Hippy Takes From PAFT
By Pat Albertson
PAFT – or ‘Parents as First Teachers’ -, a home-based programme for families with children under three, has enjoyed tremendous success and popularity with young parents in New Zealand since 1991.
But while parents have been demanding more funding for PAFT to reduce the long waiting lists, the government is doing the opposite: it is shifting funding from PAFT to another programme that aims to gets 4-5 year olds ready for school: HIPPY.
Here is a short journey through the 21st century acronyms of Early Childhood Education:
PARENTS AS FIRST TEACHERS (PAFT)
The PAFT programme was originally developed in Missouri, USA, and brought to New Zealand in 1991 by the then Minister of Education Lockwood Smith.
PAFT is based on the philosophy that parents are their children’s first and most important teachers, with the programme goal being to assist parents to participate more effectively in the child’s early development and learning.
The PAFT programme is aimed at the 0 – 3 age group: the crucial time where much of the child’s social, neuromuscular (movement), language and cognitive (thinking) development takes place.
In fact, neurobiology is telling us that our brain gets wired according to environmental influences in the first 2-3 years of our lives.
A trained parent educator makes monthly home visits to provide an individualised programme for each child and family, including helping parents to understand their child’s development and discussing/ demonstrating learning activities for the parents to carry out with their children.
This is supplemented with handouts, opportunities to attend group meetings and connections with community resources if required.
All this is intended to assist families gain confidence in their parenting skills so that they encourage their children’s development and learning.
HOME INSTRUCTION PROGRAMME FOR PRESCHOOL YOUNGSTERS (HIPPY)
With an acronym like HIPPY, it is surprising that this programme did not originate in the United States – rather, it was started in Israel in 1975 and only spread to America in 1984; it is currently being used on a small scale in New Zealand with a plan to markedly increase it over the next two years.
HIPPY, to quote a press release from Minister of Education the Honourable Trevor Mallard, “is a home visiting support and development programme that helps parents in disadvantaged communities to support their 4 to 5-year-olds’ learning as they get ready to start school.”
This is carried out with specific materials such as storybooks, plastic shapes and activity packets that provide parents with a structure to prepare their child for attending school.
‘Paraprofessionals’ (make a note of that word) visit each family every other week, bringing a storybook and packet of activities for that week, and on the alternate weeks the paraprofessional meets with small groups of parents to review materials, skills and other issues.
SO WHAT’S THE BIG DEAL?
Up till now PAFT has been receiving $9.7 million dollars per annum for services to families throughout New Zealand, but all that is due to change when funding is cut by $300,000 this financial year, and an ongoing $712,000 a year after that. This money will be diverted to the HIPPY programme, which serves an older age group.
To paraphrase Trevor Mallard’s press release, HIPPY is not seen as a better or worse programme than PAFT, just a different one which will help provide a good mix of services, especially in areas where many of the families need help.
All this seems very laudable but isn’t taking money from one very important service to fund another a little bit like borrowing from Peter to pay Paul? Having studied neurodevelopmental theory and early childhood development, it would seem that, although the 4 – 5 year age group is very important, it is in the earlier years that the most crucial development takes place, setting the foundations for the whole future development of the child.
Therefore, while the HIPPY programme may be excellent in many respects, it would seem extremely ill-advised to part-fund it with money taken from an even more essential programme.
In order to manage with reduced funding, there will be fewer new places in the programme, an increase in group meetings at the expense of home visits (thereby reducing the individualised nature of the programme) and the possibility that some families may be unable to complete the programme.
As for a final word about HIPPY, you may recall that dubious word ‘paraprofessional’ being used, as opposed to the trained parent educators of PAFT.
Could it be that this is a euphemism for untrained staff, or even, as rumour has it, volunteers?!
As a registered occupational therapist, member of Father & Child Trust and parent involved in the PAFT programme, I felt sufficiently strongly about these proposed changes to write to the Hon Trevor Mallard expressing my concerns that this programme is being scaled down.
The reply gave a reassurance that it was not the ultimate intention to scrap PAFT entirely, and that the service would continue to operate in a reduced format.
The service reductions would take place in specific geographical locations, eg. Southland would be effected by the changes but the West Coast would not. This is obviously good news for Coasters (at least in the meantime) but not so good for those in the Deep South.
Mr Mallard’s reply was similar to his office’s original press release in that it contained a number of possible scenarios, but little in the way of firm information, using phrases such as “a little bit different”, “… where possible”, “fewer new places available” and “… may be phased down”.
I have had meetings with non-government MPs to discuss these service changes, but with little result. It now seems certain that the reduction of funding for PAFT will go ahead as scheduled and so we can only hope that this is not part of an ongoing plan by the present government to further reduce funding to this essential early childhood programme as part of their so-called “Vote Education” strategy.
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