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A quick guide and full guide are available to support you to navigate the exciting changes to the Strategic Inclusion Plan on the IS Portal introduced in June 2024.

There is a Checklist to help services to ensure your IDF Subsidy for an Additional Educator application is complete and accurate, prior to submission to your IP for endorsement.


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What is Cultural Mentoring?

Cultural Mentoring supports early childhood services to better understand and work with specific cultural groups in their community. It aims to increase the cultural responsiveness of educators and other staff and thereby facilitate greater inclusion for children, their families and communities. Cultural Mentoring can also support services to increase enrollments from specific cultural groups.

Cultural Mentoring can focus on any culture, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures.

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What does a Cultural Mentor do?

A Cultural Mentor works with a service (or services) to develop their understanding of the specific cultural group that they are seeking to work with. This usually involves providing information, advice and guidance to educators as well as working alongside educators to support them to implement this knowledge into everyday practice.

The Cultural Mentor may support educators to plan and implement culturally appropriate learning experiences for children as well as supporting them to establish and develop stronger relationships with families and the local community.

Building a service’s capacity to create connections with the local community is important to ensure the outcomes of the Cultural Mentoring project continue after the mentor leaves.

Who can be a Cultural Mentor?

Cultural Mentoring is provided by a mentor who understands, and has a connection to, the specific cultural group that the service is seeking to work with. The Cultural Mentor may be a member of the local community or someone else with the knowledge, skills and experience to undertake the role who is acceptable to the local community.

Mentors do not require formal qualifications, but applications for Cultural Mentoring support need to provide evidence that the proposed mentor is an appropriate person to undertake the role.

For projects that provide Cultural Mentoring in relation to Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander cultures the mentor must be an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person.

When is Cultural Mentoring needed?

Cultural Mentoring is needed when a service identifies that a lack of cultural understanding amongst educators is creating a Barrier to inclusion. This may be in relation to a child or children who are already enrolled at the service, or children and families in the community who are not engaging with the service because of the identified lack of cultural understanding.

In order to demonstrate a need for Cultural Mentoring, services must show that the Barriers identified are having an impact on the inclusion of children from the specific cultural group and that the proposed mentoring Project will address these Barriers.

Please note: Innovative Solutions cannot provide funding support to address Barriers to inclusion which are the responsibility of the service under the National Quality framework. This includes services’ responsibility to implement the approved Learning Framework Version 2.0 which includes providing opportunities for children to see themselves, their identities and families’ cultures reflected in their environment and to create culturally safe places.

Strategic Inclusion Plan Requirements

Before commencing a Cultural Mentoring Project application, the service must have a current Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP), documented in the IS Portal, which includes a SIP Care Environment Plan for the Care Environments who will be involved in the Project.

Please refer to the Innovative Solutions Support Guide for Services for additional information regarding SIP requirements when apply for a Cultural Mentoring Support Project.

Developing a Project Application

Inclusion Professionals (IP) play an important role in supporting services to access and implement Innovative Solutions Support Projects. Before beginning the Cultural Mentoring Project Application Process, services should consult with their IP to determine if Innovative Solutions Support, and a Cultural Mentoring Project are the best fit for their specific needs.

Individual ECEC services, including specific care environments within a service, individual Family Day Care educators, Family Day Care Services or groups of services can apply for Cultural Mentoring.

IPs are required to endorse the services application before it can be submitted to the Inclusion Development Fund Manager (IDFM) for Approval.

Developing an Innovative Solutions Support Project requires the service to:

  • Consult with their Inclusion Professional (IP)
  • Have a current Strategic Inclusion Plan (SIP)
  • Complete an Application Form including developing a Project Plan
  • Select a Support Provider and obtain a financial quote
  • Create and submit an IS Case on the IS Portal

Please refer to the Innovative Solutions Support Guide for Services for additional information regarding SIP requirements when apply for a Cultural Mentoring Support Project

Cultural Mentoring including Bilingual Support

In some cases, services may need Bilingual Support and Cultural Mentoring at the same time. This may occur where Barriers to inclusion include language Barriers as well as a lack of Cultural awareness.

There are two versions of the Cultural Mentoring Application Form. One is for Cultural Mentoring including Bilingual Support, the other is for Cultural Mentoring alone. Please use the correct form.

Application Outcomes

If funding is approved

The service will receive an email with a Letter of Offer attached, providing the details of their approved Innovative Solutions Case. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the services SIP. This letter must be signed and returned to the IDF Manager at idfminnovative@ku.com.au. Once the agreement is executed, payment will be made directly to the service from the Department.

If funding is not approved

The service will receive an email with an Application Declined letter attached. This will be sent to the Service Provider email address listed on the services SIP. The outcome of the assessment will be available as an ‘Assessment Outcome’ note on the IS Case.

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