Company Profile
Jump Up For Kids
Company Overview
Jump Up for Kids is a specialised child development service that supports children, and all involved in their care, to become healthy, happy and productive adults in our busy and rapidly changing society. Jump Up For Kids exists to support the healthy development of children in our busy and complex world.
Jump Up For Kids clinic consists of over 7000m2 of wild spaces, including river access. We are Brisbane's only solely outdoor Occupational Therapy practice and uphold the belief that a connection to nature is a necessity not a luxury. As such, we embrace the outdoors, particularly natural spaces, as a powerful and effective therapeutic tool. By combining natural spaces with Occupational Therapy knowledge we aim to counteract aspects of the modern world that hinder the healthy development of children.
Jump Up For Kids provides a range of services including:
- Occupational Therapy assessment and intervention for children (0-14y) & their families
- Parent information sessions and support networks
- Professional Development Services in the health, education, childcare and community development sectors
- School holiday outdoor play programs for all children
- OSHC excursions - outdoor play days
- Consultancy and advocacy in the health, education, childcare and community development sectors
Jump Up For Kids strives to maintain the outstanding levels of service for our clients and to place itself at the forefront of Child Development within the Health, Education, Childcare and Community Development industries.
Company History
The story of Jump Up For Kids starts in 2011 when Madeline Avci began working with children, families and teachers at the school which her children attended. Having just completed a Post Graduate Diploma Education, Madeline was able to combine her OT experience with her developing knowledge of the school system, the curriculum and school cultures. Word spread amongst parents and teachers and gradually over the years Jump Up For Kids has worked in numerous schools in North Brisbane. There was a need for more practical, problem solving approach with the needs of the child and family central to the therapeutic process. For a number of years, Jump Up For Kids provided a mobile Occupational Therapy service and worked very hard to develop and maintain strong, collaborative and consistent relationships with those involved in the child’s care.
In 2014 Jump Up For Kids started offering outdoor play programs during the school holidays by the banks of the Pine River in Bald Hills. These programs aimed reduce time indoors, engaged in screen based &/or other sedentary activities by providing time, space and other children to play with, in our outdoor space. The positive outcomes for children exceeded our expectations and the holiday programs expanded over the years providing thousands of children with opportunities to play outdoors all day during their school holidays.
In 2019, Jump Up For Kids decided to more closely align two parts of our business - our clinic based Occupational Therapy (OT) services and our school holiday outdoor play programs. In January 2020 we ceased our mobile services and moved our Occupational Therapy clinic to Bald Hills, where we had run our outdoor play programs for the past five years. This gave us full time access to our amazing outdoor space, with hills to climb and slide or billy cart down, enormous trees to climb and hang tire swings, large grassy flats where you can build cubbies, slip n slide and run, a range of wildlife and access to the ever changing Pine River.
The natural space at Jump Up For Kids provides our community with opportunities for creativity, innovation, critical thinking, physical activity, coordination, reducing stress and anxiety, problem solving, negotiation, risk management, developing knowledge and awareness of the natural world and a place to ‘unplug’, focus and attend.
Jump Up For Kids is made up of a small but passionate team of Occupational Therapists, Allied Health Assistants and Administration Managers. This team is focussed on to developing, implementing and expanding interventions and programs to advocate for and support the healthy development of children.
Notable Accomplishments / Recognition
Outdoor Queensland Adventure Therapy Finalist 2022
Kindy Uplift Program Provider
Nature Play Queensland Advisory Board Member
Brisbane's only solely Outdoor, Nature Based Paediatric Occupational Therapy clinic
Benefits
Flexible working arrangements
Professional development allowance
Weekly professional supervision
Nature based practice
Administrative support
Career advancement opportunities
Comprehensive professional learning and development planning