RECONCILIATION ACTION PLAN DECEMBER 2019 - DECEMBER 2020
ARTIST PROFILE
The artwork that accompanies our Reconciliation Action Plan was created by the students of Teach For Australia Alumna Carly Farrugia at Yirrkala CEC in the Northern Territory. Yirrkala CEC is located in North East Arnhem Land, in the community of Yirrkala. The school caters for students from preschool to Year 12 and has an enrolment of approximately 200 students. While the majority of students come from Yirrkala itself, children from Gunyangara, Galupa and Birritjimi also travel by bus each day to attend Yirrkala School. In 1948, Frederick McCarthy, as part of an American-Australian Scientific Expedition to Arnhem land, collected and recorded 193 string figures known in Yolŋu as matjka. His principal guide and collaborator, Ŋarrawu Munuŋgur could replicate a large number of designs suggesting that for Yolŋu, string figure making was a highly developed cultural practice. In 2019, the Buku-Larrŋgay Mulka Centre in Yirrkala involved senior students from Yirrkala CEC in an iteration of a past project in which the string figure designs are made and by slipping the finished figure off the maker’s hands, turned into prints using a soft-ground etching technique. This iteration from Yirrkala CEC engaged young students, and they became so immersed that the exhibition was in fact opened at the Gapan Gallery at the GARMA festival in 2019. Off the back of this project, senior art students continued to explore these string figure designs using the process of cyanotype printing – a photographic printing process, using a two part chemical substance that can be applied onto any natural fibre surface; cotton, paper and linen, producing a cyan-blue print once exposed to sunlight.
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INTRODUCTION FROM OUR CEO
As Teach For Australia celebrates 10 years, we also celebrate our first formal and explicit act of reconciliation. It is with great humility and knowing how much more we have to learn and grow – as individuals and as an organisation – that I launch our first Reconciliation Action Plan. The spirit of reconciliation and a strong belief in the dignity and potential of all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples has been present since Teach For Australia’s inception. One of the seeds which led to Teach For Australia began to germinate in the rich soils of Cape York, where I first immigrated. In a place where the red earth and scrub stretches far, meeting the rainforest and extending to the rivers and reefs in the northernmost part of Australia, I worked to serve community leaders and activists and I saw firsthand the belief and desire for an education system that recogniSed, empowered and secured the identity and culture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, at the same time that it provided the additional skills and competencies that would give them the choice and capability to navigate and choose to live and work between worlds, and bring greater opportunity to their homelands. And among the questions they asked was how we could bring more teachers and educational leaders into our education system who could see this duality, and work in partnership with communities and schools to create the push and pull factors necessary to give our young people absolutely everything they so richly deserved. Every. Thing. It is the same vision for young peoples – the same belief and desire – that was so richly expressed by 66 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people in what they rightly called the Imagination Declaration. They provoked us to, When you think of an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander kid, or in fact, any kid, imagine what’s possible. Don’t define us through the lens of disadvantage or label us as limited. Test us. Expect the best of us. Expect the unexpected. Expect us to continue carrying the custodianship of imagination, entrepreneurial spirit and genius. Expect us to be complex. And then let us spread our wings, and soar higher than ever before.
Teach For Australia seeks to be part of the answer to that question and an asset working towards that vision. By recruiting as many of our country’s current and future leaders into teaching as possible, placing them into communities where they are needed most, and inspiring, connecting and empowering them to a lifetime of action towards educational equity, we want more than anything to see true equity for our nation’s Indigenous young people. As an organisation we embrace the Imagination Declaration as representing the hopes of all young peoples with whom we work, in schools and communities across Australia. At the same time we recognise that as a nation, it is only when those who are most oppressed and disadvantaged can spread Teach For Australia | Reconciliation Action Plan 3
their wings and truly soar that we can all truly claim to be free. Only then can we be the fullness of ourselves as a nation, as an honestly Lucky Country. And so as an organisation, we commit ourselves publicly to the path of reconciliation and invite you to hold us to this Reconciliation Action Plan, and support and challenge us to reflect and progress it in our daily work and values that underpin all we do. Our commitment is whole and heartfelt, and we take these first steps inspired by the final line of the Uluru Statement from the Heart – to walk alongside our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island brothers and sisters in a movement of the Australian peoples for a better future.
