Specially trained teachers re-engage “at-risk” children with education where teaching-aides may fail, according to research by Anglicare Victoria.
The research – a two-year evaluation of the TEACHaR program – has seen dramatic improvements in areas such as literacy, numeracy, happiness in school and school attendance for children in foster care and residential care.
Children living in state care have significant and specific obstacles to learning, including higher rates of mental illness, higher rates of clinically significant emotional problems and frequent absence from school due to unstable living environments.
Participating teachers have been trained to overcome these obstacles, working with children in and out of the classroom to fill the learning gaps that accumulate over time.
Anglicare Victoria CEO Paul McDonald said the program helped at-risk children secure their own futures.
“We need to stop treating these kids as some kind of ‘lost-cause’,” he said. “It’s clear that if you don’t finish school these days you’re in trouble. As an organisation, as a society, we can’t just sit back and accept that.”
“The TEACHaR program is about realising potential, helping kids contribute and doing it in a way that actually makes them happier.”
The report will be launched on Thursday by Minister for Family and Children,
The Hon Jenny Mikakos.
Date: Thursday 13 August
Time: 10:00am – 12:00
Venue: The Royal Society of Victoria, 9 Victoria Street, Melbourne
Please note the Minister will speak at approximately 10:10am.
