KEYS is open from Monday to Friday from 9.00am to 4.30pm. We are delighted to accept self-referrals and referrals from other agencies.

KEYS to Parenting and Family Support

KEYS provides:

• a free counselling service for parents and couples to address inter-generational and relationship issues that impact on raising children.
• a free home visiting program supporting parents to develop routines and practices to enhance positive parenting - positive communication, setting boundaries, guiding children's behaviour, promoting good health - work, rest and play!
• a support service for women with mental illness, including mothers with post natal depression.
• free school holidays workshops at our centre for primary-school aged children.

KEYS to Nutrition

KEYS provides a free, customised in-home service for families, and community workshops, promoting good nutrition. The program continuez the popular Good Grub - The Importance of Eating Well and Good Grub on a Budget workshops, and features Good Grub for Happy Mealtimes.

KEYS to School

Located at Medina and North Parmelia Primary Schools , these free 'Keys2School' playgroups are designed to break down the barriers between home and school - preparing the children for the next big adventure into the world of school. Parents and carers share the experience with their children and are guided by KEYS' staff - a teacher, a teacher's assistant and often a dedicated volunteer.

KEYS to Play

Playgroups are a wonderful way to get parents, grandparents and carers together with their children in a non-threatening and fun environment. KEYS' values these opportunities to get to know families better and to build positive, trusting relationships with the adults and children. KEYS' staff model positive ways to communicate and guide children's behaviour - always promoting the importance of play in a child's development. Playgroups enable the staff to link participants with other KEYS' services and also those in the wider community. KEYS' services are free of charge.

Currently KEYS is running three playgroups at our premises in Medina :

• a KEYS to Rhymes guided playgroup from 11.30am to 12.30pm on Mondays, building on the popular Mother Goose program;
• a Foster Carers' playgroup on Tuesday mornings from 9.30am to 11.00am, featuring guest speakers; and
• a KEYS to Play social group for local parents and carers, on Thursday mornings from 9.00am to 11.00am.

KEYS to Safety

KEYS' believes that every child has the right to feel safe and to learn the life skills that will help to keep them safe. Thanks to the support of the Alcoa Foundation, KEYS has introduced the Protective Behaviours program to Kwinana; particularly at North Parmelia and Medina Primary Schools , and on request to other community groups. KEYS' runs workshops for small groups of at-risk children and their parents at our premises in Medina .

Parents report to KEYS' staff that bullying behaviour is a great concern to them. Our experience has shown that schools can create a positive culture by recognising this issue and introducing Protective Behaviours and other strategies like the Values Program . KEYS' home visiting and counselling services also assist families with positive communication skills which promote harmonious living. We recognise that safety is a matter for all parts of the community and the home and school are great points of contact for our work.

KEYS to Literacy

This program cuts across all aspects of KEYS' programs and focuses on the promotion of reading, enjoying stories together, accessing age-appropriate texts and using the town library.

KEYS coordinates and promotes Kwinana's Let's Read program.