Improved retention rates of Aboriginal students in SA government schools

1. Improved retention rates of Aboriginal students in SA government schools • Apparent retention rates for Aboriginal students have increased across all year levels to year 12 with the greatest increase occurring from year 8 to 12, 54.9% in 2009 to 79.2% in 2013 • The year 8 to 12 apparent retention rate for all students in 2013 is 92.4% Apparent Retention Rates for Aboriginal Government Students, FTE Source: Term 3 DECD School Enrolment Census Notes: Apparent retention rates are the percentage of students in Year 12 compared with the number in Year 8 four years earlier or in Year 10 two years earlier. These apparent retention rates are calculated for full time equivalent enrolments, FTE (ie full time plus proportion of workload undertaken by part time students). Caution should be taken in interpreting the data for apparent retention rates which can be inflated by a net increase in interstate migration. Small numbers of Aboriginal students can also affect results and may produce apparent variations from year to year that may not accurately reflect the long-term trend.

2. TARGETED INITIATIVES • Aboriginal Turn Around Team • Keeping Them on Track • Getting Them on Track • DECD Aboriginal Strategy • DECD Reconciliation Action Plan • Provision of field staff – regional and local • Community engagement initiatives • SA Sports Training Academy • Aboriginal Program Assistance Scheme • Scholarship and recognition awards

3. Aboriginal Turn Around Team initiative What was the program designed to achieve? • The Aboriginal Turn Around Teams work with chronically disengaged Aboriginal students and families at the intensive end of the support spectrum • The teams provide crisis intervention and support to Aboriginal children, young people, and families to deal with issues that impact on children’s attendance and engagement at school, and to help build the capacity of the family to support and manage changes • ATATs are referred families that are experiencing complex and often multiple issues across a range of areas of social concern. Some families engaged with ATAT are experiencing significant grief and trauma. • ATAT play a lead role in coordinating services between ATAT, schools, families/caregivers, and government and non-government agencies for highly-complex clients • ATATs are comprised of a Social Worker and Aboriginal Inclusion Officers and take up to 10 cases at any one time • Due to the nature of the issues that ATAT are involved in, long term involvement can be required in order to support change.

4. Who was the target audience for the program and how many were reached ie cohort of children or staff, specific identified need, numbers of children and schools supported? 4 Aboriginal Turn Around Teams (ATAT) across South Australia, have provided intensive and holistic case management services for 160 Aboriginal students attending 51 schools, which has supported the reduction of barriers that contribute to chronic non-attendance What has been the impact of the program? When was the last evaluation performed? • In 2012 ATAT supported 121 students increasing to 160 students in 2013. There were 61 new referrals in 2013, compared with 46 new referrals in 2012 indicating that as the teams became established and commenced operations the capacity to increase case load improved. • In 2013, 99 of the clients were existing referrals who continued to work with ATAT indicating the long-term nature of the case management model. • Overall attendance rates for students engaged with ATAT have remained steady since 2012 at 55.4%. • The overall attendance rate for students who were referred to ATAT prior to 2013 increased from 54.9% in 2012 to 58.8% in 2013 indicating the impact of a long term approach to achieving change. • The percentage of students engaged with ATAT who had an individual learning plan in place in 2012 increased from 69.2% in 2012 to 79.9% in 2013. • Deloittes was recently commissioned by the Department to undertake an evaluation of the National Partnership Communities Making a Difference, which included the ATAT program.