‘Critical innovation’ sees NSW Catholic schools keep more Indigenous kids in class

The gap between school attendance rates for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal kids in NSW remains large but one school sector has closed the gap more than the others. Here’s how.

Indigenous students in Catholic schools continue to have higher attendance rates than their peers in public and independent schools, a report from the sector has revealed.

Meanwhile, while the attendance gap between those children and non-Aboriginal kids has narrowed to four per cent.

Findings from the 2024 Annual Report on Aboriginal Education Outcomes in NSW Catholic Schools will be presented to the sector’s triennial three-day Aboriginal Education Conference in Tamworth on Wednesday.

The report found Catholic schools educated 12 per cent of the state’s Indigenous students in 2023, with Aboriginal kids accounting for 4.3 per cent of the cohort in systemic schools and 2.3 per cent in non-systemic Catholic schools compared with 9.3 per cent of government school enrolments.

A three-day Aboriginal education conference is underway in Tamworth from Wednesday. Picture: Getty Images

Attendance rates for Aboriginal students slumped to historic lows in 2022 across all three sectors but have since rebounded across the board.

Catholic schools have the highest rates at 86.8 per cent, followed by independent schools at 84.5 per cent then government schools at 79.7 per cent.

The attendance rate gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students fell from 4.9 per cent to 4.0 per cent between 2022 and 2023, making the gap roughly half that of the independent and government sectors.

“The smaller gaps noted for Catholic schools may be partly attributed to the structure of intentional support for Aboriginal students throughout the system,” the report find.

“Each diocese employs Aboriginal Education Officers who know the challenges of Aboriginal students within their local schools and community.

Aboriginal children in Catholic schools have a higher attendance rate than in other sectors. However, only 12 per cent of Indigenous kids attend Catholic schools.

“In a number of dioceses, there has been a transition away from more traditional support for Aboriginal students (i.e., sitting in classrooms and supporting teachers) to focusing on broader community engagement.”

Catholic Schools NSW CEO Dallas McInerney said the introduction of Aboriginal Education Officers, networked across the state, has been a “critical innovation” of the sector.

“Our schools know their families … they are connected to the communities they serve,” he said.

“There is no greater thing you can do for equity than get kids in schools.”

Catholic Schools NSW chief executive officer Dallas McInerney.

Closing the gap – in attendance, retention and achievement – will require the sector continually investing in connections with the local Indigenous, he said, with the non-government sector expecting “no volatility” in their ability to do so with current funding arrangements locked in for the next five years.

The new Kindergarten to Year 12 curriculum and its inclusion of new Indigenous culture content will be at the forefront of the conference as educators come together to “share their successes and what works when it comes to Aboriginal education”, Mr McInerney said.

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