Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs Education can end poverty
Christine Cawsey, High School Principal, Western Sydney
Christine Cawsey, High School Principal, Western Sydney “Every child needs the opportunity to do his or her best. Reducing the inequality by giving every student the opportunity – that matters. We can’t afford to lose a generation of young people. We need all of these young people to be contributing to our future.”
Poverty can lead to a child disengaging from school and leaving without the skills they need to go on to further education or employment.
A recent study commissioned by the Australian Government shows the educational impact of COVID-19 is likely to be significantly greater for children from disadvantaged backgrounds. Children who were already struggling with school now face falling even further behind1.
School principals share their experiences of the impact of poverty on education
Rebekah Stapleton, Principal of Gray Primary School in Palmerston, Northern Territory
“For me, attendance, engagement and success is about creating choices for a child. We want our children leaving senior school with a suite of opportunities so they have a choice in what they can do.”
education can end poverty
Educators see first-hand the many different ways disadvantage can impact a child at school.
How hard it is for a child to concentrate when they’re tired and hungry. How children start to fall behind when they don’t have the books they need, or parents with the skills to help with their homework. And how the ‘social shame’ of having threadbare uniforms and no socks, no school bag and no lunch makes children not want to come to school at all.
Andrew Pierpoint, President of the Australian Secondary Principals' Association
“It’s working with the whole family that enables a student to come to school. I find working with The Smith Family one of the most soul-enriching tasks that I do. It’s meaningful work.”
Lee Sibir, Aboriginal Educator and Primary School Principal, Western Sydney
“It’s really important that we foster each child’s education and that we keep them going – and that they know that we believe in them and that they are capable of absolutely anything.”
Karen Snibson, Principal of Phoenix P-12 Community College in Ballarat, Victoria
“Across Ballarat there are a lot of challenges people really struggle with in meeting the demands and costs of accessing high quality education. The Smith Family has a huge part to play in addressing those burdens.”
Intervention begins early and continues throughout a child's education.
It is possible to bridge the gap for children living in poverty, giving them the opportunity to break the cycle of disadvantage.
The Smith Family provides targeted support that begins early in a child’s life and continues in a balanced way throughout their education. This approach sets children up for their futures, enabling them to stay motivated and engaged at school increasing the likelihood they will finish Year 12 and go on to training, further study or a job post-school.
Educators in schools across Australia do an incredible job in working to level the playing field for disadvantaged children by identifying and supporting children who are impacted by poverty.
But educators’ time and resources are extremely scarce. By working closely with teachers and principals in schools across Australia, The Smith Family can ensure vulnerable children get the additional out-of-school learning financial support they need to get the most out of their schooling.
Schools identify children they think would benefit from The Smith Family’s programs, which begins a conversation with the child’s family about how we can support the child’s education.
Bridging the gap
Access to financial support and proven learning support programs removes some of the overwhelming obstacles that disadvantaged children can face – so they can come to school feeling on equal terms with their classmates.
Close collaboration
Once a child has been accepted onto TSF’s Learning for Life Program their coordinator will work in close collaboration with the school, the child’s family and the wider community throughout the child’s education, to provide the tailored support they need.
Long-term impact
Our ‘all community approach’ is the key to successfully supporting a child to overcome the educational barriers that poverty can create and enable them to engage fully at school and gain the skills they need to succeed in education and beyond.
Our impact and reach
Contributing to a better future for young Australians in need.
Education is a driver of real and powerful change that can break the cycle of poverty – and educational attainment is an important predictor of a person’s future employment, income, health and welfare prospects.
Last year, we supported 49,735 Australian students as a result of teacher involvement.
The Smith Family delivers our Learning for Life programs across 91 Australian communities, often out of the local school.
Last year, we worked with 694 partner schools around Australia.
One in six children are growing up in poverty
In Australia, 1.2 million young people are growing up in poverty1. Understand how this affects students at schools near you.
Poverty in Australia
Our community stories
1 CIRES & Mitchell Institute (2020) Impact of learning from home on educational outcomes of disadvantaged children.
2Poverty in Australia, 2020, ACOSS/UNSW Report.
2Poverty in Australia, 2020, ACOSS/UNSW Report.