Melodie Potts Rosevear Founder and CEO, Teach For Australia
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MESSAGE FROM RECONCILIATION AUSTRALIA
Reconciliation Australia is delighted to welcome Teach for Australia to the Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) program and to formally endorse its inaugural Reflect RAP. As a member of the RAP community, Teach for Australia joins over 1,000 dedicated corporate, government, and not-for-profit organisations that have formally committed to reconciliation through the RAP program since its inception in 2006. RAP organisations across Australia are turning good intentions into positive actions, helping to build higher trust, lower prejudice, and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures. Reconciliation is no one single issue or agenda. Based on international research and benchmarking, Reconciliation Australia defines and measures reconciliation through five critical dimensions: race relations; equality and equity, institutional integrity; unity; and historical acceptance. All sections of the community—governments, civil society, the private sector, and Aboriginal and Strait Islander communities—have a role to play to progress these dimensions. The RAP program provides a framework for organisations to advance reconciliation within their spheres of influence. This Reflect RAP provides Teach for Australia a roadmap to begin its reconciliation journey. Through implementing a Reflect RAP, Teach for Australia will lay the foundations for future RAPs and reconciliation initiatives. We wish Teach for Australia well as it takes these first critical steps in its reconciliation journey. We encourage the organisation to embrace this journey with open hearts and minds, to grow from the challenges, and to build on the successes. As the Council for Aboriginal Reconciliation reminded the nation in its final report: Reconciliation is hard work—it’s a long, winding and corrugated road, not a broad, paved highway. Determination and effort at all levels of government and in all sections of the community will be essential to make reconciliation a reality.
On behalf of Reconciliation Australia, I commend Teach for Australia on its first RAP, and look forward to following its ongoing reconciliation journey. Karen Mundine Chief Executive Officer, Reconciliation Australia
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OUR BUSINESS
Founded in 2008, Teach For Australia is a not-for-profit organisation dedicated to working in areas of need, helping break the cycle of educational disadvantage and ensuring Australia fulfils its aspiration to be a land of opportunity for all. Teach For Australia is dedicated to recruiting the future leaders of Australia to join the movement tackling educational disadvantage, until all children, regardless of their background, attain an excellent education. We believe in equity in education – an Australia where your postcode does not determine your future potential, the opportunities available to you in life, or your ability to contribute to society. We see the strengths of the communities we work with: they demonstrate leadership and resilience each and every day. Our goal is to learn from those already within these communities, and to work with and support them to better and more equitable outcomes. Our vision is of an Australia where all children, regardless of background, attain an excellent education. Our mission is to recruit Australia’s future leaders into the classroom and inspire, connect and empower them to a lifetime of action towards educational equity. The values that we stand for as an organisation are as follows:
EMPOWERING GREATNESS We see great possibilities and strive to bring them to life. We seek to lead by example and are agents for change in ourselves, in students and in our society. We create empowering learning environments that enable others to excel.
OUTCOME DRIVEN We are inspired by ambitious goals and pursue them with determination. We use data to think critically about problems and solutions. We take personal responsibility for delivering meaningful, measurable impact within time-frames that are challenging and motivating.
COLLABORATION We strive to build effective, professional relationships within and across sectors. We have a collaborative mindset that opens us to the opportunities and expertise available through partnerships. We work together – within the organisation, with our Associates and with partners, to achieve the individual and systemic changes we seek.
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HUMILITY AND LEARNING We respect and seek to learn from the communities we serve and the peoples with whom we work. We recognise the limits of our own experience, ask questions and seek diverse perspectives to inform our views. We work with curiosity and resourcefulness, engage in honest self-reflection and look for ways to continuously improve.
