MP ACTION KIT

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Invite your MPto your centre

MP ACTION KIT

www.thesmartstart.com.au2

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.

Why invite your MP?

We have a narrow window to

show the Government how

important quality early learning

and affordable childcare is.

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.

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

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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 offi ce 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 offi ce

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 offi ce, meet with families

and discuss early learning and childcare in their

electorate.

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 confi rmation.

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 readyBefore 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 fi nd them

at www.thesmartstart.com.au/resources. Talk

about the specifi c 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 offi cer a

call to confi rm the appointment.

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6 On the dayHere’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.

• Off er your sincere thanks for your MP’s interest

and tell them you look forward to a continuing

partnership between your centre and his/her

offi ce.

7 After the visitHere’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 onwww.thesmartstart.com.au/supporters

www.thesmartstart.com.au5

MP ACTION KIT - sample letters

These letters are available to download atwww.thesmartstart.com.au/resources

Sample Invitation Letter to MP

[TITLE: MR/MS/HON][NAME OF MP] Member for [ELECTORATE] [ADDRESS LINE 1] [ADDRESS LINE 2]

[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]

Sample follow-up letter to MP

[TITLE: MR/MS/HON][NAME OF MP] Member for [ELECTORATE] [ADDRESS LINE 1] [ADDRESS LINE 2]

[DATE] Dear [TITLE][NAME OF MP], 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)

Sample letters

Sample Follow up letter

Sample invitation letter to MP’s

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