About our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy
All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students need to be encouraged and supported to reach their full potential and to embrace their culture and identity. All students should understand, acknowledge and value Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, histories and cultures and contribute to reconciliation for all Australians.
VIEW OUR ABORIGINAL AND TORRES STRAIT ISLANDER EDUCATION POLICY
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the first Australians and have the longest continuous cultures in human history.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education serves two distinct purposes:
- To ensure that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students are able to see themselves, their identities and their cultures reflected in the curriculum of each of the learning areas, and can fully participate in the curriculum and build their self-esteem.
- To ensure that all students can understand Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Histories and Cultures in order to engage in reconciliation, respect and recognition of the world’s oldest continuous living cultures.
Our Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy has been developed to support schools in responding to the call to mission as an expression of our Catholic Identity. It ensures that schools and teachers can meet their compliance requirements with the Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong (CEDoW), the New South Wales Education Standards Authority (NESA) and the Australian Education Act 2013 (Cth).
Story to accompany the Policy artwork
Shoalhaven Aboriginal artist, Michael Brown, was commissioned by our Catholic Education Office to paint an Aboriginal painting that reflects and tells the story of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education in Catholic Education Diocese of Wollongong. Michael is a talented artist who has used contemporary and traditional style in his painting to tell the story.
The symbolic representation of our Diocesan policy in the artwork relates to our communities, our students and all who work in education. It reflects our dreams of a better future, a better society. It informs us of what could be and what once was. It holds real aspirations of our young, real partnerships with our brothers and sisters and real challenges.
CONSULTATION AND PROTOCOLS GUIDE
Working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander families and communities is critical to ensuring successful outcomes for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students.
The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Policy also includes the CEDoW Aboriginal Communities Consultation and Protocols Guide which assists schools in engaging with local Aboriginal families and communities; using or studying Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander languages; purchasing or commissioning Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander art projects, resources and equipment; and conducting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander ceremonies and performances.
“The Church in Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until you have made your contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others”
– Pope John Paul II (Address to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, Alice Springs, 1986)
Return to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education landing page
