Right now 15,000 children are urgently waiting for sponsors.

Our Programs
- Literacy programs
  Providing resources and support to help children living with disadvantage achieve the required reading standard.
- Technology programs
  Providing children and young people living with disadvantage with the critical skills, access, and equipment they need.
- Numeracy programs
  We support early years educators and community professionals in building foundational math skills in children under their care.
- Learning for Life
  Providing holistic, long-term support for disadvantaged young Australians throughout their education.
- Mentoring programs
  Mentoring programs for students living with disadvantage that provide the encouragement they need to build aspirations for their future.
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander programs
  Our work engages Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities in learning through education, life skills and role models, promoting culturally responsive practice.
Our learning support and mentoring programs in 90 Australian communities directly help children in need achieve their goals through education.
View all programs
Get Involved
- Ways to fundraise
  Learn about fundraising and give back to the community with The Smith Family.
- Volunteer with us
  Share your skills to help Australian children in need transform their lives through education.
- Partnerships
  Learn how your organisation can partner with The Smith Family and help build a better future for Australian children in need.
- Careers
  We aim to provide a working environment where staff and volunteers have the opportunity to grow both personally and professionally.
- Events
  Participate in events and activities that support young Australians experiencing disadvantage.
- VIEW clubs of Australia
  Learn about VIEW, a leading women’s volunteer organisation and support network with over 16,000 members, across Australia.
Ways to Give
- Sponsor a child
  Through child sponsorship, you will be matched to an Australian child in need, helping to support the cost of their school essentials.
- A gift in your will
  Ensure that future generations of Australian children have the support they need to make the most of their education.
- Monthly donation
  Become a monthly donor and provide continual support throughout all stages of a child’s education.
- Philanthropic giving
  Through your philanthropy, you can ensure that young Australians impacted by poverty get the education that all children deserve.
- Single donation
  Your donation will help young Australians in need by providing access to our Learning for Life education support programs.
- Workplace giving
  Making small, regular donations to The Smith Family through Workplace Giving is an easy way to help change the lives of young Australians living in poverty.
Login
Child Sponsorship
Donate now

Families' lack of access to home computer and internet a challenge for national curriculum

Media releases

01 April 2014

The Smith Family has said a lack of access to a home computer and the internet among disadvantaged families could undermine the successful implementation of the school curriculum.

In its submission to the Federal Government’s Australian curriculum review, the national children’s education charity said the curriculum along with schools, teachers and education planners tended to assume that all children had access to a computer and the internet at home.

But The Smith Family’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire, said the organisation’s own experience told a different story.

“It’s quite common for our frontline staff to encounter families without a home computer and with no continuity of internet access,” said The Smith Family’s spokesperson, Anne Hampshire.

“According to our analysis, around one-third of children aged 5-14 living in Australia’s most disadvantaged communities don’t have access to the internet at home.

“When families are struggling to pay for the basics, expenses outside of putting food on the table and a roof over everyone’s head tend to be sacrificed – however important they may be.

“A budget laptop costs around $300. Add to that a monthly broadband fee of around $30 and a family is looking at needing close to $700 in the first year. For many families that’s too costly to contemplate.

“We know that 85 per cent of children in the 5-14 age range who use the internet at home do so for education purposes.

“So, the impact a lack of access to a home computer and the internet has on disadvantaged children is quite clear.

“I recently heard of a family we support where the only way their high school-aged children could access the internet at home was on their mum’s mobile phone.

“It’s hard to imagine how difficult and upsetting it must be for a child working on a school assignment – when there’s the assumption they’ll use their home computer and internet for research – and they have no ability to do so.

“One of the ways The Smith Family works to address this issue is through our Tech Packs program.

“As part of Tech Packs we not only provide families in need with refurbished computers but give them 12 months free internet connection plus training for the parents in basic computer skills.

“It’s as much about equipping kids with the tools they need to succeed in school as it is about helping parents – many who’ve never used a computer before – develop skills so they can assist their children.

“Any Australian curriculum – and in turn, schools and teachers – needs to be aware of the limitations and challenges disadvantaged families face when their children participate in education. It can’t exist in isolation.

“The curriculum review must take these issues into account – including how the expense of IT equipment and home internet make them out of reach for some families.

“The separate question – which we all need to address – is to how to increase the numbers of home computers and access to broadband among disadvantaged families? Otherwise, thousands of disadvantaged Australian kids are going to miss out on being digitally literate.

“If our economy is going to meet the challenges of the 21^st century, then we can’t afford to let that happen,” said Ms Hampshire.

Media contacts:

Andrew Dickson | National Media Manager (National) - 0421 285 529 | andrew.dickson@thesmithfamily.com.au
Carla Horton | Senior Media Advisor (QLD & WA) - 0423 618 776 | carla.horton@thesmithfamily.com.au
Reid Jermyn | Media Advisor (VIC, SA & NT) - 0412 803 566 | reid.jermyn@thesmithfamily.com.au
Ben Chenoweth | Senior Media Advisor (NSW, ACT & TAS) - 0413 346 934 | ben.chenoweth@thesmithfamily.com.au

The Smith Family is a national children’s education charity that helps young Australians experiencing disadvantage to create better futures for themselves through harnessing the power of education. We partner with around 800 Australian schools and work with over 162,000 children and young people experiencing disadvantage access our education support programs to help them overcome . For more information, visit thesmithfamily.com.au