to ensure the utilisation of robust processes for feedback from children, young people, families, carers, staff and other key stakeholders. Our team will be supported through clear leadership structures that resource and support quality practice and is enabled to share ideas for practice improvement. We are committed to evaluation and the use of evidence-informed practices in our work.