Invite your MP to your centre MP ACTION KIT
MP ACTION KIT Why invite your MP? Federal Members of Parliament hold huge influence both in your local area and in the formation of national early learning and childcare policy in Canberra. Right now, the Federal Government is putting together a new families package including a complete review of the childcare benefit and rebate. With the Federal Budget in May, we have a narrow window to show the Government how important quality early learning and affordable childcare is for Australia s families. In 7 easy steps, this guide will take you through what you need to do to invite your Federal MP to visit your centre. The guide focuses on Federal Members of Parliament and encourages you to involve the families at your centre for maximum impact. If your MP has already visited your centre, you might like to follow up with a visit to their office with some of your families to show your MP just how important quality early learning is to their constituents. Please, if you have any queries at anytime, send an email to info@thesmartstart.com.au - we re here to give you the support you need to make sure the visit is a success. Warren Entsch MP, Member for Leichhardt with Erin Beerenfels, the Centre Director of Mossman. 1 Who s my MP? If you don t know your MP, go to: http://www.aph. gov.au/senators_and_members/members and type the postcode of your centre into the search box. The site will bring up your local member of parliament, along with your senators. Click through the links to find your MP s contact details. 2 Timing timing timing It s all about timing. We have a narrow window to show the Government how important quality early learning and affordable childcare is. The new early learning and childcare package will be announced in a matter of weeks, so visits should be scheduled as soon as possible. Call your MP s electorate office, and ask to speak with the MP s diary manager. Tell them you d like to invite the MP for a visit and you re calling to 2
MP ACTION KIT see if there is a suitable time before you send the invitation. If your MP is unable to visit your centre in person, you could offer to schedule a meeting with him/ her at their electorate office instead. Another consideration on timing is what time of the day might be best for your centre. The idea is for the MP to hear from families as well as you, so scheduling the meeting at afternoon pick up might ensure more of your families are available to participate. This way, your MP will be able to hear how important early learning is from as many people as possible. 3 Contact your MP s electorate office Email your MP we ve attached a sample invitation, or use these tips to write your own. Your email/letter should: Introduce yourself and explain why affordable, quality early learning and care is important to you and the families at your centre. Highlight how your centre gives children the best possible start in life, such as how you help them to develop good communication and social skills, build resilience, practice motor skills and develop basic literacy and numeracy. Invite your MP to come and visit your centre, or offer to visit their office, meet with families and discuss early learning and childcare in their electorate. Ideas for visits: Time with an event such as graduation ceremony Engage the MP in a project the centre is working on Invite them to a working bee Host a community day 5 Get ready Before the visit, there are a few things you can do to be ready. Think about what you ll say. Have the Smart Start fact sheets available, you can find them at /resources. Talk about the specific accomplishments and quality programs run by your centre. Tell your staff and families what s happening and what you aim to achieve from the visit. Encourage them to participate and talk to the MP. Prepare a spot at your centre where you can take photos with your MP on the day. A few days before the visit, give the electoral officer a call to confirm the appointment. 4 Follow-up Follow up your email to your MP with a phone call if you have not had a response within a week. Check on the MPs availability and ask if they would like to RSVP. When your MP appointment is secured, make sure you recieve written or emailed confirmation. 3
MP ACTION KIT 6 On the day Here s a simple step-by-step guide of how to structure the visit Greeting when the MP arrives, meet him/her at the front gate, introduce yourself and all staff members by name and positon as you walk through the centre. Tour show the MP around your centre, emphasise the work you do, who it affects and how important affordable, quality early learning is to families, children and the community. Transition to talk about issues Thank you for making time to visit us. I d like to speak to you about the issues around affordable, good quality early learning in our area. Ask your families to share their stories with the MP. Let the MP know how important the centre is and why families would be concerned if quality and affordability was put at risk. Take some photos of the visit, including a group picture with the MP, children, their parents and key staff members. Ask the MP to hold up the We support Smart Start sign (contained in this kit or at www.thesmartstart. com.au/resources) for inclusion on the Smart Start website. Offer your sincere thanks for your MP s interest and tell them you look forward to a continuing partnership between your centre and his/her office. 7 After the visit Here s what you need to do: Follow-up. A few days after the visit, send your MP a letter thanking them for their time and reiterating some of the things you talked about on the day. A sample letter is attached in this guide and at www.thesmartstart.com. au/resources. MPs will appreciate electronic copies of any photos taken on the day too. Let the Smart Start team know how your visit went. Send us an email at info@thesmartstart. com.au as well as a couple of your best photos for use in our social media and on our website. If you use social media, you might like to upload a few photos yourself. Share with your families, friends and the Smart Start team. If you have any questions or would like more information, email info@thesmartstart.com.au. You can publish you MP photos on /supporters 4
MP ACTION KIT - sample letters Sample letters Sample invitation letter to MP s [TITLE: MR/MS/HON][NAME OF MP] Member for [ELECTORATE] [ADDRESS LINE 1] [ADDRESS LINE 2] Sample Invitation Letter to MP [DATE] Dear [TITLE][NAME OF MP], Invitation to visit [YOUR EARLY LEARNING SERVICE] [NAME OF CENTRE] provides high quality early learning for [NUMBER OF CHILDREN] in [ELECTORATE]. At [NAME OF CENTRE] we are passionate about providing high quality early learning and childcare. Our quality programs include [PROVIDE EXAMPLES SUCH AS PLAY BASED LEARNING] I am writing to invite you to visit our centre and meet families of our children at [ADDRESS OF YOUR CENTRE], on [DATE] at [TIME] or a date that may be more convenient. As you know the Government is currently reviewing all of its policies on childcare and early learning with a new package to be announced in weeks. We would welcome the opportunity to speak to you about what we believe needs to be included in the package and hear directly from families about their concerns. Everyone benefits from affordable, quality early learning. Children start school ready to learn and they finish school ready to work, while more women are able to re-enter the workforce and disadvantaged children receive the support they need before they start school and lide journey. Investing in early learning is one of the most cost-effective investments a government can make in our future. We would be pleased to welcome you to our service to discuss solutions to ensure that neither affordability nor quality are compromised in the new childcare package. Yours sincerely, [Centre Director] [TITLE: MR/MS/HON][NAME OF MP] Member for [ELECTORATE] [ADDRESS LINE 1] [ADDRESS LINE 2] Dear [TITLE][NAME OF MP], Sample Follow up letter Sample follow-up letter to MP [DATE] I am writing to thank you for your visit to [NAME OF CENTRE]. Our staff and the families who use our centre appreciated your visit and the opportunity to speak to you about affordable, quality early learning. As we discussed when we met, the first five years of a child s life are vital and quality early learning is essential to help children reach their full potential. In order to ensure all children can access high quality early learning, we need: - more funding for early learning and childcare to make it more affordable - more support and access to early learning and childcare for children who are vulnerable or disadvantaged - continued support for quality through improved ratios and qualified educators. Only a commitment to quality standards AND additional funding will allow our children (and our nation) to reach their full potential. Investing in quality early learning is one of the most cost effective investments a government can make in our nation s future, leading to higher productivity and economic growth. We trust you will work to ensure your government delivers quality early learning as well as affordable care for our children and familes. [YOUR CENTRE] very much enjoyed your recent visit and look forward to future opportunities to work with you to secure the best future for Australia s children. Yours sincerely, [HEAD OF CENTRE) These letters are available to download at /resources 5
I support