support services
Community Participation & Support
Northern Star Supports provides experienced and compassionate Support Workers who assist children, young people, and families to participate more fully in everyday life. Our Support Workers focus on building independence, confidence, and community participation, while supporting individual goals identified by the participant and their family. Supports are delivered in a respectful, strengths-based way and are tailored to each person’s needs. Support Workers may assist with: ✔ Community access and participation ✔ Social skills and peer interaction ✔ Daily living and routine-based supports ✔ Emotional regulation and confidence building ✔ Skill development to promote independence ✔ Support during outings, activities, and programs ✔ Water-based activities and aquatic programs All NSS Support Workers are Aus Swim trained, ensuring they are equipped to safely support participants during swimming and water-based activities. This provides families with confidence that safety, supervision, and skill development are prioritised in aquatic environments. Our Support Workers work closely with families and the wider NSS team, including Allied Health professionals and Key Workers, to ensure supports are consistent, safe, and goal-focused. Services can be delivered in the home, community, educational settings, or as part of group activities, supporting participants to engage meaningfully in environments that matter to them.
Face to face support at our engagement facilities
Northern Star Supports provides face-to-face Early Childhood and Allied Health supports delivered flexibly across home, community, educational, and clinic-based settings, ensuring families can access support in the environment that best suits their child and family. Face-to-face supports may be delivered: in the home in the community within early learning or educational settings at our clinic located at 152 Barton Street, Kurri Kurri 2327 Our supports include: ✔ Speech Therapy ✔ Occupational Therapy ✔ Physiotherapy ✔ Key Worker / COS (Coordinator of Supports) ✔ Community Access supports ✔ Early childhood intervention ✔ Parent and carer coaching ✔ Collaborative, multidisciplinary sessions Our engagement facilities and community-based supports are designed to promote participation, independence, and skill development through play-based and goal-focused activities. Families are actively involved to support learning beyond sessions and into everyday routines. We take a family-centred, strengths-based approach, ensuring supports are practical, meaningful, and aligned with each child’s goals. Face-to-face services can be delivered on their own or alongside telepractice and other flexible supports as part of a responsive service model.
Play group & social encountering suport
Northern Star Supports provides playgroup and social engagement supports that encourage children to build skills, confidence, and connections through play and shared experiences. Our play-based and social supports focus on helping children: develop communication and social interaction skills build confidence engaging with peers practise turn-taking, sharing, and group participation strengthen emotional regulation and independence learn through play in a safe, supportive environment Playgroups and social sessions are guided by experienced staff and may be supported by Early Childhood professionals, Allied Health practitioners, and Community & Support Workers, depending on the needs of the group. These supports provide families with opportunities to: connect with other families observe and learn practical strategies receive informal guidance in a relaxed setting Playgroup and social engagement supports may be delivered at community venues, early learning environments, or NSS engagement facilities, and are designed to complement individual therapy and early intervention goals.
Early Childhood Education and Care Sector Capacity Building
Northern Star Supports works alongside early childhood education and care services to build the knowledge, confidence, and skills of educators supporting children with additional needs. Rather than focusing only on individual children, our capacity-building approach supports educators, teams, and services to embed inclusive practices into everyday routines. This helps create sustainable, supportive environments that benefit all children. Our capacity-building supports may include: ✔ Coaching and mentoring for educators ✔ Practical strategies to support communication, regulation, motor skills, and participation ✔ Inclusion support for children with developmental delay or disability ✔ Collaboration between educators, families, and Allied Health professionals ✔ Support with routines, transitions, and classroom environments ✔ Professional development sessions tailored to service needs We take a strengths-based, collaborative approach, working within the service context to ensure strategies are realistic, meaningful, and easy to implement. Our supports are informed by evidence-based early intervention practices and aligned with NDIS and early childhood frameworks. By building educator capacity, we support services to feel confident and equipped to meet the diverse needs of children, now and into the future.
Tele practice Early Childhood and Allied Health Supports
Northern Star Supports offers telepractice services for Early Childhood and Allied Health supports, providing families with flexible, high-quality access to therapy regardless of location. Telepractice is a cost-effective option that reduces the need for travel, helping families maximise their funding by focusing resources on therapy support rather than travel time. This approach also allows us to reach families in rural, remote, or underserviced areas, where access to Allied Health professionals may be limited. Our therapists work with families via secure online platforms, delivering interactive, practical sessions that support children in their natural environments, such as the home or early learning setting. A strong focus is placed on parent coaching, capacity building, and everyday routines, ensuring strategies are meaningful and easy to implement. Telepractice supports may include: ✔ Speech Therapy ✔ Occupational Therapy ✔ Early childhood and developmental supports ✔ Parent and carer coaching ✔ Collaboration with educators and other professionals Telepractice can be delivered on its own or alongside face-to-face services as part of a blended model of care, depending on family needs and goals. All telepractice services are delivered using evidence-based approaches and align with NDIS best practice guidelines.
Best practice evidence based best practice early intervention
At Northern Star Supports, our early intervention services are grounded in evidence-based practice and delivered in ways that are meaningful, practical, and family-centred. We use approaches that are supported by current research and aligned with NDIS best practice, focusing on what makes the biggest difference in a child’s everyday life. Our team works collaboratively with families to build skills through play, routines, and real-world experiences, rather than isolated therapy tasks. Our practice is guided by: ✔ Research-informed intervention strategies ✔ Individualised goal setting based on each child’s strengths and needs ✔ Family-centred and strengths-based approaches ✔ Capacity-building for parents and carers ✔ Collaboration across disciplines, including Speech Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Early Childhood educators ✔ Ongoing reflection, professional development, and outcome monitoring We believe early intervention is most effective when it is consistent, responsive, and embedded into daily routines, supporting children to develop communication, independence, and confidence over time.