School: St Kilda Primary School (VIC)
Partner: Ardoch Youth Foundation
St Kilda Primary School has over 360 students from Prep to Year 6, located in an inner urban area of Melbourne. Seventeen per cent of students speak a language other than English at home, and 25 per cent of families are welfare recipients. There is a widening gap between poor and more affluent families and an increase in the incidence of issues such as mental health problems, child neglect, family breakdown, substance abuse and isolation within the community. In response to these challenges, the school has developed an Integrated Welfare Model, which is based on the understanding that ‘social and academic outcomes for children can only be maximised in a context of warmth, love, security and understanding’.
The school has been strongly supported through its partnership with the Ardoch Youth Foundation, a not-for-profit organisation that has been working to support students, families and schools for 21 years. Ardoch brings schools, communities and businesses together to generate extra resources in the form of volunteer time, goods and services to improve student learning and wellbeing. With a staff of 21 (equivalent full-time) and a budget of $1.8 million, Ardoch works with over 30 schools nation-wide.
In 1988, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed to formally recognise the school–community partnership for the trial of the Ardoch Integrated Welfare Model project. From the outset, the partners were committed to an action research approach to the partnership. A decade later, the partnership continues to use the cycle of plan, implement, research and reflect to set the ongoing agenda. The action planning structures involve an annual goal-setting meeting, progress reports, regular reports to the school council, newsletter items and induction meetings for new school staff.
The range of support activities for students is extensive and includes lunchtime activities, peer support and leadership programs, creative arts therapy, peer mediation, the organisation and financing of dentist and optometrist visits, the provision of speech pathology services, and the recruiting and training of classroom volunteers. The literary buddies program has been particularly effective. Where a specific welfare, intellectual, social or emotional need is identified, the Integrated Welfare Model is used to ensure that a holistic approach is taken to addressing need for the child, their family and the classroom environment. Family support activities include parenting programs, financial or other support for everyday needs, including assistance with transport needs and the provision of school uniforms. Professional development is provided for staff and a speech therapist is employed with partnership funding to work with staff as well as one-on-one with children and families.
The partnership has given students greater confidence and social skills, opportunities to learn new skills and leadership strategies, and classroom support through the volunteers program. In the cases of some students where poor behaviour at school was clearly related to challenging home situations, assistance in the form of mentoring, provision of basic needs and the support of the Department of Human Services has enabled the lives of the students to be transformed. There are a number of systems in place to ensure that the partnership remains strong, and the Impact Award funding will enable the program to be maintained and developed in the light of research data.