INNOVATION We bring energy and creativity to everything we do. We are excited by new ideas and look for new ways to do things that will bring us closer to achieving our goals. We embrace the opportunity to operate outside our comfort zone as a chance to grow and innovate.
RESILIENCE We are resilient when faced with obstacles and undaunted by the scale of the change we seek. We rise to the challenge and never forget why we do what we do. *** Teach For Australia employs over 75 staff, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples representing 3%. Our head office is in Melbourne, VIC, with staff and supporters tackling educational inequity from remote offices across Australia. We place teaching Associates in VIC, WA, NT and TAS. It is an objective of this Reconciliation Action Plan to establish improvement targets for employment and program recruitment of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, and measure progress towards achievement.
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OUR RAP
Teach For Australia would like to acknowledge the many Traditional Custodians of the lands throughout Australia. We pay our respects to their Elders past, present and emerging, for they hold the memories, the traditions, the culture and hopes of Australia’s first peoples. As the oldest living civilisation in the world, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the original custodians of education, leadership and knowledge transfer, from whom we still have so much to learn. Teach for Australia believes that reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Islander peoples is critical to achieving our vision of an excellent education for all Australians. This is our first Reconciliation Action Plan, formally outlining our commitment to a reconciled Australia. Our reconciliation journey to date has centred on placement of teaching Associates in partner schools located in Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander communities. We strive to partner with Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander led organisations and individuals to support our teaching Associates to build cultural understanding within the context of their community. We believe our young peoples are our future. We believe in their unlimited potential, and that we must work together with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people, their families, communities, schools and systems to ensure that future is as bright as possible. As educators across the nation, we see daily the many large and small ways that the potential of our young peoples is constrained – and this is particularly true for our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people. We must better partner with and learn from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities to together address these barriers and unleash their potential. Therefore, commitment to and vision for reconciliation requires us to: • •
• • •
cultivate and demonstrate deep respect and humility for the thousands of years of culture, knowledge, and ways of learning that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians steward; acknowledge Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander rich histories as well as the ongoing impact of colonisation and successive policies which have contributed to the significant challenges and barriers facing First Nations peoples; celebrate each child’s identity, living knowledge, and culture; ensure quality education that empowers Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young people to be successful as they navigate multiple cultures; and stand alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples in support of the agency, voice and self-determination they have sought and expressed through the Uluru Statement from the Heart and Imagination Declaration.
Our vision for reconciliation has also enriched our understanding of how our Core Values can better live into the spirit of reconciliation.
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In empowering greatness, we practise educational excellence to support the developing individual and collective agency and self-determination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander young peoples. In humility and learning, we recognise and appreciate the rich lessons borne from thousands of years of custodianship of Land, leadership and education by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In collaboration, we establish relationships with school partners and communities, to build the cultural competence of our staff, Associates, Fellows and Alumni. In resilience, we acknowledge the resilience of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to overcome historical trauma, and support a relentless pursuit of educational equity. In outcome driven, we create an enabling environment – both internally at TFA and in any representation of TFA externally – to recognise and elevate the importance of history, leadership and knowledge of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. In innovation, we never stop the work of building cultural competency and embedding culturally responsive pedagogy (that celebrates not removes culture) in all program content from Teach for Australia.
