CLOSING THE GAP

1
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Minister for Indigenous Affairs,
Nigel Scullion visited the remote school in August 2016.
OUTSTANDING
LOCAL
SOLUTIONS
DELIVERING
EXCITING
OUTCOMES
Supporting principals with
cultural understanding
The Remote Principals Project is
building the cultural competency
of over 140 principals, school
leaders and teachers in remote
communities. The project works
in schools with high numbers of
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
students in Queensland, Western
Australia, Northern Territory, South
Australia and New South Wales.
The Commonwealth-funded project
is an initiative of the Stronger
Smarter Institute, founded by
Dr Chris Sarra, a Goreng Goreng
man and former school principal.
Community drives school
attendance in Fregon, SA 1
In Fregon, a remote community
in the Anangu Pitjantjatjara
Yankunytjatjara (APY) Lands of
South Australia, positive school
habits are being formed early, and
families are now getting involved
in their children’s education.
The Remote School Attendance
Strategy has allowed the community
to be innovative in order to achieve
better school attendance, with
many activities centring around
the Fregon Early Learning Centre,
enhancing parental engagement.
The Centre is now becoming a
‘community owned’ space, with Child
and Family Health Service nurses
and visiting specialists using it as
the liaison point to undertake health
checks, and to provide other vital
services to families in community.
•48• CLOSING THE GAP: PRIME MINISTER'S REPORT 2017