NAIDOC Week celebrating emerging leaders among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls

During NAIDOC Week (8-15 July), children’s education charity The Smith Family is celebrating the educational achievements of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls who are stepping up as leaders in their community.

In 2016-17, one in five (7,609) children in The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program were from Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds, half of whom are girls.

These students are going from strength to strength, with a significant improvement in post-school outcomes over the past five years. In 2017, 77 per cent of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students were engaged in further study or work a year after the leaving the program, up from 69.7 per cent in 2013[1] – and there are countless individual stories of young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women who are seeing the difference an education can make to their future.

“As we celebrate NAIDOC Week and this year’s theme Because of her, we can!, it is vital we look at boosting the opportunities for the next generation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women,” said Dr Lisa O’Brien, CEO of The Smith Family.

“The latest data[2] shows that more young women from an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander background are completing Year 12 – 34 per cent of those aged over 15 years had completed Year 12 in 2016, up from 27 per cent in 2011[3]. This compares to 59 per cent of their non-Indigenous female peers.

“While it is encouraging that major inroads have been made to closing the gap in Year 12 attainment, there are still huge educational gaps that impact enormously over the lifetime of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women and girls.

“The issue of post-school transitions is also incredibly important to ensure young women have the motivation, confidence and pathways they need to enter the workforce.”

The Smith Family is committed to working in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and their families to help close the gap in educational outcomes, including designing and delivering education support programs specifically targeted at girls.

Girls at the Centre is an aspirational program which aims to counteract the high absenteeism and school drop-out rates of teenage Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander girls, by helping them to build constructive relationships with each other, their schools, families and community members.

Since 2016 Girls at the Centre has been operating in partnership with local schools in Bairnsdale, Victoria and Wagga Wagga, NSW, following a seven-year pilot at a school in Alice Springs. Already the program is having a positive impact, with school staff reporting improved school attendance rates for girls on the program, greater engagement in learning and improved attitudes and behaviours.

“Girls at the Centre is based on research that highlights the importance of ensuring girls feel connected to their school and peers. The program offers a dedicated room, staffed by ‘girl coaches’ employed by The Smith Family, where young women participating in the program can go at any time to get the personal support and mentoring they need to do well at school.

“The program also enables the girls to create strong connections with each other and build a strong sense of comradery amongst the group. This is developed through activities designed to promote teamwork and inspire future careers, such as visiting universities and undertaking projects of cultural significance to their communities,” Dr O’Brien said.  

The Smith Family also facilitates the Indigenous Youth Leadership Program (IYLP), which supports Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students living in remote areas of Australia to attend a high-achieving secondary school or university, often in the nearest large city to them.

The program is funded by the Federal Government as part of its commitment to closing the gap in Indigenous educational outcomes, and provides financial and other support to help students achieve their educational aspirations.

In 2017, The Smith Family supported 230 students through IYLP, half of whom are girls – including 16-year-old Keeley, now in Year 11.

“IYLP has given me the chance to achieve and strive for things I want in life. I want to complete Year 12 with an ATAR that gives me options for what I could study at university. I would also like to play AFL at the highest level I can and I want to be able to help other Aboriginal people around Australia have the opportunities they deserve,” Keeley said.

“With the right support, we are seeing students like Keeley thrive in these targeted education and leadership programs. These young women are seeing the difference a good education can make and they’re grabbing these opportunities with both hands,” Dr O’Brien said.

“We know the impact of their education has a further flow-on effect as women are often instrumental in bringing about social change in their communities. We want to see more girls from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander backgrounds have access to the support they need to believe in themselves, do well at school and achieve their future aspirations.”

Read The Smith Family’s submission to the Closing the Gap Refresh here.