DURING this year's National Reconciliation Week (May 27 to June 3), The Smith Family is highlighting the strong educational outcomes being achieved by thousands of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students participating in its core educational program, Learning for Life.
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Working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander parents and communities to improve educational outcomes for children and young people is at the heart of The Smith Family's 2013-2016 Reconciliation Action Plan.
Research shows that completing Year 12, or its equivalent, increases the likelihood that a young person will move into further study or employment and go on to participate fully in their community, with improved employment, health and overall life outcomes.
Working together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities, our Learning for Life program helps children to be engaged in learning through positive educational experiences, opportunities to grow skills and access to role models.
Last year nearly 6000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students and their families were supported by the program, which is proven to boost Year 12 completion rates and leads to improved education, employment and social participation outcomes.
Regular school attendance is critical for achieving positive educational outcomes. Just last month, The Smith Family released new research showing strong school attendance rates for Learning for Life students of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, at 87.3 per cent.This is higher than the latest Productivity Commission's Report on Government Services, which stated the national attendance rate for all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students was 83.2 per cent.
The Smith Family's research also showed that 12 months after completing the Learning for Life program, 72.4 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are engaged in further study, employment or training.
We celebrate these outcomes in National Reconciliation Week [because] we know that supporting a child's education is one of the most effective ways to help them break the cycle of intergenerational disadvantage. This is even more critical among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, where educational achievement is significantly lower than other young Australians.
Dr Lisa O'Brien, Chief executive, The Smith Family.
