This year, NAPCAN was pleased to announce the winners of the inaugural Kids CAN Awards. The ceremony was launched by NSW Minister for Community Services & Youth Reba Meagher at The Café @ Andrew 'Boy' Charlton Pool, Mrs Macquarie's Chair, Sydney, and was attended by around one hundred guests from business, media and school communities across the state. Co-ordinator and NAPCAN NSW State Manager Madelene McGrath hailed the event as a huge success, citing the importance of introducing business leaders and sponsors personally to the children and communities they support:

"From NAPCAN's perspective, the meeting of corporate sponsors with children and young adults, hearing about children's needs and the focussed way they go about changing communities for the better is the real benefit of these Awards. It is the best way to build real and lasting relationships between business and community".

Cash prizes and computers were awarded to the most effective and innovative activities and programs in three categories: Primary Schools; High Schools; Communities.

The aim of the project was to develop culturally appropriate therapeutic resources "made by children for use with children" in the counselling environment. This was achieved through the follow process:
•  The School Artwork/Card Development Workshops
•  The Strength Card Selection Process with Kempsey Primary schools and an independent primary school •  Product development process including professional photography of paintings and professional printing •  Exhibition and Launch of 'My Safe Place : Safe as Houses' strength Cards
•  Evaluation of process with children and teaching staff
•  Distribution process to Counselling services on the Mid North Coast of NSW and NSW Women's Refuges

Feedback from counsellors utilising the cards has been extremely positive. They state the cards have been a very useful tool in the therapeutic process. Hugh Rutherford (School Principle) stated in his evaluation of the project:
"This was an excellent opportunity for our students to be involved in the process of supporting other children by helping to make therapy resources. "
"It also raised their awareness of the plight of other children, who may have experienced abuse or trauma and that they can be assisted through counselling using these cards. It was great from the schools point of view to be involved in a community activity as education today is about schooling for life, not just attending school."
To read the full submission: HERE

Highly Commended by the judges:

High Schools

The top Awards for High Schools went equally to Toormina High School , Coffs Harbour , for the development of the educational program, 'Love Bites', and Cromehurst Special School for their 'Sunnydays Project'.

'Love Bites' is a school based early intervention and prevention program on sexual assault and domestic violence that has been developed for High School students on the Mid North Coast. Educators, teachers, police officers and relevant counsellors and youth workers with experience facilitate the program.

'Love Bites' is an interactive workshop that is run either in or out of school for a full day per 50 students. The program is aimed at year 9, 10 & 11 students. The full day program consists of two interactive workshops on family/domestic violence and sexual assault and then two workshops that consolidate the information by working along side students to write, perform and record a hip-hop song, and develop posters/resources around the issues of Domestic Violence and sexual assault. All students participate in the art and hip-hop workshops.

The retention rate from the program is excellent. The 6 month post workshop focus group indicated that 57% of the students felt that the program had challenged and changed their opinions on DV and sexual assault; 71% felt that it had changed the attitudes in their year, this included boys respecting girls more; 100% indicated an increased awareness in support services and 100% felt the program should be run as an integral part of the PDHPE program in all high schools. To read the full submission: HERE

'Sunnydays Project' is an innovative weekly activity program for teenagers with intellectual and physical disabilities attending Cromehurst Special School . It proves that, with proper support, our kids CAN achieve maximum independence in their social activities in their local community, and learn the skills of friendship. It became obvious in Individual Planning sessions with families in Cromehurst that our teenagers were socially isolated on weekends.

Sunnydays is open to teenagers with intellectual disabilities in Cromehurst, and teaches these teenagers the skills they need to research, plan and implement a social activity, using transport and facilities in the community. It ensures that teenagers have a fun activity focussed on their own choices on weekends, while learning skills and developing lifelong friendships.

The students have chosen a wide range of activities, from visits to Luna Park to lawn bowls. Not only did the students learn how to make choices about what they would like to do, how to get there, and what the costs would be, they developed communication skills that allowed them to become close friends.

Each year, new students join the program as they reach their teenage years, so that the older members of the group can now help the younger ones in learning social and organisational skills. To read the full submission: HERE

Students on Sunnydays trip to feed Pelicans at The Entrance

Highly Commended by the judges:

• Merrylands High School - Cultural Mentoring Program (Very Highly Comnmended)
• Cabramatta High School - CHS Concept Choir
• Condell Park High School - Women's Conference

Communities

The top Kids CAN Award for Community Groups went to North Coast Area Health for their submission, 'Grant Opportunity for School Health (GOSH)'.

This project aimed to increase physical activity levels of all students in participating schools by developing a model aimed at empowering primary school students to identify barriers to physical activity during break times at school and to plan strategies to overcome these barriers.

•  To empower year six students to identify barriers to physical activity which exist at their school
•  To assist students in designing strategies to overcome these barriers within a budget
•  To provide a small amount of funding for these strategies to be tested
•  To determine if these strategies have been successful in increasing physical activity levels of all students at break times at school.
•  To disseminate findings so that other schools can review their policies practices and environments to maximize students physical activity levels at school during break times.

This two-year project will develop, pilot and evaluate a comprehensive programme to increase the physical activity levels of children in primary schools. The project will be overseen by the North Coast Area Health Service (NCAHS) the Department of Education and Training (DET), the School of Education at Southern Cross University (SCU), and wider school communities.

All primary schools on the North Coast of NSW will be offered an opportunity to take part in the project in 2007. The impact of the program on physical activity will be evaluated by determining uptake and sustainability of the program. Process evaluation will include a review strategy implementation using digital photographs and stories form students, and feedback from the school community. To read the full submission: HERE

Highly Commended by the judges:

Highly Commended submissions also came from Guilford West's Children's Centre, Holroyd Council and Wenty's Children's Centre.