Welcome to ‘Conversations with The Smith Family’, a podcast and video series exploring the work being done across Australia to help young people change their future through the power of education.
In this series, our CEO Doug Taylor talks to leaders and experts from the world of education, philanthropy, not-for-profits, volunteering, government and research, as well as members of the Smith Family community, to uncover a range of perspectives on some of the biggest challenges facing young people today.
Watch the videos below or listen on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.
Interviews
In this episode, we discuss the importance of building trusted partnerships with families to support their child’s education. The conversation draws on the experiences of Ben Blowers, a Team Leader at The Smith Family, who has worked directly with families on our Learning for Life program over the past five years.
With a powerful message for Anti-Poverty Week, James Manton, an alumni of our Learning for Life program, shares his deeply personal story of growing up in disadvantage, the impact it had on his education and how the right support at the right time helped him turn his life around.
In the lead-up to Anti-Poverty Week, this conversation explores what poverty looks like in modern Australia and how digital poverty is leaving young people experiencing disadvantage further behind in education and employment opportunities.
Volunteers play a vital role in shaping our communities, yet volunteering rates in Australia are in decline. In this conversation, we hear from Mark Pearce, CEO of Volunteering Australia, about the changing nature of volunteering and efforts to revitalise volunteering for the future.
In this special episode of Conversations with The Smith Family, we feature highlights from our recent webinar, exploring how we can collectively support more young Australians to achieve success at school and beyond.
Philanthropy has been a mainstay of The Smith Family's history, helping to transform the lives of thousands of young Australians through education. In this conversation, we welcome Shamal Dass, a renowned expert in philanthropy and social impact, to explore the world of philanthropic giving and how people can make a meaningful difference in their communities.
How can governments and charities work together to support young people and strengthen our communities? We head to Parliament House for this conversation with The Hon Dr Andrew Leigh MP, Assistant Minister for Competition, Charities, Treasury and Employment, addressing education reform, the future of volunteering, philanthropic giving and more.
Education is a transformative force, yet the path to higher education isn’t always easy. Professor Mark Scott AO, Vice-Chancellor and President of The University of Sydney, discusses the challenges facing students from disadvantaged backgrounds and initiatives in the university sector to break down these barriers.
School attendance is a complex issue affecting many students and families. Declining attendance levels have been making headlines in Australia and around the world. Dr Kirsten Hancock, The Smith Family’s National Manager, Research and Evaluation, breaks down the latest trends and challenges, emphasising the need for supportive, non-punitive measures.
Meet two remarkable primary school principals from the Illawarra region of New South Wales, who see firsthand the challenges and hopes for young people experiencing disadvantage. Alison Forthuber is the Principal of Bellambi Public School and Rachel Armer is the Assistant Principal of Warilla North Public School, both partner schools of The Smith Family.
President of the Australian Secondary Principals’ Association, Andy Mison, discusses what is needed to properly resource our schools to lift student outcomes and reduce educational inequality.
As the Expert Panel finalises its report to Education Ministers on the National School Reform Agreement review, Brotherhood of St Laurence Executive Director, Travers McLeod, discusses what needs to happen to support student experiencing disadvantage to make the most of their education.
CEO of The Smith Family Doug Taylor sits down with the charity's head of research and advocacy, Anne Hampshire, to discuss the importance of the National School Reform Agreement. The Smith Family is calling for a range of policy changes under the new agreement to ensure schooling in Australia is better and fairer, especially for students experiencing disadvantage.
The review to Inform a Better and Fairer Education System is underway. High School Principal and Smith Family Board member, Christine Cawsey, talks to the challenges faced by students from disadvantaged backgrounds that must be addressed by the next National School Reform Agreement.
VIEW has over 14,000 members in 300 clubs throughout Australia and is the largest community sponsor of over 1,700 students experiencing disadvantage on the Learning for Life program
Our former student, Shannon Hyde, grew up knowing what it was like to go without. Instead of hiding his background, he uses it to inform his leadership as the CEO of Simply Energy, where he mentors our current students in the paid Cadetship to Career internship program
To mark National Reconciliation Week, Anaiwan man and Smith Family board member Peter Radoll, talks to CEO Doug Taylor.
In National Volunteers Week we celebrate our 5,200 volunteers, who in the past year alone donated more than 116,000 hours of service, with an estimated equivalent value of $3.7 million.
Our learning programs provide timely and targeted educational support for young Australians experiencing the impact of poverty and disadvantage.
Our evidence-based programs targeting early years literacy and numeracy are designed to support parents, and early childhood educators, to gain the skills and confidence to help young children to dream big and be ready to start school.
Ensuring all students on our flagship Learning for Life educational support program are digitally included, is a key ambition of The Smith Family’s Five-Year Strategy.
Leading educational researcher, Dr Sue Thomson, reflects on educational inequality in Australia and what works to best assist children experiencing disadvantage who are struggling to succeed in their learning.
Our work is evidence informed and outcomes focused to ensure our educational support programs can best assist the children and families we support.
Peter Stumbles has had a ten year relationship with The Smith Family, not only as an individual supporter but also via his role as managing partner of Bain & Company.
Nicholas Moore joined The Smith Family as Board Chair in 2019 and has helped to guide and oversee the development of our new Five-Year Strategy.
Phoenix is among more than 3,000 students on our Learning for Life program who have been directly affected by the recent devastating floods in Queensland and northern NSW.
Teddy is a proud Kamilaroi woman who wants to be a high school teacher out of respect and gratitude for her own teachers. She dreams of working in rural and remote communities. Watch video: 4.58m
