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A First Nations organisation led by First Nations communities in Australia

From infants to Elders, we work with entire communities over a 25-year period to make real and lasting change.

We are disrupting the status quo where children live with injustice and disadvantage.

We are celebrating culture, recognising talent, inspiring hope, delivering excellence and creating opportunity.

Children’s Ground is an evidenced-based approach, designed with First Nations leaders to achieve radical reform.

IT IS POSSIBLE AND IT IS HAPPENING

What do communities want? The very best for their children.


The Children’s Ground Approach: 

Every child born today should experience a lifetime of opportunity, entering adulthood strong in their identity and culture, connected to their local and global world, and economically independent.

If all children can experience this basic right, then whole communities will enjoy wellbeing.

We have ten operational principles and we integrate services across five key areas. Together, they address social, cultural and economic wellbeing. We align these with cultural knowledge and global leading practice.

We are creating the evidence, over 25 years, to create systems change.

Our Platforms

Learning & Wellbeing

  • Early childhood learning
  • First Nations learning and development (including Learning on Country)
  • Western learning and development (including English literacy and numeracy)
  • Digital and global knowledge
  • After hours and holiday extracurricular activities
  • Development of First Nations curriculum and language resources

Family Health & Wellbeing

  • First Nations and Western health systems
  • Nutrition
  • Health promotion
  • Maternal and child health
  • Social and emotional wellbeing
  • Environmental health
  • Cultural health
  • Health and emotional literacy integrated into learning

Economic Development & Wellbeing

  • Creating a strong, local workforce
  • Implementing a flexible, ‘no barriers’ approach to employment
  • Establishing First Nations social enterprises
  • Providing meaningful training opportunities
  • Supporting financial and consumer literacy
  • Economic and skills development in curriculum

Community Development & Wellbeing

  • Creating places of safety and inclusion
  • Supporting strong, local governance
  • Building the social, cultural and economic capital of communities
  • Providing opportunity for moments of celebration
  • Listening to the aspirations of the people

Creative and Cultural Development & Wellbeing

  • First Cultural practice: lore, dance, story, song, art, land, ceremony
    • Global creative and cultural knowledge and practice


    Alice Springs doesn’t need a ‘solution’. Our children need agency

    To have agency is to have a voice and to be able to use it, writes Arrernte Elder and founding chair of Children's Ground William Tilmouth in Crikey.

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    Uncle William Tilmouth has seen years of alcohol reform in Alice Springs. He's certain it isn't the solution.

    Uncle William Tilmouth has seen alcohol bans come and go in his hometown of Mparntwe (Alice Springs). He has little faith the new reforms, announced in response to the wave of unrest there, will be any different.

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    Where Children’s Ground works

    Donors sustain our work. Donate to Children’s Ground today or check out our books in First languages.