The federal government-funded Home Interaction Program for Parents and Youngsters (HIPPY), run by the Brotherhood of St Laurence, is to operate at six sites in the state, including Moonee Valley and Fitzroy. It will be introduced in Dallas or Broadmeadows early next year.

The program will teach parents, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and those from other diverse economic and cultural backgrounds how best to prepare their children for entry to primary schools.

Under the program, which will cater for 35 families in the area, parents will be taught learning activities that can be conducted at home with their children.

Parents will also be shown techniques on how to interact better with their children.

Mrs Brown, of Aboriginal descent, says her six-year-old son's teachers are amazed at how well the HIPPY program in Fitzroy has prepared him for primary school.

"Patrick was the first indigenous child to complete the program and the kids at school tell their parents about how he can read full books on his own already," Mrs Brown said.

"The teachers have noticed a difference between Patrick and my nine-year-old Jack, who they also taught when he was five. They say Patrick is more confident in his reading and writing."

Mrs Brown said she was delighted a HIPPY centre would open in Hume as she had to travel to Fitzroy to learn, through the program, how to become a tutor. "I don't drive because I'm visually impaired so I catch the bus, the train and a tram just to get to the HIPPY centre in Fitzroy. I went that far because I love the program, but I'm glad it's going to be closer to home now."

Manager of the Fitzroy's HIPPY centre, Carolyn Pickett, said the program had been very successful in preparing children for primary school.

"I'm involved in the Fitzroy and Moonee Valley HIPPY sites and principals of local schools in those areas are delighted to accept kids who have completed the program. It's so popular through word of mouth and the retention rate is quite high."

Ms Pickett said HIPPY would help families in Hume who had recently arrived from foreign countries.

The Brotherhood of St Laurence was in the process of determining the site of the HIPPY program in Hume.