One of the strongest ways to recruit families is still through word of mouth. Hearing directly about someone’s experience can make HIPPY feel more real and easier to picture. 

You can support this by encouraging current families to talk about their experience, and by asking permission to use real quotes or short HIPPY stories in your promotion. Tutors can also play a key role here. They are often already having informal conversations with parents at school drop-off, kinder, childcare, the park, the supermarket, or other everyday places. 

Specific examples include:

• Encourage families to share their HIPPY experience with others
• Ask permission to use direct quotes, testimonials, or HIPPY stories in promotion
• Support tutors to talk confidently about HIPPY in everyday settings
• Make sure tutors have flyers, cards, or QR codes with them
• Encourage parent-to-parent conversations wherever they happen naturally

Families are often juggling a lot, so the easier it is to express interest or take the next step, the better. Recruitment works well when the process feels easy. Small incentives can help create interest, especially when they reflect what families in your local community value. At the same time, easy sign-up options can make a big difference for families who are busy during the day and only have time to respond later in the evening.

This is where practical tools like QR codes, referral rewards, or community-based incentives can help. They do not need to be large or costly to make an impact. The goal is to reduce barriers and make it easier for families to move from interest to action.

Specific examples include:

• Try referral rewards or “refer a friend” approaches
• Use QR codes so families can express interest when it suits them
• Make sign-up flexible and easy to access
• Think about what is valued most by families in your local community

Families are more likely to hear about HIPPY when you show up in the places they already spend time. Rather than relying on families to find you, it can be more effective to go to the spaces, events, and services they are already connected to. Visibility helps build familiarity, and repeated exposure can help families feel more confident about reaching out.

This can include local events, shopping centres, playgrounds, open days, markets, and community spaces. It can also be as simple as placing flyers where families regularly go and checking back to keep those materials stocked. Showing the HIPPY box, books, and activity materials in these settings can also help families understand what the program looks like in practice.

Specific examples include:

• Attend local markets and community events or, set up stalls at shopping centres
• Visit playgrounds and parks, especially at times when families gather
• Go to kinder and preschool open days
• Use local events such as NAIDOC and National Reconciliation Weeks
• Place flyers in parks, libraries, children’s health clinics, indoor play centres, and public toilets near playgrounds
• Use street libraries to display flyers and refill them regularly
• Promote through community noticeboards
• Showcase the HIPPY box, storybooks, stationery, and activity packs so families can see what they will receive
• Talk to families during everyday community visits, including park visits or local drop-ins

Recruitment is not only about handing out information. It is also about creating relaxed, welcoming spaces where families can ask questions, see what HIPPY looks like, and hear from others in a natural way. Activities and events can help make these conversations easier, especially when children are engaged and parents have time to talk.

Events do not need to be big to be effective. A simple morning tea, a small open day, or a hands-on activity session can all create opportunities for connection. These settings can also help families meet current participants, hear a parent’s story, and build trust in the program.

Specific examples include:

• Host a HIPPY Open Day
• Run a Have-a-go Day where families can try HIPPY-style activities where you can include simple activities such as blob painting, colouring, cutting and pasting, hand painting, or other child-friendly craft
• Offer morning tea or refreshments
• Invite current HIPPY families to attend and bring a friend
• Ask a current or past parent to share their journey and what they have noticed in their child’s learning
• Have Tutors demonstrate what a home visit looks like
• Arrange a guest spot during library story time or rhyme time
• Run storytelling or song sessions at shopping centres
• Host a HIPPY morning tea for local services
• Showcase children’s HIPPY artwork at local events or community displays

Recruitment is often stronger when conversations start early and continue over time. Families may not be ready to join straight away, but early awareness can mean HIPPY is already familiar when the time is right. In the same way, services and referral partners are more likely to remember HIPPY when they hear about it regularly rather than only once.

Starting early might mean linking in with families during pregnancy, infancy, or the first years of a child’s life. Staying consistent means following up, keeping information visible, and showing up more than once.

Specific examples include:

• Start conversations with families early in a child’s development
• Link in with families during pregnancy, after birth, and in the first year
• Keep in regular contact with local services and referral partners
• Follow up after meetings, events, or introductions
• Revisit flyer locations and refill materials regularly
• Continue to build local awareness over time rather than expecting immediate results

Sometimes the most effective promotion is also the simplest. Clear information, visible materials, and practical sign-up options can all help families notice HIPPY and follow up when they are ready. Small actions done consistently can make a real difference over time.

This might include flyers in the right places, visible displays in reception areas, QR codes on printed materials, or easy ways for staff to share information on the go. It is less about doing something complicated and more about making HIPPY easy to see and easy to access.

Specific examples include:

• Place flyers where parents already go
• Use reception areas creatively with HIPPY boxes, books, flyers, and QR codes
• Put HIPPY books in waiting areas with flyers attached inside the cover
• Display a HIPPY box in the office or a service reception area
• Add QR codes to flyers, posters, displays, and work shirts
• Put a QR code on the back of staff shirts so families and services can scan it easily
• Refill and refresh printed materials regularly
• Use HIPPY t-shirts, bucket hats, or other visible items to increase recognition
• Keep handout materials simple and easy to understand

Digital promotion can help extend your reach, especially if your catchment area is large or if families are more likely to respond after hours. Online tools can make it easier for families to see what HIPPY looks like, ask for more information, and complete an expression of interest when they have time.

Digital strategies work best when they support, rather than replace, relationship-based recruitment. Sharing visuals, stories, and practical information online can help families feel more familiar with HIPPY before they speak with someone directly.

Specific examples include:

• Promote in local Facebook groups and community noticeboard groups
• Share information in family-focused Facebook groups
• Post at times when families are more likely to engage, such as Sunday evenings
• Use QR codes linked to online enquiry forms
• Make it easy for families to complete an expression of interest online
• Share photos or short videos showing what HIPPY looks like in practice
• Use social media to support “refer a friend” campaigns
• Make use of the HIPPY Australia website as part of your online promotion
• Use digital tools to reach families who may not attend local events in person

Current and past HIPPY families can be some of your strongest advocates. Families often connect best with other families, especially when conversations feel informal and honest. Inviting graduates or current families to be part of recruitment activities can help new families see the value of HIPPY through lived experience.

These opportunities do not need to be formal. A gathering, a morning tea, or a shared event can create space for natural parent-to-parent conversation. This can be especially helpful when families are still deciding whether HIPPY is right for them.

Specific examples include:

• Invite graduates to gatherings or recruitment events
• Encourage families to bring a friend
• Ask past or current parents to speak about what they got out of HIPPY
• Create informal ambassador roles for families who are happy to share their story
• Support parent-to-parent conversations in relaxed settings
• Invite Age 4 families or recent graduates to speak with new or expression-of-interest families
• Use gatherings as a chance for families to talk friend-to-friend about the educational and social benefits of HIPPY

This list includes lots of ideas, but that does not mean you need to do them all. Recruitment and retention are usually strongest when Coordinators choose a few strategies that suit their local community and do them consistently. It is better to build momentum with a small number of practical actions than to try everything at once.

It can also help to keep checking in on what is working. If you notice a shift, even a small one, that can point you towards where to focus next. Sharing that learning with your Site Advisor and colleagues can also help strengthen your approach over time.

Specific examples include:

• Start with one or two strategies that feel realistic in your context
• Focus on approaches that match your local community and relationships
• Track what is getting interest, conversations, or referrals
• Repeat what is working rather than constantly starting from scratch
• Choose low-cost, sustainable options where possible
• Be patient with the process and give relationships time to grow
• Share with your Site Advisor and colleagues what you have tried and where you have seen a shift