Community Colleges Australia has given its support to the “It Takes a Village” campaign developed and run by the Community Council for Australia (“the other CCA”).
The campaign aims to encourage Australians to recognise that we all have a role to play in the education of our country’s young people.
We all want Australian kids to do well at school, and to be able to dream big about their futures. Education has the power to transform the opportunities and life outcomes of children and communities. When students fall behind due to education disengagement or disadvantage, this can significantly impact their future and ability to reach their full potential.
Parents and teachers clearly play a vital role to our kids’ education, but so do many other people in our lives – the people in our ‘village’. Whether it’s good friends; adult role models who inspire and cheer them on; extended family encouraging their hopes and dreams; charities that provide extra-relational and educational support; sporting clubs or community groups who give them a deep sense of belonging – a child’s education is everybody’s business.
Find out more about It Takes A Village through its main website or Facebook and read the Sydney Morning Herald coverage.
Community Colleges Australia (CCA) comment
CCA CEO, Dr Don Perlgut, comments:
“Community Colleges Australia is pleased to be a supporter of and partner with the “It Takes a Village” campaign.
“Although historically known as ‘adult education’ providers, Australia’s adult and community education organisations have taken a major role in the education and training of Australia’s young people. A number of them provide specific youth services such as Albury Wodonga Community College’s “Let’s Go” or 2C4S programs and JobQuest’s Living in Harmony or Ready Arrive Work programs.
“In addition, many have set up independent special assistance secondary schools, which cater for the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people in secondary schooling.”
CCA’s policy on special assistance secondary schools (PDF) notes:
Adult and community education (ACE) providers have a long history in supporting disengaged youth, which has included providing various local programs and support strategies. Specific examples include the NSW Links to Learning Community Grants program and the Victorian Skills First Reconnect program. The ACE sector has long acknowledged the need for targeted support for vulnerable and disengaged students, and the growth of special assistance schools forms a natural progression within community-based education.
Community Colleges Australia recognises the opportunity to increase schooling options for young people through special assistance schools owned and operated by not-for-profit community-based education providers. Such schools generally have smaller student intakes and operate within an adult education philosophy to cater for young people dealing with a range of issues such as trauma, anxiety and/or mental health concerns, through to other necessitous circumstances, including family-related issues. These schools support a significant number of Indigenous students.