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OUR PARTNERSHIPS AND REGIONAL RESOURCES
REGION
VIC
ORGANISATION
CONTACT
Wurundjeri Tribe Council
https://www.wurundjeri.com.au/
Boon Wurrung Foundation
http://www.boonwurrung.org/
Koorie Heritage Trust
http://koorieheritagetrust.com.au/
AIME
https://aimementoring.com/
Reconciliation Victoria
http://www.reconciliationvic.org.au/
Victorian Aboriginal Education Association (VAEA)
http://www.vaeai.org.au/
Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency (VACCA)
https://www.vacca.org/page/services/youth-services-and-programs
Koorie Youth Council
https://www.koorieyouthcouncil.org.au/
Aboriginal Victoria
WA
Brambuk Cultural Centre
http://www.brambuk.com.au/
Marrung - VicDET Aboriginal Education Strategy
https://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/Pages/marrung.aspx
Reconciliation WA
https://www.recwa.org.au/
DoE Aboriginal Education Unit
http://det.wa.edu.au/aboriginaleducation/detcms/portal/
South West Aboriginal Land and Sea Council (SWALSC)
http://www.noongar.org.au/noongar-protocols
Aboriginal Independent Community Schools
https://www.ais.wa.edu.au/aics
Aboriginal Perspectives Across the Curriculum (APAC) project
http://det.wa.edu.au/aboriginaleducation/apac/detcms/navigation/ apac/
NT Indigenous Education Strategy
https://education.nt.gov.au/statistics-research-and-strategies/ indigenous-education-strategy
Career Trackers Larrakia Nation Danila Dilba Aboriginal Health Organisation Aboriginal Independent Community Schools NT NT
https://www.aisnt.asn.au/projects/aboriginal-education
North Australia Aboriginal Justice Agency Ivolve Gen - Kim Mulholland CDU Indigneous Futures Nintione foundation
https://www.nintione.com.au/
Aboriginal Peak Bodies of the Northern Territory:
http://www.amsant.org.au/apont/education/
Report of the Royal Commission and Board Inquiry Into the protection and detention of Children in the Northern Territory , 2017
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REGION
ORGANISATION
CONTACT
Reconciliation Tasmania
https://rectas.com.au/
Tasmanian Aboriginal Commission
TAS
Aboriginal Education Services (AES)
https://www.education.tas.gov.au/parents-carers/school-colleges/aboriginal-education-services/
The Orb
https://www.theorb.tas.gov.au/
South East Tasmania Aboriginal Corporation
https://setac.org.au/
Tasmanian Regional Aboriginal Communities Alliance (TRACA)
https://traca.com.au/
Tasmanian Aboriginal Land and Sea Council Aboriginal Corporation
https://www.acnc.gov.au/charity/307763c5033170591a70072caee1b026#overview
Common Ground
https://www.commonground.org.au/
Reconciliation Australia / Narragunawali
https://www.reconciliation.org.au/
Murumal NATIONAL
Centre for Cultural Competency Australia Arrilla
https://arrilla.com.au/
National Indigenous Youth Education Coalition AIATSIS
https://aiatsis.gov.au/
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RELATIONSHIPS ACTION
Establish and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations.
Build relationships through celebrating National Reconciliation Week (NRW).
Promote reconciliation through our sphere of influence.
Promote positive race relations through anti-discrimination strategies.
DELIVERABLE
TIMELINE
RESPONSIBILITY
Identify Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations within our local area or sphere of influence.
January 2020
Teaching and Learning Assistant, WA
Research best practice and principles that support partnerships with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander stakeholders and organisations.
January 2020
State Manager
Circulate Reconciliation Australia’s NRW resources and reconciliation materials to our staff.
May 2020
Recruitment Manager
RAP Working Group members to participate in an external NRW event.
May - June, 2020
Chair, RAP Working Group (RWG)
Encourage and support staff and senior leaders to participate in at least one external event to recognise and celebrate NRW.
May - June, 2020
CEO, Executive Leadership Team
Communicate our commitment to reconciliation to all staff.
February 2020
CEO
Identify external stakeholders that our organisation can engage with on our reconciliation journey.
March 2020
Secretariat, RWG
Identify RAP and other like-minded organisations that we could approach to collaborate with on our reconciliation journey.
March 2020
Chair, RWG
Research best practice and policies in areas of race relations and anti-discrimination.
March 2020
Head of People and Culture
Conduct a review of HR policies and procedures to identify existing anti-discrimination provisions, and future needs.
March 2020
Head of People and Culture
Refer: Narragunnawalli: Build Relationships with Community
Refer: Narragunnawali: National Reconciliation Week
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RESPECT ACTION Increase understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights through cultural learning.
