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2.1 – Connolly H (2023) Commissioner for Children and Young People, South Australia - High Stakes High School
Read the report: High Stakes High School: The experiences of SA year 12 students
The SA Commissioner for Children and Young People’s report High Stakes High School: The experiences of SA Year 12 Students combined results of interviews and survey across the 3 school sectors. The report includes both the best things and worst things about year 12. Key finding include:
- 21% did not feel prepared for year 12 with males more likely to report this and government school students significantly more likely to report this
- 14% did not feel supported in year 12
- 33% reported receiving no mental health information
- 27% reported receiving no information on career/job pathways
- 58% reported receiving no relationships and sexual health information.
“Imagine a world in which final year students are made to feel optimistic about their future and the choices available to them. A future they enter to embark on the next phase of their life’s journey with confidence and enthusiasm for what lays ahead – not dread and fear of not measuring up.” (Connolly, H. 2023).
2.2 – SA Child Development Council (2022), How are they faring? SA 2022 Report Card for Children and Young People, Government of South Australia
This is the third report of population-level outcomes for children and young people from birth to 18 years under South Australia's Outcomes Framework for Children and Young People (framework). The data reported under the framework’s five legislated dimensions – health, safety, wellbeing, education and citizenship, is to be used to provide an evidence-base that informs strategies, objectives, policies and funding decisions.
In the Wellbeing dimension, the report found that most children and young people in South Australia are happy, inspired and engaged. Of concern are the following trends:
- About three-fifths of the students in Year 4 to Year 10 participating in the WEC reported feeling connected to an adult at school. (Measure is based on the WEC question whether there are any adults who are important to the student at their school.)
- In 2022, 89% of Year 4 to Year 10 students reported that they had one or more friends in whom they could confide, down from 90% in 2019.
- The 2022 WEC data indicate that 82.4% of Year 4 to Year 10 students reported feeling optimistic about life, down from 85.7% in 2019.
- The proportion of Year 4 to Year 10 students that reported medium to high levels of satisfaction with life in 2022 was 79%, down from 80.9% in 2019
- The enrolment rate of Aboriginal three-year-olds in quality preschool programs was 81.5% in 2021, down slightly from 84.1% in 2017.
- The 2022 WEC data indicate that 78.2% of Year 4 to Year 10 Aboriginal students in government schools reported feeling optimistic about life, down from 81.4% in 2019.
- The proportion of Year 4 to Year 10 Aboriginal students in government schools that reported medium to high levels of satisfaction with life in 2022 was 75%, down from 77.2% in 2019.
In the Education dimension, the report found that most children and young people in South Australia have positive experiences of learning. Of concern are the following trends:
- A marginal increase in the proportion of children being developmentally vulnerable is observed between 2015 and 2021.
- The proportion of Year 7 students achieving at or above the national minimum standard in numeracy was highest in 2016 (95.2%) but declined to 92.6% in 2021.
- The proportion of young people (15-19 years) with disability that were partially or fully engaged in school, work or further education in SA was 81.5% in 2021 down from 84.8% in 2016.
- The proportion of Year 7 Aboriginal students achieving at or above the national minimum standard in numeracy has declined continuously from 2016 to 2021.
- The proportion of Aboriginal young people (15-19 years) studying and/or training and/or working was 67.1% in 2021, down from 70.9% in 2016. (The denominator only includes the number of young people aged 15-19 years who gave a valid response in the Census.)
- The proportion of Aboriginal young people (15-19 years) with disability that were partially or fully engaged in school, work or further education was 72.9% in 2021, down from 84.7% in 2016. (The denominator only includes the number of young people with disability aged 15-19 years who gave a valid response in the Census.)
- The school attendance rate for Aboriginal students in Year 1 to Year 10 has been falling from 2017 to 2021
“National comparison shows that, proportionally, more children and young people under 20 years live in disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances in South Australia. In 2021, more than half of all children and young people (53.6%) lived in disadvantaged socio-economic circumstances, compared to 38.9% nationally. Of these, 26% lived with the most disadvantage (19.3% nationally).” (SA Child Development Council, 2022)
2.3 – Lawrie A (2022) SA Commissioner for Aboriginal Children & Young People - Youth Voices Report – Be Seen. Be Heard. Flourish
Read the Youth Voices Report
This report brings together the voices, diversity and shared experiences of SA Aboriginal children and young people.
Major common themes across regions include the importance of family, culture, racism, impacts and understanding of the stolen generation, negative experiences with police and being racially profiled.
Key messages Aboriginal children and young people expressed throughout this engagement process include:
- Family and culture is everything - Aboriginal children and young people prioritise their family and culture in their lives and want more opportunities to practice and learn their culture, particularly in the school setting with cultural educators from the Aboriginal community. Aboriginal young people associated family with safety, love, happiness, and fun; their views reinforce the integral role family plays in their development and well-being.
- Proud to be Aboriginal. Cultural identity is essential in helping to create strong young people. SA Aboriginal youth value their culture, their languages, and their connections to country and are yearning to learn and speak their languages and believe Aboriginal languages should take precedence in their schools. Aboriginal children and young people want their culture to be valued more greatly in wider society, and that they can be free and safe to express their cultural identity.
- Education is important and when Aboriginal staff and cultural programs are present, they have greater engagement in it.
- Racism is highly prevalent within schools from teachers and students and in society generally - they want it to stop.
2.4 – Connolly H (2022) Commissioner for Children and Young People, South Australia – The Things That Matter – 3: Views of 8-12 year-olds on life, school and community
Read the third Things that matter report
The SA Commissioner for Children and Young People’s report Views of 8 – 12 – Year - Old’s on Life, School and Community is the third in the series of annual Things That Matter reports reflecting responses from thousands of South Australian children who completed a ‘Commissioner’s Postcard’ in the second half of 2021.
Key messages include:
- Children value their friendships and family relationships and take pride in being kind and caring and in making people laugh.
- Children care deeply about the environment and about the health of the people, animals, and places that make up their communities
- Regardless of where they live, children want to be in communities where everyone has access to a variety of fun, affordable, and safe places to go with interesting things to do.
- They want every child to be loved and cared for, to get a good education, and to have the freedom, spaces, and opportunities to play and be active and creative
- Children are tired of being affected by the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, which has kept them apart from the people they love and the activities and experiences that bring them joy and connection with others.
- Many 8 to 12-year-olds want grownups to know that they will always be there for them, and that they love and appreciate what they do for them even though they don’t always make this obvious.
- They also want grownups to know that even though they will make mistakes, they are always learning and trying to do their best. They are smarter and more capable than adults give them credit for, and they don’t want to be underestimated or compared with others.
- They feel an incredible weight of pressure and expectation from the adults around them.
- Tweens want grownups to know that being a child today is very different from what it was like for previous generations.
- Children value kindness, equality, and inclusion. Their vision for a better world focuses on all people being able to share in a greater understanding and celebration of diverse abilities, languages and cultures, learning styles, ages, and gender identities.
2.5 – Public Education Student Forum
Slide decks
Slide deck – Leaders' Day 2023: Youth Voices, Commissioner for Aboriginal Children and Young People
