WII GAAY – CLEVER CHILD A SUCCESS STORY

1. WII GAAY – CLEVER CHILD A SUCCESS STORY Rick Johnston, Diocesan Director of Catholic Schools Sharon Cooke, Aboriginal Education Consultant Cate Taylor, Wii Gaay Co-ordinator

2. Kevin Rudd’s Sorry Speech, February 13, 2008 But the core of this partnership for the future is to close the gap between indigenous and non-indigenous Australians on life expectancy, educational achievement and employment opportunities. This new partnership on closing the gap will set concrete targets for the future: within a decade to halve the widening gap in literacy, numeracy and employment outcomes and opportunities for indigenous Australians, within a decade to halve the appalling gap in infant mortality rates between indigenous and non-indigenous children and, within a generation, to close the equally appalling 17-year life gap between indigenous and non-indigenous in overall life expectancy.

3. Non-ATSI Aboriginal &Torres Strait Islanders 15% 10% 5% 0% 5% 10% 15% • One-quarter of people identifying as Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander are under the age of 10. • This is double the proportion of the non-ATSI population. • 13% of the non-ATSI population are aged 65 or over. By comparison, only 3% of the ATSI population are aged 65. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Children Source: ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing

4. The Gap - Child Health • Aboriginal children under the age of five are three times more likely to die compared to non-Aboriginal children. • Aboriginal mothers are twice as likely to have a low birth weight as non-Aboriginal mothers. • Aboriginal teenagers are five times more likely to give birth than non-Aboriginal teenagers. • Aboriginal children aged under five suffering nutritional anaemia and malnutrition are at 30 times the rate of non-Aboriginal children (3.6 per 1,000 children compared to 0.1 per 1,000 children). Source: Save The Children, Newborn and Child Survival in Australia, 2009

5. The Gap - Incarceration Rates • Almost one-quarter (24%) of the total prison population are Aboriginal people • Aboriginal people are 13 times more likely to be imprisoned than non-Aboriginal people • 27% of Aboriginal people in prison in Australia are aged under 25 (17% for non-Aboriginal people • Aboriginal people aged under 18 are 17 times more likely to be incarcerated than non-Aboriginal people under 18 • 4.5% of non-Aboriginal prisoners are serving periodic detention (in custody 2 days per week and remain at liberty the rest of the week (NSW and ACT only). By comparison, only 1.4% of Aboriginal prisoners are serving periodic detention. Source: ABS Prisoners in Australia, 2008

6. The Gap – Educational Qualifications, Employment and Housing Source: ABS 2006 Census of Population and Housing

7. The Gap - Student Performance: NAPLAN 2008 Students Below National Minimum Standard Source: NAPLAN, 2008

8. The Gap - Student Performance: NAPLAN 2008 Students achieving highest band or above Source: NAPLAN, 2008

9. The Gap – Geographic Regions of Australia Australian Bench Marks 2006 in Numeracy Source: Professor John Pegg, The National Centre of Science, ICT, and Mathematics Education for Rural and Regional (SiMERR) Australia, University of New England, Armidale.

10. Armidale Diocese had 179,000 people at 2006 Census, of which 15,600 (9%) identified as Aboriginal

11. Education Programs for the Support of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Students in the Diocese of Armidale Bounce Back – Murdi Paaki Resilience Program Count Me In Too (Numeracy Program) 2001 – 2008 Employment of Aboriginal Education Assistants Gamilaraay/Yuwaalaraay Language Program, Walgett Let’s Talk Rural Immersion Numeracy Backpack – School to Home Program – 2008 Otitis Media (Glue Ear) – Sound Field Amplification System Warramalaya (Stand Together), Years 8 -12 Program Wii Gaay (Clever Child) 2002 – 2008 and Ngali Dhiirrali 1998 – 1999

12. Primary ATSI Students Enrolled in Catholic Schools Diocese of Armidale 1998 – 2008

13. Secondary ATSI Students Enrolled in Catholic Schools Diocese of Armidale 1998 - 2008

14. Assessment and Identification • 13 trained DAGS working across key designated areas i.e. Walgett, Moree, Gunnedah, Narrabri, Tamworth, Armidale • Of the 13 trained DAGS 5 are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander • Pre-test carried out by DAG with no negative connection to children • Some children self identify – score highly in the RAVENS Matrices • Intervention run by DAG with emotional links/rapport with that school community • Post test students who have not self-identified • Selection process – students 80 percentile and above +++

15. Professional Development • Teacher Inservice - • Parent home/school visits • AEW Inservice – Primary/Secondary • DVD Professional Development for new • teachers • Wii Gaay Co-ordinator visit • schools/parents/community • Aboriginal Education Consultant visit • schools/parents/community • Teachers attending Residential Schools

16. Wii Gaay Residential Schools • Yearly - Two x four days • Locations • Theme • Literacy / Numeracy /I.T. / Cultural / RE-Spiritual

17. Who Attends • AEWs • Parents, Grandparents • Facilitators • Classroom Teachers • Community members • CSO leadership members • ACU students • C.E.C. • Yalari • DEEWR

18. In Between Residential Schools • Weekly emailing • Online Mentoring • School Visits • Stories • Parents - expectations, sibling/ wider family rippling effect • Georgina and others – staying connected • Venues – observations, positive comments