C21 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Reporting

The Directorate remains committed to accelerating improvements in the educational outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people. These commitments are underpinned by the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014 and the Directorate's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Matters: Strategic Plan 2010-2013.

During the reporting period the following were the major highlights in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education:

• 128 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students, from years 5 to 12, participated in the Student Aspirations program
• nine students were supported with high school scholarships of $5,000 in 2012 and three students with tertiary scholarships of $20,000 to pursue a career in teaching
• 54 years 11 and 12 students undertook a tertiary package
• 34 years 9 and 10 students expressed their interest in pursuing a tertiary package
• the second Accepting the Challenge: Leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander education workshop was held on 3 August 2012 focusing on school leader Cs
• five teachers completed the Stronger Smarter training program in Queensland
• four officers attended the Stronger Smarter Summit.

Early years learning

The Directorate continued to implement the Australian Government's National Agenda for Early Childhood Reform by providing children with access to 15 hours of preschool each week for the school year. Preschool placements in the ACT are offered to children aged four years on or before 30 April in the school year.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children may apply for early entry into preschool six months prior to their preschool year.

The February 2013 school census reported 188 Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander children enrolled in public preschools across ACT compared to the February 2012 school census which reported a total of 199 children. This is a decrease of 11 children or 5.5 percent.

The Koori Preschool program continued to provide early childhood education for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children from birth to five years of age. Children under three can attend with a parent or carer. The program has the capacity for 100 children across the five school sites:

• Ngunnawal Primary School
• Kingsford Smith School
• Narrabundah Early Childhood School
• Richardson Primary School
• Wanniassa School.

Enrolment and participation figures for the Koori Preschool program across the five sites are shown in Table C21.1.

Table C21.1: Enrolment and participation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in the Koori Preschool program

Source: ACT Public School Census August 2012 and February 2013

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children can access the Koori Preschool program for nine hours per week. In addition to this, children who are eligible by age can access a local preschool for 15 hours per week. This allows children access to 24 hours per week in a preschool program (nine hours in the Koori program and 15 hours in the local preschool program) over an 18 month period, prior to commencement in kindergarten.

The Koori Preschool program is delivered by qualified early childhood teachers who are supported by school assistants. During this reporting period, three Koori Preschool programs were supported by a school assistant who identified as an Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander person.

The Koori Preschool program continued to provide children with regular opportunities to engage in authentic cultural experiences that promoted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives and identity. Partnerships with families and communities within the Koori Preschool program ensured the delivery of high quality, relevant and engaging curriculum for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Enrolment

Since 2009 there has been a steady increase in the number of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students enrolling in ACT public schools as shown in Table C21.2

Table C21.2: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander student enrolments in ACT public schools, 2009 to 2013

Source: ACT Education and Training Directorate, February School Census, 2009 to 2013

Attendance

Attendance rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in Australian Capital Territory government schools were lower than attendance rates for
non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in each year of schooling. Attendance rates for all students were highest throughout the primary years.
During secondary years, attendance rates for all students fell. The fall in attendance was more significant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The gap between the attendance rates for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and
non-Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students fluctuated between five percentage points in Year 4 and 14 percentage points in Year 8.

Table C21.3: Attendance rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in ACT public schools, 2007 to 2012

Source: Planning and Performance Branch (unpublished)

Retention

Whilst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are staying at school longer, the retention rate from year 10 to 12 has declined when compared with the figure for 2011.

Figure C21.1: Apparent retention rate of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students from year 10 to 12 in ACT public schools, 2007 to 2012Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics, Schools Australia, Table 64a

The Directorate worked closely with high schools and colleges to identify student needs and allocated funding on a per capita basis to allow schools to deliver quality tutorial support to students in years 7-10 and years 11-12. Ongoing implementation of the Student Aspirations program supported students through the successful completion of year 12 and beyond.

Literacy and Numeracy

Improving literacy and numeracy outcomes of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students remains a key focus for the Directorate. Literacy and Numeracy field officers and coordinators were employed to support programs to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes of students.

All ACT schools provided school-based initiatives to support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. These were designed to meet individual student need and local community expectations.

Additional resources were allocated to schools to target student literacy and numeracy learning. Schools used these resources to establish multi-disciplinary approaches to target at risk and underperforming students as well as high achievers. As part of this approach, data was collected; student progress was monitored; and appropriate support was provided.

During this reporting period, five Tuggeranong high schools completed the Literacy Excellence Project for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students. The project focused on the development of a culturally responsive environment to improve student engagement and implementing literacy strategies through working with leadership teams, students and class teachers.

Participating students made gains in literacy skills, with the greatest improvement recorded in reading and spelling. The key literacy teaching strategies developed during the project were shared with ACT schools through the school based literacy coordinator network. The project also developed key information and strategies for the development of a culturally responsive environment. Both of these strategies will be shared nationally through the Teach, Learn, Share website.

Ongoing professional learning for leaders and teachers was provided to promote best practice strategies for literacy and numeracy. Endorsed courses such as Count Me In Too, The Middle Years Mental Computation Program and First Steps Reading and Writing were undertaken by school staff as a means of building consistency of practice across classrooms.

