a seminar given at the CEntre for Systems Learning and Leadership University of Bristol by Tess McPeake.

1. 21/12/12

2. Parent Yarns - Learning Together:
parent engagement in Australian schools
Tess McPeake, Program Coordinator
The Smith Family
Darwin, Northern Territory
Parent and Community Engagement project 2

3. • Australian disadvantaged children
• School at the centre approach
• Educating girls
• Impact of parent engagement
• Parent engagement project
• Parents’ feedback
• Parent Yarns documentary
Parent and Community Engagement project 3

4. Our history
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
Innovation and Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 4

5. Australia’s hidden problem
Out of every 10 Australian
children, there is 1 child
like Emily who is living
in financial disadvantage.
1 in 10 amounts to almost
606,0001 Australian children
living in households where
no parent works.

6. Our vision, mission and belief
A better future for young
Our vision
Australians in need
To create opportunities for young
Our mission Australians in need by providing long-term
support for their participation in education
Our belief Every child deserves a chance
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
Innovation and Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 6

7. The national context for our work
Relationship between student
background and educational outcomes
is more pronounced in Australia than in Tertiary
other comparable high performing
OECD countries, such as Canada.
Secondary
Students from high
Primary socio-economic
background are
Early Year 12 completion three times more
rates are significantly likely to attend
Years lower (56%) for university than
students from low students from low
Around a third of Indigenous socio-economic socio-economic
Year 5 students are below backgrounds than for background
A third of children the national minimum students from high
living in the most standard for reading socio-economic
disadvantaged backgrounds (75%)
communities start
school
developmentally
vulnerable

8. Parent and Community Engagement project 8

9. Parent and Community Engagement project 9

10. Parent and Community Engagement project 10

11. Australia’s Northern Territory
comprises a land area of
1,346,200 km2 (6 times
bigger than the UK)
The Northern Territory is the third
largest of all Australian states and
territories but has the smallest
population and the highest
proportion of Indigenous people. Darwin is the capital city
with an estimated
population of 110,000.
Parent and Community Engagement project 11

12. 44% of all Northern
Territory students were
Indigenous in 2012
68.7% of all enrolled
Indigenous students
attend school regularly,
compared to 90.6% of
non-Indigenous students
http://www.det.nt.gov.au/students/at-school/enrolment-attendance/enrolment-attendance-statistics
Parent and Community Engagement project 12

13. Responding to disadvantage in the NT
• Vulnerable students need wrap around support and to
be exposed to high expectations
• ‘The challenge for our community is seeing so many
Indigenous girls with so much potential pushing prams
at age 14.’
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
nd Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 13

14. School at the centre approach
Families &
services
Parent and Community Engagement project 14

15. Why put school at the centre?
• School is our primary program delivery platform
• School can be the community’s most stable asset
• School-community-business partnerships assist
vulnerable families
• Parent involvement in student’s learning has been
shown to increase attendance, retention and success
Parent and Community Engagement project 15

16. Parents get engaged in learning
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
Innovation and Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 16

17. Dad’s contribute to children’s learning
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
Innovation and Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 17

18. Parents aspire for students to finish year 12
Respect and Caring; Inclusiveness and
Diversity; Collaboration and Teamwork;
Innovation and Creativity;
Excellence and Professionalism
Parent and Community Engagement project 18

19. Indigenous girls in the NT are…
• Five times more likely to become pregnant than non-Indigenous
girls
• Less likely to complete Year 12
• Less likely to join the labour force after leaving school
• More likely to be in the criminal justice system
• More likely to become single parents (in 2011, 32 percent of all
Indigenous births had no paternity attributed)
• Indigenous women and girls are more likely to experience
domestic violence than non-Indigenous women and girls.
Parent and Community Engagement project 19

20. Educating girls is part of the answer
• International evidence indicates that educating girls and women
has positive impacts on reducing early pregnancy
• Creates intergenerational education benefits
Each additional year of formal
education completed by a
mother translates into her
children remaining in school
for an additional one-third to
one-half year (Filmer 2000)
Parent and Community Engagement project 20

21. Parent and Community Engagement project 21

22. Indigenous children behind from the start
• Many Indigenous children start school behind their non-
Indigenous classmates (up to 60% in Western Australia).
• ‘The job of parents has changed; but in some cases, no-
one told the parents’, Professor Colleen Hayward, AM
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23. Parent and Community Engagement project
• Australian Government program
• Schools where we have established trust and goodwill,
shared goals and a proven record of working effectively
• For parents with children aged 0 - 16 years attending
3 secondary schools and 1 primary school
Parent and Community Engagement project 23

24. Parent Yarns−Learning Together
• Values driven
• Shared experience and appreciating the ‘pearls’ within
• Facilitated, collaborative, co-constructed sessions
• Whole of school approach
with parents, teachers and
school leaders learning at
the same time
•Tough, fun and symbolic
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25. Parent and Community Engagement project 25

26. Wordle
Parents’ voices at the centre of the design and the program
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27. Parent and Community Engagement project 27

28. Designed and facilitated by
Marilynn Willis and Julianne Willis (TLE North)
Parent and Community Engagement project 28

29. Evaluation findings
Proportion of Indigenous parents participating in Parent Yarns
Total Indigenous Per
Parent Yarns
parents parents cent
Term 1 53 20 44
Term 2 54 32 53
Term 3 24 7 29
Term 4 34 16 47
Average 41 19 43
Cumulative
165 75
total
Parent and Community Engagement project 29

30. Parent and Community Engagement project 30

31. “It takes a community to raise a child; we all share the same
dreams for our children”
Parent and Community Engagement project 31

32. “It’s the power of the conversation protocol – it was
really strong. The more you share in that structured
way, the more options you get.”
“…all the parties that were there—parents, staff, kids—
talked together and worked together for a common
cause. It was a whole new way of seeing things done in
a school; everyone had their say.”
“It became a really fun night that got everyone involved, emotionally, mentally and physically.
I felt like a big kid at the end of the night! Yeah, it brought out the child in all of us. The last school
I did try to get involved with but they didn’t have anything like this.”
Parent and Community Engagement project 32

33. Confidence and empowerment
“I’ve been able to build confidence and respect
for the teachers—I asked myself ‘what can I do to
help not only my daughter but other children as
well’—you can actually get involved with the
school and help them, its really amazing.”
“I wasn’t sure if it was worth my precious
time—but I really liked how the yarn had a
schedule and everyone could have a say if
they like with no pressure if they just want
to listen. Now my school’s parent yarn
community has my name on their list and I
feel totally empowered by this.”
Parent and Community Engagement project 33

34. “It makes me happy when my Mum joins into The Smith Family activities
because it shows me she cares about things that happen in our relationships
and in my learning and education. When all the parents are together and
helping each other, it’s like when my friends are together helping and
supporting each other.”
Parent and Community Engagement project 34

35. Parent Yarns – Learning Together documentary
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