When communities lead the conversation, solutions become stronger, more sustainable, and more meaningful. Here’s how listening is reshaping early years outcomes in Derby and beyond.
Imagine someone walks into your home and immediately starts planning a renovation.
They don’t ask what you love about the space. They don’t ask what’s working – or what’s not. They simply diagnose and prescribe.
They decide your bathroom must go. After all, it looks dated. Surely, you’d want something newer.
But what they don’t realise is that it’s your favourite room. It’s full of character. In fact, it’s the space you want the rest of your home to be inspired by.
Meanwhile, unnoticed by your enthusiastic “helper”, there’s a hole in the roof quietly leaking into your kitchen.
The wrong problem is being solved.
This is what happens when assumptions replace listening.
Unless those with lived experience are actively shaping the solutions, even well-intentioned efforts can miss the mark.
It’s like changing your car’s tyre when you’re actually out of fuel.
Community change is no different.
That’s what makes the Early Years Partnership (EYP) different.
Communities speak. We listen – and then we fund.
And we work alongside governments, stakeholders and local community organisations to ensure power and decision-making are shared.
Across four sites – Derby, Armadale West, Bidyadanga and Central Great Southern – the partnership has demonstrated something powerful: that when we truly listen to community, and fund what matters to them, we can change things for the better.
That’s why EYP Community Plans are co-designed and locally led. This means local working groups are always chaired by people who live in community and the partnership places children and families at the centre of decisions about how services are delivered. This approach recognises that communities are best placed to understand their own needs.
EYP plans:
- Use evidence-based, co-designed approaches that build on local strengths and knowledge
- Partner communities with subject matter experts, leading researchers and practitioners to co-define problems and co-design solutions.
- Bring together government, community and service providers to coordinate efforts
- Encourage data sharing and collaboration to tailor responses to each community
This approach is what we call “scaling deep.”
We spoke to Communities team member Jacqualine Craigie about Minderoo’s distinctive approach to place-based systems change.
To Jackie, scaling deep means looking up, down, in and out.
“When you’re dealing with place-based work, you need to understand the historical and current context. You need to map the community and constantly test your own assumptions. You might think, ‘They need this’ – but they don’t.”
Scaling deep isn’t just about delivering programs. It’s about redesigning systems with community, from discovery and deep listening, through to co-design and long-term delivery.
Listening in action: the Derby Early Learning and Family Centre.
Derby is a remote community 220km north of Broome. It is the home to the Nyikina and Warrawa people and sits on King Sound, near the Fitzroy River.
In Derby, weather shapes daily life, with hot and wet conditions typical from November to March, followed by dry and warm months from April onward.
Through the Early Year Partnership co-design and community planning, the Derby community championed the need for a purpose-built, culturally safe place to support children and their families in the early years of life – a long held community vision for almost twenty years.
Recently, we announced funding for the Derby Early Learning and Family Centre, from Minderoo alongside state and federal governments. This centre is expected to open in 2029.
It will be owned and operated by Ngunga Group Womens Aboriginal Corporation and will provide culturally safe early childhood education for First Nations children. Its design draws inspiration from the boab nut (larrkardiy), symbolising connection to Country and Culture.
It will offer:
- Early childhood education
- Playgroups
- After-school care
- School holiday programs
- Occasional care (crèche)
- Family workshops and training
- Access to allied health and support services
Importantly, this work has already begun with workforce development underway.
The Early Years Partnership has connected the community with the early years and families services in unexpected ways.
The Early Years Partnership has built stronger relationships and strengthened trust between services and the community, bridging the gap between the two. It has also created a common language in community about the importance of the early years.
As momentum builds toward the opening of the culturally inspired Early Learning and Family Centre, the Derby community hopes to see strong, happy children who are school-ready, healthy and supported – and parents who feel confident and empowered to walk alongside them.
Because when you invest in little ones, the benefits are felt for generations.
And when we listen rather than tell, solutions become stronger, and impact runs deeper.
That’s where the real, lasting change happens.
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