Aboriginal language lessons and a new discipline system have helped kids at Kemblawarra Public School shine amid the otherwise dire state of indigenous literacy in NSW.
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During the past two years reading and writing scores at the school – where about 30per cent of the students are indigenous – have improved significantly.
This is not the case for Aboriginal students in most NSW schools.
A report released this week by the state’s Auditor-General Peter Achterstraat said half the state’s indigenous students scored below the minimum reading standard in primary school and efforts to close the literacy gap between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students were not working.
‘‘By year 3, around 40per cent of Aboriginal students are at or below minimum standard for reading,’’ Mr Achterstraat said.
‘‘Unfortunately, this is almost triple the rate of non-Aboriginal students. By year 5 around 50per cent of Aboriginal students are at or below the minimum standard.’’
Despite NSW government plans to halve the Aboriginal literacy gap by 2018 the report said there was no evidence this was attainable using existing measures.
The report also showed there was no significant gap between the results of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students in about one third of NSW primary schools, leading Mr Achterstraat to recommend initiatives at those schools be adopted.
‘‘You can take the programs that are working well in some schools and modify them and apply them,’’ he said.
At Kemblawarra, Aboriginal students’ NAPLAN test results rose from below average in 2009 to well above those of students in statistically similar schools in 2011.
Principal Eleanor Thompson said this had been due to personalised and regularly updated learning plans developed with children and parents, a specialist Aboriginal education officer and a Wadi Wadi indigenous language class offered to all students from preschool to year 6.
The school has also based its discipline system on ‘‘restorative justice’’ – where students are taught self-confidence, community values and accountability instead of just being punished.
As a result, the number of suspensions for Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children, which Ms Thompson said was ‘‘terribly high’’ a couple of years ago, has dropped to zero.
‘‘Our attendance has improved, we have had no suspensions for two and a half years, and the incidence of detention has decreased dramatically,’’ Ms Thompson said.
‘‘When the children are at school, working in the classroom and feeling supported and safe, then that is going to translate over to how they are progressing academically.’’
