Katy Haire

The ACT Education Directorate is a proud sponsor of Children’s Week. It continues to be a great pleasure to join the ACT Children’s Week festivities as our community celebrates the Territory’s children and young people and their right to enjoy their
childhood.

This year the theme is ‘Children have the right to a standard of living that is good enough to meet their physical and mental needs. The government should help families who cannot afford to provide this’.
The ongoing impact of the pandemic has seen increased pressures on community supports and services. It is heartening to see school communities, including staff, students, families, and volunteers coming together to prioritise the needs of young children in our community. I commend the ACT Children’s Week Committee on their commitment through the interruptions of the past two years.

Within ACT schools, students, staff, families, and communities can be proud of the initiatives, support systems and community cultures they continue to grow. These efforts go a long way to enable individual children and families within school communities to feel supported and have their needs met.

One illustration of the commitment of school communities is the 55 school communities who have accessed ACT Education Directorate’s Parent Engagement Grants over the past two years. This initiative has provided opportunities to strengthen community connections and maximise children’s learning and wellbeing outcomes.

I look forward to being part of the many ACT Children’s Week activities available this year and would like to acknowledge the support of parents, carers, teachers and the communities associated with the wellbeing of children and young people. I thank the schools, community groups and organisations who are hosting ACT Children’s Week events in 2022.

Please join me as we celebrate the children and young people of Canberra during
Children’s Week 2022.

Katy Haire
Director-General
ACT Education Directorate