Making change happen: Communicating with families from diverse cultures

Introduction

Maria Heenan:
Hello everyone, and welcome to today's In Practice webinar, Making Change Happen: Communicating with Families from Diverse Cultures.
My name's Maria, and joining me today is Emma, and we are both Be You Consultants.
Our role is to support learning communities and organisations to implement changes that support mental health and wellbeing in your services.
So today's In Practice webinar is a follow-on from last month's In Focus webinar with Julie Ngwabi from Emerging Minds. Julie shared insights into respectful and meaningful ways of connecting with families from diverse cultural backgrounds to support children's mental health at both the educator and the service level.
And today we're going to explore examples of planning to implement goals to address gaps, needs, or opportunities around this topic. You'll be able to find the recording of last month's webinar on the Be You website.
As we come together, I'd like to pause to acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land that I'm meeting on today, the Whadjuk Noongar people. And I'd like to extend that acknowledgement to First Nations owners of land throughout Australia. I also acknowledge that Emma is on the land of the Worimi people and that she has ancestral connections to the Wiradjuri land.
I recognise that these lands have been places of teaching and learning for thousands of years and I acknowledge the important and continuing role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people play in early learning and care and in the early learning community more broadly. I invite you to take a moment now—maybe place your feet on the ground, take a breath—as you acknowledge the country that you're on today.
Before we begin, we would also like to acknowledge that the content we're about to talk about does include topics related to mental health and wellbeing. So please remember to take care of yourself during this webinar, and if at any point you feel uncomfortable, you're encouraged to take a break or step away. If you need any support, you can reach out to a trusted colleague or leader, or refer to the mental health services and support information on the page now.

Session structure

Maria Heenan:
Today's webinar will follow the structure outlined on this slide. Our aim is to provide practical examples of implementation of mental health and wellbeing goals around communicating with diverse families.
While we're exploring the examples, you might like to reflect on what being culturally competent, curious and sensitive means to you. You could also consider how you might improve communication around mental health in your service with families from diverse cultures.
While we're facilitating the discussion live today, the webinar is being recorded as our aim is for it to be used as a learning tool for services for making change.
As we progress through the discussion, we invite you to consider our key messages and how they support your planning for change around mental health and what things you'll take back to your team to shape your next steps. I'm going to hand over to Emma now.

In Focus recap

Emma Woods:
Thanks, Maria.
So let's begin by revisiting key messages from last month's In Focus webinar. Julie Ngwabi from Emerging Minds shared insights on communicating meaningfully and sensitively with families from diverse cultural backgrounds, particularly when discussing children's mental health and wellbeing.
We'll watch a short recap shortly, but before that, I'd just like to highlight a few key ideas that stood out from the webinar. Julie's insights were grounded in lived experience and highlighted three core practices: recognising the impact of language and how the language we use can have varying meanings; the importance of culturally responsive practice; and the need for self-awareness in your role as educators.
So now let's take a watch.

In Focus recap video – Julie Ngwabi

Julie Ngwabi:
We know that using culturally sensitive language is powerful in shifting perspectives and being intentional with the language that we use.
Recognising that people we connect with bring expertise and knowledge, and also being aware that they have agency and self-determination before we put on our professional heads.
Knowing that sometimes people might have experienced trauma, so being trauma-informed, allowing choice, collaborating, and being intentional in seeking to understand the whole context—because it’s so easy to think we know what’s happening for a family.
If we do that, we risk stereotyping people. Being intentional about using language that draws people in, not pushes them away.
Some strategies to shift perceptions include acknowledging parental knowledge and wisdom of families from diverse cultures and harnessing that in engagement, and considering the whole context—the cultural, social, and historic context families may be in.
This requires cultural humility and curiosity to collaborate effectively. Respectful language and interaction are essential. Culturally responsive practitioners look inward, develop self-awareness of their own biases, beliefs, and assumptions, and seek to understand context rather than viewing problems in isolation.
They are mindful of power, privilege, and the barriers families may face, and they maintain a willingness to keep learning. No one can know all cultures. We learn from the people we’re interacting with. This work is about partnership and collaboration.

Linking to the National Quality Standard (NQS)

Emma Woods:
That was just so great. Every time I hear that, there are new parts I connect with.
From this recap, I’d really like you to carry forward five key concepts.
First, taking a strength-based approach—showing curiosity and recognising the values and experiences each family brings.
Second, leading with your human head—prioritising empathy and connection before professional responses.
Third, seeking the full context to avoid assumptions and support meaningful engagement.
Fourth, practising cultural humility by staying open and respectful and being willing to learn.
And finally, reflecting on your own perspectives through ongoing self-awareness.
These concepts strongly align with partnerships with families and connect with the National Quality Standard.
Emma then explains connections to Quality Areas 1, 2 and 6, including elements relating to information for families, wellbeing and comfort, parents’ views being respected, and families being supported, with examples of culturally responsive communication, partnership, and referral to appropriate supports.

Communicating with families from diverse cultures

Maria Heenan and Emma Woods:
Maria and Emma discuss culturally sensitive language, cultural competence, and cultural curiosity as whole-service practices. They explore how these concepts look in everyday practice, including embedding cultural curiosity into service values, team discussions, open-ended questions, reflection, modelling conversations, and supporting educators with confidence through coaching and resources.
They emphasise that cultural competence is ongoing and not achieved through one-off training, and that sustained change requires intentional planning, reflection, mentoring, and embedding learning into daily practice.

Implementation principles

Emma Woods:
We make change when we focus on implementation—the how, not just the what. This includes having a clear vision, setting goals, identifying barriers and enablers, and selecting change strategies and actions.
Emma outlines Be You’s implementation principles and introduces a service story example to bring this to life.

Service story: Special World Family Daycare

Maria Heenan and Emma Woods:
Maria introduces Hana from Special World Family Daycare and outlines the service’s vision to build a mentally healthy and connected community. The discussion explores how the service strengthened educator mental health literacy as a foundation, then developed goals to increase family awareness, trust, and educator capacity.
Hana shares barriers such as stigma, language, and differing expectations around mental health, as well as enablers including strong relationships, communication, cultural and language supports, and trust-building practices.
Emma and Maria reflect on how understanding full context, language, cultural practices, and trauma-informed approaches supports meaningful progress.

Actions in practice

Hana Al Raee (video):
Hana shares practical actions including sharing culturally appropriate resources, translating information, hosting conversations with professionals, coordinator visits, in-person connections with families, and supporting families beyond childcare through community referrals.

Example of cultural curiosity in practice

Emma Woods:
Emma shares a personal story about learning to correctly pronounce a child’s name and how this small but intentional action strengthened trust and opened deeper conversations with a family.

Making change happen – summary and next steps

Emma Woods:
Change requires capacity, opportunity, and motivation. Identifying barriers and enablers, choosing appropriate change strategies, and planning clear actions are key.
Strong partnerships with families are built through respectful, culturally aware, and curious communication. Sustainable change requires clear vision, meaningful goals, and intentional planning.
Emma encourages educators and leaders to reflect on their practice and reminds participants that Be You Consultants are available to support them.

Resources and closing

Emma Woods:
Emma thanks participants, invites feedback, outlines how Be You Consultants can help, highlights relevant Be You resources, and invites attendees to the next In Focus webinar. She closes by thanking everyone for their work supporting children, families, and communities.