Providing public education

In 2020–21, our 22 Child and Parent Centres provided 590 programs and services with approximately 74,000 child attendances and 72,000 adult attendances. The centres continued to support families and communities to provide young children with the best start to learning.

At 30 June 2021, 21 public and two non-government schools were participating in the Kimberley Schools Project (KSP). These schools were supported to intensify and accelerate children’s learning through targeted teaching practices in Kindergarten to Year 2. Support beyond the early years was provided on a school‑by‑school basis in either, or both, literacy and numeracy. Schools could also participate in the project’s leadership model and implement the KSP KindiLink program. From Semester 2, 2020, KSP schools could apply for a grant to work with their communities to identify and implement community strategies to strengthen student engagement.

In 2020, the Enhanced Transition to School Project – a partnership between the Department, the Australian Government, Catholic Education Western Australia, the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia and Playgroup WA – supported 406 playgroups, including six new playgroups. The partnership provides:

• opportunities for wrap-around services and community engagement
• support for the transition of pre‑school children to school.

The trial initiative Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Early Years Link Project (CaLDEYLink) will begin in two metropolitan primary schools with high proportions of CaLD families in Semester 2, 2021. The initiative aims to:

• develop the personal/social, language and cognitive capabilities of English as an additional language or dialect (EALD) children prior to school entry
• build on the capacity of CaLD families as their children’s first educators
• forge stronger and more collaborative partnerships between home, school and community.

Preparation, including staff appointments, training, planning and community engagement was undertaken in Semester 1, 2021.

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Child and Parent Centres offer programs and services that support families and help children develop and learn during their early years. Find out more about our Child and Parent Centre in Gosnells.

This video information is available as a text transcript.

Schools continued to support parents, caregivers and others in the community to model and reinforce positive behaviour to young people through the Positive Parenting Program (Triple P). In 2020, 414 Triple P sessions were attended by 3,140 parents. The sessions were organised by our staff and offered through schools, Child and Parent Centres, and not-for-profit organisations.

In 2020–21, we managed the School Drug Education and Road Aware Program. Through this program:

• 19 professional learning programs relating to early intervention to address student alcohol and drug use were delivered
• 1,480 public and non-government school staff participated in alcohol and other drugs education professional learning
• more than 19,000 students in public and non-government schools participated in the Keys4Life pre-driver education program.

We were the lead agency for the three‑year Full Service Schools pilot, in the Armadale, Byford and Kelmscott areas, which concluded in December 2020. Services commenced in 2019 at the purpose-built Youth and Community Services Hub at Armadale Senior High School. The pilot engaged 41 government and non‑government agencies to provide a range of youth and family support services to the two initial target groups: young people who are pregnant or parenting, and young people who are vulnerable to homelessness or family and domestic violence.

Between 2019 and 2020, 230 students participated in the Full Service Schools pilot. The pilot ceased at the end of 2020 and has now become an ongoing program coordinated by Armadale Senior High School.

Through a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Justice, we support the provision of education services to children and young people in detention. This includes funding to the Department of Justice for the salaries and on‑costs for three full-time equivalent teaching positions and access to online professional learning for Department of Justice education staff members.

Our School of Special Educational Needs: Behaviour and Engagement continued work with the Department of Justice to support students moving between youth justice services and schools.

We continued to contribute to the Kimberley Juvenile Justice Strategy, a cross-government approach led by the Department of Justice to address youth offending rates and antisocial behaviours in the Kimberley region. In 2020–21, we continued to support the strategy through the:

• work of a youth transition coordinator located in the Kimberley to provide tailored support to young people leaving the care of justice services by collaborating with Banksia Hill Detention Centre staff, the community, and the young person and their family
• delivery of an alternative education program in the Kimberley designed to divert vulnerable students from offending by offering a pathway for them to re‑engage with education, and receive life-skills training and possible employment opportunities.

We maintained partnerships with other government agencies, including the Western Australia Police Force and the departments of Communities, Justice and Health, through established memoranda of understanding.

We continued the BHP Pilbara Education Partnership, a collaborative partnership strengthening community based learning approaches for students in the Pilbara. Across a range of agencies and organisations, the partnership:

• coordinated specialist services to deliver targeted support to prepare pre-school children for school
• provided students with learning experiences to expose them to the unique employment opportunities available in the Pilbara, and to assist them to make informed decisions about their future.