Government to fund Family-School initiatives

The Minister for Education has announced funding of $800,000 for a Family-School and Community Partnership Bureau that will help develop partnerships between parents, schools and the community.

The Rudd Government will provide the funding over four years to two key national parent bodies - the Australian Council of State Schools Organisation (ACSSO) and the Australian Parents Council (APC) - to conduct research and develop pilot programs to ensure schools are more welcoming to parents and the broader community.

The government recognises that while formal education settings are an important part of a child’s education, parents play a key role in bridging the education experience a child receives at school and at home.

The new Bureau will work with organisations across the country in developing and encouraging effective partnerships between schools, parents and the broader community to improve students’ learning experiences and outcomes.

In announcing the initiative the Deputy Prime Minister Julia Gillard indicated that "the aim will be to reach the disengaged, the disempowered and those families that often are not drawn into their children’s learning."