Parents Australia
Alleviating the effects of poverty and helplessness through programs for parents from disadvantaged Indigenous communities in Western Australia.
Parents Australia focus on building interest, confidence and the capacity to engage with the learning experiences and development of children both at home and school.
2014 Pitch
Funds raised: $11,650
PA pitched at TFN on 6 May 2014 and received $11,650 to fund workshops in the remote community of Halls Creek, 3000 km from Perth. The Indigenous Parent Factor (IPF) Program kicked off with a community workshop for a group of young mums in September 2014 and the workshop was warmly welcomed back in December 2014. Training instruction was completed in May 2015 to enable the local community to take ownership and continue the IPF workshops independently.
The impact...
Parents are their child’s first educators – and they matter. But when educational impetus is lacking from a parent’s own experience – or where certain values fostered by schools are perceived to be inconsistent with values important to themselves and their community - that parent can find themselves wading through a quagmire of low self esteem and bafflement around the concept of structured learning.
One year after presenting at TFN in Perth, Parents Australia (PA) is vanquishing the shame and uneasiness around education prevalent among parents in disadvantaged Indigenous communities in Western Australia by involving these parents as respected and worthy partners in their children’s education.
Last July, the Australian government published the ‘Engaging Indigenous parents in children’s education’, concurring that successful Indigenous education programs tend to:
- create an environment that is culturally welcoming and inviting for Indigenous parents
- empower parents to support their children’s learning
- actively include parents in the children’s programs
- provide opportunities for parents to meet with and support each other
- involve the community and coordinate with relevant partner agencies.
The IPF community workshops already tick these boxes. It’s not just kids who need interest, confidence and engagement with the learning experience in order to achieve their potential – parents need it too. Restoring faith in education as a worthy pursuit and attaching clarity and significance to the role of mum and dad - whether a teenage parent or 78 year old Nana Mavis – unlocks education as a pathway to positive social change.
PA is presently negotiating in-kind support with a major corporate supporter to establish robust internal data collection around workshop participation and impact and, this week, received endorsement as one of their work-place giving charities.
Read their Impact Report
Supporting Sustainable Development Goals:
