What is NAB Schools First?
NAB Schools First is brought to life by NAB in partnership with the Foundation for Young Australians (FYA) and Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER).
NAB Schools First recognises that the education of our young people rests on the shoulders of the entire community, which is why the awards component of the program supports Australian schools working in partnership with their communities to help young people realise their potential.
Launched in October 2008 by the Hon. Julia Gillard, MP, NAB Schools First is a national awards program that provides:
- financial recognition of success in establishing effective
school-community partnerships; and - financial support to build stronger school-community partnerships.
Over the three years NAB Schools First has been running, the program has awarded 310 school-community partnerships with $15 million to support and sustain their effective school-community partnership Any school in Australia can apply for a NAB Schools First Award. To date, over 26% of Australian schools have submitted applications for a NAB Schools First Award.
There are three types of awards: Impact Awards, Seed Funding Awards and our new Student Award. To learn more about these, go to our Award Categories section.
Why a program like NAB Schools First?
Together we believe in the maxim 'It takes a village to raise a child'.
NAB Schools First builds on the increasing recognition that the task of raising young people who are resilient, enquiring, adaptable and well-adjusted, rests on the shoulders of the entire community.
Schools can't do it alone. To share the responsibility, NAB Schools First strives to connect schools with their communities across Australia. Research shows that student results and experiences can be enhanced when they are connected to and involved with their community.
Outcomes can include:
• greater student engagement
• improved attendance and retention, and
• better academic performance.
What do we hope NAB Schools First will achieve?
We want communities to become more involved in their local school and for an extended range of people to contribute to student learning.
Effective school-community partnerships mean schools can draw from a much broader range of resources and support networks.
This year Tyrrell College, in the remote Victorian town of Sea Lake, was awarded a total of $500,000 in funding as the NAB Schools First National Award winner.
“Tyrrell College is a deserved national award winner because of the outstanding impact its program is having on students, the local agriculture industry and the community at large, but also for its potential to grow further with this award funding and impact more positively on more young people.” Andrew Hagger, Chair of NAB Schools First said.
Find out more about Tyrrell College’s winning school-community partnership.
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