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Sending out an SOS
Nearly 400 schools across the country call for ‘ COVID crisis ’ relief from national charity .
By Wade Zaglas
Schools Plus , the national charity committed to closing the education gap caused by disadvantage , received funding applications amounting to $ 11 million from more than 380 schools across the country in its 2021 grant applications round .
The charity reported that schools in NSW and Victoria comprised nearly half of all the applications for their Smart Giving program , which was expected given the impact COVID-19 had on schooling in both states . However , 19 per cent of applications were also received from Western Australian schools .
Ninety per cent of the funding applications were received from metropolitan and regional schools ( 45 per cent each ), while remote schools accounted for 10 per cent of grant applications .
Schools are seeking funding for projects to support trauma-informed practice ( 24 per cent ), literacy and numeracy ( 23 per cent ), and initiatives to support teaching staff ( 34 per cent ) and for project-based learning to help overcome student disengagement ( 23 per cent ).
Based on the grant applications , Schools Plus believes students under 12 appear to have been impacted more than other cohorts , with primary schools accounting for more than half ( 54 per cent ) of the applications . Meanwhile , secondary schools comprised 26 per cent of the applications , 11 per cent came from combined primary and secondary schools , and 9 per cent from special schools .
Independent expert assessors , including senior representatives from the Aboriginal Education Council , and the NT and QLD education departments , are currently reviewing the applications .
Dianne Giblin , CEO of the Australian Council of State School Organisations , is also part of the assessment panel and said prioritising the projects that receive funding was always difficult .
“ It is always challenging to decide which projects to prioritise when the need for support is clearly so great , especially when we are dealing with the impact of COVID on student mental health ,” she said .
“ We use a rigorous selection process to ensure we are selecting projects that will deliver significant and sustainable change for student outcomes .”
Schools Plus CEO Rosemary Conn commented on how the applications revealed key “ themes ” or needs arising from the pandemic .
It is always challenging to decide which projects to prioritise when the need for support is clearly so great .
“ We expected to see applications from schools impacted by COVID , and there are three clear themes emerging from those schools ’ applications ,” she said .
“ Teachers are saying that they need help to support their student ’ s mental health and wellbeing , they want support for catch-up programs on literacy and numeracy , and they want to initiate projects to help re-engage students after such a period of disrupted learning .
“ We are currently raising funds to help as many of these schools as we can , but demand will always out-strip the number of projects we are able to support .”
In addition to the funding , successful schools will receive evaluation tools and dedicated coaching from a team of expert education professionals .
Schools Plus “ works with teachers and schools in disadvantaged areas to empower them with funding , coaching and resources to implement initiatives that will help their students succeed ”. ■
6 | educationreview . com . au