The Little Village Project

Project summary:

The Little Village Project (LVP) is a community-led initiative to support vulnerable children in the Latrobe Valley. Founded by Ben Tunks, the Wellbeing Support Officer at Stockdale Road Primary School, in 2020, the project strives to collaborate with primary schools to empower their vulnerable students and help them thrive.

Led by Kindred Spirits Enterprises, the project secured a three-year partnership with the Latrobe Health Assembly in 2022, facilitating its expansion to additional schools in Latrobe City. AGL Loy Yang also committed to a three-year funding partnership, further enabling the project’s growth which is now established in three primary schools in Latrobe City.

“The Little Village Project’s a safety net catching students who would otherwise fall through the existing services’ gaps. It helps school staff feel less helpless when faced with complex issues impacting their students and families.” – Project founder and Stockdale Road Primary School Wellbeing Support Officer Ben Tunks.

To date, the project has supported 80 students by offering a range of services, including mental health care, speech therapy, and sensory support. These interventions eliminate barriers to the students’ engagement at school, enabling them to actively participate in classes and other activities, ultimately fostering a brighter and more promising future for each child.

The LVP is purposefully broad so that it can cover the very specific needs of the children it supports. Low and no-cost alternatives are always investigated and the LVP is usually only accessed when no other options are available, or if these alternative options cannot be delivered in a timely manner. The participating school, via its Wellbeing Support Officer or equivalent, submits expenditure requests to the LVP Advisory Committee, who then approve the interventions, or follow up with further questions.