Demonstrate respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples by observing cultural protocols.
Build respect for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures and histories by celebrating NAIDOC Week.
DELIVERABLE
TIMELINE
RESPONSIBILITY
Develop a business case for increasing understanding, value and recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures, histories, knowledge and rights within our organisation.
January 2020
Director, Strategy & People
Conduct a review of cultural learning needs within our organisation.
March 2020
Head of People and Culture
Develop an understanding of the local Traditional Owners or Custodians of the lands and waters within our organisation’s operational area.
April 2020
Recruitment Manager
Increase staff’s understanding of the purpose and significance behind cultural protocols, including Acknowledgement of Country and Welcome to Country protocols.
February 2020
CEO
Raise awareness and share information amongst our staff about the meaning of NAIDOC Week.
June 2020
Senior Advisor, Government Relations
Introduce our staff to NAIDOC Week by promoting external events in our local area.
June 2020
Program Coordinator, Teach to Lead
RAP Working Group to participate in an external NAIDOC Week event.
July 2020
Chair, RWG
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OPPORTUNITIES ACTION
Improve employment outcomes by increasing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander recruitment, retention and professional development.
Increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander supplier diversity to support improved economic and social outcomes.
Increase Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander diversity in Leadership Development Program
Promote Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education to staff and external stakeholders.
DELIVERABLE
TIMELINE
RESPONSIBILITY
Develop a business case for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander employment within our organisation.
January 2020
People and Culture Coordinator
Build understanding of current Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staffing to inform future employment and professional development opportunities.
January 2020
People and Culture Coordinator
Commit to employing Career Trackers intern to be employed in Recruitment team. Refer: Narragunnawali Employment Strategy
January 2020
Secretariat RWG
Develop a business case for procurement from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander owned businesses.
February 2020
Director, Finance and Business
Investigate Supply Nation membership.
January 2020
Director, Strategy and People
Support Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander applicants with dedicated Recruitment and Advocacy Manager relationship.
March 2020
Head of Selection
Increase identification of qualified Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander candidates through partner university.
April 2020
Head of Recruitment
Promote Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education program to all learning services in our network, and encourage these schools to develop their own RAPs via the Narragunnawali platform.
November 2020
National Curriculum Coordinator
Encourage all staff of partner schools in our network to sign up to the Narragunnawali News mailing list.
February 2020
School Partnership Manager
Host an appropriate links to Reconciliation Australia’s Narragunnawali: Reconciliation in Education platform on our website
January 2020
GR&D CommunicationLead
Help promote and encourage schools within our network who have shown exceptional commitment to reconciliation to apply for the 2021 Narragunnawali Awards
March 2020
School Partnership Manager
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GOVERNANCE ACTION
Establish and maintain an effective RAP Working Group (RWG) to drive governance of the RAP.
Provide appropriate support for effective implementation of RAP commitments.
Build accountability and transparency through reporting RAP achievements, challenges and learnings both internally and externally.
Continue our reconciliation journey by developing our next RAP.
DELIVERABLE
TIMELINE
RESPONSIBILITY
Form a RWG to govern RAP implementation.
April 2020
Chair, RWG
Draft a Terms of Reference for the RWG.
April 2020
Director, Strategy and People
Establish Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander representation on the RWG. 2 staff members + 1 external advisor
May 2020
Chair, RWG
Define resource needs for RAP implementation.
April 2020
SteerCo
Engage senior leaders in the delivery of RAP commitments.
February 2020
CEO
Define appropriate systems and capability to track, measure and report on RAP commitments.
February 2020
Secretariat RWG
Complete and submit the annual RAP Impact Measurement Questionnaire to Reconciliation Australia.
September 2020
Chair, RWG
Register via Reconciliation Australia’s website to begin developing our next RAP.
June 2020
Chair, RWG
CONTACT DETAILS NAME
PHONE
Annelise Pearce
03 8640 4500
POSITION
Reconciliation Action Group - Chair
annelise.pearce@teachforaustralia.org
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