Studio Schools of Australia 2024 Open Day speech

Keynote speech | Chair, Professor Jennifer Westacott AO

Thursday 5 September 2024

Introduction

Can I please start by acknowledging the Traditional Owners of this land, the Bunuba people, and pay my respects to their elders, past and present. As we look out around us, we can all see the care you have taken of your lands that we are on today. Thank you June for welcoming us to your country which we accept with humility – and thank you for partnering with us as we support your desire for your children to receive an education on country with language and culture at its core.

Can I also acknowledge the Yolnu Elders who travelled from the Northern Territory to be with us today. Thank you for the smoking ceremony and for the welcome.

I would also like to acknowledge:

  • my fellow Board members, and
  • everyone here today representing local, state and federal governments.

Can I thank our Foundation Partners – their generosity is making a difference:

  • BHP
  • Kmart, and
  • Hanson Australia.

I also acknowledge our supporters for today:

  • Bunnings
  • Fitzroy Crossing Buses
  • On Track Sportswear, and
  • Solid.

We are also pleased to be joined by many distinguished guests, including:

  • Geoff Masters – the former CEO of the Australian Council for Educational Research
  • Kathryn Greiner AO – representing the Paul Ramsay Foundation
  • Edward Tudor – CEO of the Melbourne Indigenous Transition School, and
  • Nick Evans – the principal of Wesley College Melbourne and a long-term friend of Studio Schools.

And of course, a special welcome to:

  • our staff
  • our supporters
  • our students
  • their families who place their trust in us to take care of their children, and
  • fellow educators, including principals from local community schools.

Thanks finally to Hutchies, our construction contractor for the Manjali school, and all those supporting this amazing effort to build a school in less than a year.

I do want to start by acknowledging our incredible CEO, Dr. Helen Drennen. Helen is the driving force behind Student Schools:

  • a world leading educator
  • committed to education and equality, and
  • committed to Indigenous communities.

What we are trying to achieve

It’s great to be here and be reminded about what we are doing and why we are doing it.

We are trying to build a new schools system in Northern Australia for Indigenous young people.

We are trying to break a national cycle of education that despite hard work and the dedication of teachers, a lack of resourcing and innovation means we are not making enough difference.

How is Yiramalay tracking

So, how are we tracking? Let’s start with Yiramalay, which is leading the way – a school which will be self-financing by 2025.

The rate at which our students are re-engaging with education and achieving results is simply outstanding. The average class attendance for students has increased to 78 per cent at Yiramalay – that’s almost double the attendance rate at their previous schools. Eighty per cent of our students now complete Year 12 – that’s just over the national average, an extraordinary feat that we can all be proud of. And importantly, our students are now better prepared for the future:

  • About three-quarters of our graduates since 2012 are currently employed, and
  • 82 per cent have been employed at some point since graduation.

This compares to 45 per cent of First Nations people nationally, and 30 per cent who live in very remote parts of Australia.

How are we achieving success

So, how are these results possible? By partnering with local communities, we have developed a system that aims to change the face of education in Northern Australia where communities are taking their place as partners and leaders in their children’s education.

Our education model, as many of you know, involves four circles of learning. Language and culture is embedded in everything we do. Then we have:

  • Living skills
  • Working skills or industry skills, and
  • Academic skills.

This is a complete education model but it fundamentally regards Indigenous culture and language as assets to build on and as the foundation of learning. It is not just what happens in the classroom that matters – it is the fact that we are on country. The greatest classroom, the greatest science lab, is all around us. There cannot be a better science lab than looking across the rivers and the ancient and majestic reef– that is the best science lesson you are ever going to get. Of course, it means so much more to these young people and their community. It is their story, it is their culture, it is their absolute DNA – why would you try and do an education model that divorced people from that?

I am so proud of our team at Yiramalay and our wonderful principal, Adele. At Yiramalay, two-thirds of our staff are Indigenous. They are constantly supported to become education leaders. The hard work of students, their families, staff and the community is driving incredible change and innovation.

This model extends outside the classroom where we are focussed on re-engaging young people in the education process. For those who have lost touch with education, our Turning the TIDE program is making a huge difference. The targeted program is co-led and co-designed by our Indigenous Education and Research Centre and Indigenous elders to respond to the urgent crisis in remote Indigenous communities of children not attending school. It provides a pathway back to school, and it’s success is unquestioned.