School leadership in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education

A major initiative operating under the Accepting the Challenge banner is the Action Inquiry project. The aim of this project is to inform schools on ways to improve learning outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students by engaging teachers and school leaders in an inquiry cycle approach of planning, data collection, reflection, and action. In 2012, 12 public schools completed the project. One high school project involved the development and implementation of a student-teacher mentoring program. Two primary schools conducted their projects around personalised learning strategies and another primary school ran a buddy reading program in which year 5 students were matched with younger children. All project reports including recommendations were included in a resource for use within all areas of the Directorate.

In 2013, 16 schools commenced participation in the Action Inquiry project including the 11 schools in the Investing in Focus Schools initiative. Emeritus Professor Tony Shaddock is providing the academic guidance for the program. Accepting the Challenge project officers continued to support schools with professional learning and guidance about progressing projects.

The North Canberra/Gungahlin Schools Network continued to undertake the Transitions Planner project under the banner of Accepting the Challenge. The work which began in 2011 proved to be a useful and popular tool and was complemented by parent or student surveys and destination surveys. The school Transition Coordinators meet once a term to share strategies and work collaboratively across the network to meet the needs of the students.

There are 31 ACT primary schools including Jervis Bay Primary School participating in the Focus Schools initiative. Schools receive funding to implement programs and strategies that address one or more of the following domains of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014:

• readiness for school
• engagement and connections
• attendance
• literacy and numeracy
• leadership, quality teaching and workforce development.

Established in 2012, the Focus School Principals Network met each school term to increase understanding of the responsibilities of Focus Schools and to provide an informal forum for the sharing of successes, ideas and challenges.

Support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students

A Student Engagement Officer and a Family Support Worker were employed in central office to add another dimension to the support offered to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families across school networks.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Officers continued to work in high schools to improve attendance and transition support and to strengthen relationships between schools and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Workers continued to offer individual classroom support in primary schools.

Pathways to training, employment and higher education

Since 2010, the Directorate has provided a program of Australian School-based Apprenticeships (ASBAs) specifically designed to target Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and delivered by the Indigenous Social Inclusion Company (now known as the Aboriginal Corporation for Sporting and Recreational Activities). The program has been highly successful with 15 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students completing ASBAs in the reporting period: 12 in Certificate II level qualifications and three in Certificate III level qualifications. During the same period, 38 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students commenced an ASBA, with 76 percent in Certificate III level qualifications.

The Priorities Support Program (PSP) continued to provide funding to enable access to quality vocational education and training for target groups including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In the reporting period, the Directorate provided $119,293 of PSP funding for delivery of the CHANCES program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people. The program presented a range of positive training opportunities for participants in a flexible and supportive environment including: improving individual education and employment opportunities; creating a sense of community and social inclusion; and providing access to a nationally recognised qualification. Outcomes included achievement of Certificate I in Work Preparation and achievement of Statements of Attainment in Certificate I in Business, with 77 percent of participants completing qualifications.

Cultural competency

The Directorate continued to present workshops at the request of schools and to coordinate professional learning for schools and clusters. Since July 2012 the professional learning events included:

• presentations at six school staff meetings
• a workshop on the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures Priority of the Australian Curriculum at Ainslie Primary School
• an all-day program at the National Museum of Australia for Latham Primary School staff. The program was based on the theme - Building a More Culturally Responsive School
• professional learning for front office staff at Red Hill and Forrest Primary Schools and Narrabundah Early Childhood School. Workshop sessions focused on developing cultural understanding and planning for more consistent approaches to enrolment and transitions across this cluster of schools
• a professional learning session for all staff at Melrose High School and Mawson, Torrens and Farrer Primary Schools. Sessions included presentations by Reconciliation Australia, a questions and answers panel and workshops focused on curriculum, developing cultural understanding, literacy and numeracy and reconciliation.

Box C21.1: Jervis Bay School Dance Group perform for One Very Big Day

Links to national plans and policy

The ACT Government remains committed to closing the learning achievement gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and other Australians. This commitment has been articulated in various National Partnership Agreements including the National Indigenous Reform Agreement which underpins a significant set of priorities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people and has been formulated around the following six building blocks:

• life expectancy
• young child mortality
• early childhood education
• reading, writing and numeracy
• year 12 attainment
• employment.

The national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Action Plan 2010-2014 articulates clear targets for closing the learning achievement gap for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students. The plan also outlines key actions that are required at the national, state and territory and local school level for the period 2010-2014.

In December 2012, the Directorate launched its refreshed Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) 2012-2014 Reconciliation Matters. The plan identifies actions and targets to improve relationships, increase respect and further the opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff and students. In addition, 15 schools have RAPs and 17 schools have School Community Partnership Agreements in place.

In February 2013, the Directorate presented the second report to the ACT Legislative Assembly on progress and achievements made as a result of implementing the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Matters: Strategic Plan 2010-2013.

Partnerships and collaboration

During the reporting period, the Directorate administered the Industry and Indigenous Skill Centres (IISC) program on behalf of the Australian Government Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education. The objectives of the program are to facilitate an increase in the numbers of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people undertaking and completing nationally recognised vocational education and training courses, assisting in closing the gap between Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples and non-Indigenous Australians.

The Project Agreement for the Industry and Indigenous Skill Centres Program is administered by the Directorate. The output of this project is that industry and/or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community organisations are assisted to purchase, construct, fit out or refurbish capital infrastructure intended for the delivery of vocational education and training. In the reporting period, the Gugan Gulwan Youth Aboriginal Corporation was allocated funding for the refurbishment of their existing education and training facilities.

For more information contact:
Director
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education and Student Engagement
(02) 6205 9325