Helping hand has kids dressed for success

WHEN new students start at Curran Public School, the principal makes sure the family can afford their child's school uniform.

Tracey Torlaschi with her children

WHEN new students arrive to start at Curran Public School in Sydney's outer western suburbs, principal Kathy Strong makes sure the family can afford to buy their child a school uniform.

"It's very important children start a new school wearing the uniform on their first day," she said.

"It gives a sense of belonging. Often children misbehave because they don't feel good about themselves and if they come to school in clothes different from everybody else, immediately they feel different."

A school uniform might seem the easiest part of sending a child to school but at Curran Public, which lies amid the public housing estates at Macquarie Fields in one of Sydney's most disadvantaged areas, the money for a school shirt is often beyond the household budget.

The sons of lifelong Macquarie Fields resident Tracey -- who did not wish to give her surname -- Adam, 9, and Lucas, 6, are running happily around the playground indistinguishable from their classmates because of financial assistance provided by The Smith Family.

Tracey was referred to the Smith Family's Learn for Life program when she was unable to pay $20 for her sons to go on a school excursion. With her husband off work having a shoulder reconstruction and then a heart attack, and three of her four children having chronic illnesses, Tracey was struggling to buy high school uniforms for her eldest children.

But Tracey is committed to her children's education, determined they finish school and escape the malaise that undo many in the area. "Education begins at home. Kids should learn everything before they start school," she said. "Without education, you don't get a job and you're not going to get on in life."

One-third of the students at Curran Public benefit from a scholarship program run by The Smith Family, which links sponsors and children in the same way as overseas foster child programs.

The scholarships are offered under the Learning For Life program, which is co-ordinated at Macquarie Fields by Louise Boyle, who works with schools in the area to give struggling families a helping hand.

Ms Boyle oversees mentoring programs matching Year 12 students with people in the corporate world, university tours, careers days and specific programs in schools covering arts and reading.

"It's getting them to broaden their horizons and . . . giving them the self-belief they need," she said.