NSW Attorney General Mark Speakman (pictured) announced the $40,000 grant in Bathurst last week, to be used to provide home safety workshops, television, radio and print advertising, graphics and videos for social media and pop up stalls in shopping centres.

The campaign's key messages include:

Don't advertise that you are not home: don't use social media to promote your home is empty over the holidays.

New parks for the community

THE construction of new parks within the Marsden Heights subdivision area in Kelso will start soon, with final arrangements being made with contractors that will be involved in the project.

Three reserves located within Mendel, Coates and Keane Drives will undergo embellishment works to transform the open space sites to usable parklands for residents.

The project will see the installation of inclusive playground equipment, fitness stations, a multipurpose active sports court, picnic shelters, seating, a footpath network, landscaping and tree planting.

The works are possible thanks to the Federal Government's Drought Communities Program with a grant of $150,000 with Council also to contribute $150,000.

The Australian and NSW governments have cemented our commitment to improving local roads and creating thousands of local jobs in the regions, with Round 2 of the accelerated Fixing Local Roads program opening this week.

This is money for small projects that make a big difference in people's everyday lives right across regional NSW. It will mean smoother, safer trips to school, work or even the shops and most importantly, it will create much-needed jobs in hundreds of communities. The program marks a major investment in the roads that regional communities use every day.

We know how much better roads mean in the bush - and projects like these will be key to helping regional communities recover from the impact of bushfires, drought and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Communities are already starting to see projects from Round 1 commence around the state, and they can expect to see even more in the coming months as we continue to turbocharge this initiative.

Updated guidelines and a factsheet for Round 2 of Fixing Local Roads can be found here www.rms.nsw.gov.au/fixinglocalroads.

New resources for schools

AS children around NSW begin preparing for their transition to school, the NSW Government has developed new resources to support early childhood educators as they guide children in care services through this critical phase of their learning.

Resourcing educators to help them get little ones through this transition phase is part of our overall commitment to supporting early childhood education and building the best and highest quality early childhood education sector in Australia.

These new resources include practical tools that educators can use in their services to help children get ready for school next year.

They include a Transition to School Guide for Early Childhood Education that was developed in collaboration with early childhood teachers, primary school principals and kindergarten teachers. It assists early childhood educators to deliver educational programs that develop the skills and attributes children need for a successful start to school.

The resources will be available on the NSW Education Department's website.