Yirrkala School and Miwatj Health team up to boost engagement, attendance
A Northern Territory school has teamed up with a health provider to boost engagement and attendance. Here’s how.
Education
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Bridging cultural divides and mapping student support networks will help one school boost its engagement and attendance rates.
Miwatj Health Aboriginal Corporation and Yirrkala School have teamed up to deliver a new program that will equip students with the social and emotional tools to hit the books.
Yirrkala School’s attendance in 2023 sat at 50 per cent.
Education Minister Mark Monaghan said the homegrown program was designed to strengthen support for students with disability or diverse needs.
The program includes mapping a student’s family, education, health, and other support services – and drawing links between them – and supplying de-escalation training to school staff such as using breath work, fidget toys, and providing a “mulka” space for kids to find a safe place to shelter in.
It also builds resources to bridge gaps between Western and Yolngu concepts – such as using Yolngu terminology around “rough waters” and “calm waters” to describe different state of emotional regulation.
Mr Monaghan said the school has already seen a drop in the time and resources needed to help students regulate their emotions and a boost in classroom participation.
He said the program has supported 40 students, six school staff, and four parents and caregivers since Term 1, 2024.
“As a government, we must continue to partner with Aboriginal organisations to get more children to school, to engage them in their learning,” Mr Monaghan said.
“That means genuinely listening to community needs and solutions and moving away from traditional servicing models.
“Together, the Territory Labor government, Yirrkala School and Miwatj Health have identified local challenges and tailored, place-based solutions and the results have already started to flow with more students attending and engaging in class already.”
The partnership is funded under the NT government’s $10m over three years as part of the Education Engagement Strategy 2022-31.
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