City & country schools partner up to improve student outcomes

Seven high performing schools in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth have been selected to partner with schools in remote and very remote areas of Northern Australia to help boost education outcomes for First Nations students and lift school attendance rates.

Assistant Minister for Education, Senator Anthony Chisholm, said all the participating schools would share the $6.7 million funding through the Australian Government’s City Country Partnerships Program.

“The partnerships will deliver diverse and innovative approaches to improve schooling outcomes for school students in remote Northern Australia by drawing on the strengths and experience that our high-performing metropolitan schools can offer,” Assistant Minister Chisholm said.

“Partnership activities include tailored literacy and numeracy initiatives, access to specialist subject teachers, online interactive sessions between staff and students, a staff coaching program, cultural exchanges and the co-development of student and teacher resources.

“These partnerships have the potential to deliver lasting educational, cultural and social benefits to all participants.”

The successful partnerships are:

The program is being delivered by the Yadha Muru Foundation (YMF).

YMF Chair Professor Leanne Holt said: “Yadha Muru is delighted to be working with remote communities to facilitate a range of on-country and virtual place-based initiatives in partnership with metropolitan schools.

“The partnerships have developed following respectful consultation, discussion and a mutual exchange of ideas. Each partnership is unique and has arisen organically from the particular local circumstances and strengths of each remote school and community and the specific capabilities of the metropolitan school partner.

The key advantage of the partnership model is that initiatives are tailored to the individual local conditions and the strengths of the partners.”

ENDS