From little or no school attendance, 86 per cent of students who took part in the first Turning the TIDE program went on to engage with education or training. It made a difference because:

  • Young people spent time on country to transition away from negative influences impacting their lives
  • Each child had an individualised learning plan to build trust and self-respect and to restore pride in their future, with the confidence to set their own goals
  • The final program in 2023 was led and staffed entirely by Indigenous staff, and
  • The program built strong, trusting relationships with young people and their families.

We are successful because we have a back-to-basics way of teaching that empowers students to shape their educational journey. The results are undeniable – not just the data but the stories and impact on individuals.

Case studies

One of our students improved their numeracy and literacy so dramatically they’ve recently completed work experience with Hutchies on the Manjali site.

Another of our students, whose attendance rate was 96 per cent, is currently studying for a Certificate 4 in education support with North Regional TAFE.

Their personal development has been astounding – and inspiring.

Yiramalay is producing tomorrow’s leaders with another of our students offered jobs with two of our contractors – Hutchies and Gen OffGrid.

Just as we believe in these young people, their time at Yiramalay is teaching them to believe in themselves. That’s the transformative power of education. We believe that every person on the planet has a gift, and the job of education is to realise these gifts. Education is how we give someone the best chance in life and the ability to realise their full potential and to achieve things that they want for them and families. By helping these students realise their potential, in turn they can strengthen their families, their communities, and ultimately all of us are strengthened.

It’s exciting that our second school, Manjali – which you have seen today – will open soon. Manjali will be open for the start of school next year, the first time that Studio School’s unique learning framework will be available to students in Years 7 to 9.

As you have seen, our Manjali site includes our Indigenous Education and Research Centre – a Centre of Excellence within Studio Schools Australia. This unique centre, which will open early next year, is a model that could be applied anywhere in Australia. We hope to build a body of knowledge, particularly about how to re-engage young people who have been out of the system for a long period of time.

Together, Manjali and Yiramalay will work to deliver a systemic change to the Fitzroy-Kimberley area, an area that has faced so many challenges in education and elsewhere. However, we want this model to be more than a couple of schools.

Our vision

To make an impact, we know we need to be at 10 schools, and that’s still my vision. Ten schools by 2035. Because it's only at a system level that:

  • You can make real sustained change
  • You can create a workforce in Northern Australia
  • You can create pathways for young people
  • You can change the economic trajectory of many families and communities, and
  • You can change the consequences of economic inequality to economic empowerment.

Imagine the results we would achieve with 800 kids every year being given the chance to reach their potential. That comes from changing the education system at a system level at scale. As I always say, kids don't fail schools, schools fail them. Systems have failed them, and systems have failed Indigenous kids in this country for too long because we keep throwing money after models that we know don’t work. That is why the need for the Studio Schools model is clear.

If we're serious about Indigenous advancement and self-determination, rather than simply closing the gap, I implore our political leaders to embrace educational change at a system level, not just at a couple of schools. Because at Yiramalay, we are lighting the way. It’s why we are so determined to press ahead. We must go forward with delivering this model. We must go forward with you to encourage kids to enrol in our schools. We must go forward with schools all around Australia who genuinely want to have their non-Indigenous students understand indigenous culture and understand Indigenous history. We want them to come to these schools to work with our students. We want them to see the world through our students’ eyes and drive that greater understanding across all sections of our community about:

  • what people mean by Indigenous culture, and
  • what people mean by indigenous self-determination.

That’s the second part of our model, the two-way learning.

It’s great to meet and talk to people from Wesley. Twelve of our kids will be going to Wesley next week. What does this mean, what change can this make?

Just one example:

One Wesley graduate who came to Yiramalay as an induction student and later returned as a mentor has recently graduated from university. She majored in Indigenous Studies and is now a lawyer in Darwin working with First Nations people. This shows the power of two-way learning at an individual and a community level.

Imagine what we would be able to achieve?

And that is my call to governments. Seriousness about indigenous advancement is about confronting models that don't work and propelling models that do this.

Conclusion

So, join us on this journey. Partner with us. Speak about our success. But join me in this message to our students – our reason for being.

Feel our life force. Feel our belief in you. Feel our hope in you. That through this unique way of educating you, we can give you the life and opportunity that you should expect and that every child in this country is entitled to.

Thank you.