ACER is a partner in Schools First, a new initiative to help build school-community partnerships. Schools First is a national initiative that aims to build stronger partnerships between schools and their local communities. Schools First will provide regional, state and national awards to schools to the value of $15 million over the next three years.

The Schools First Awards have been developed by National Australia Bank and three not-for-profit organisations: ACER, Australia Cares, and the Foundation for Young Australians. National Australia Bank has committed to funding the awards and all operating costs for the program over the initial three years.

The primary objective of Schools First is to improve student outcomes – by recognising and strengthening the social networks that already exist between schools and their communities, and by encouraging new relationships and initiatives.

The awards program involves three stages: up to 60 regional awards, eight state/territory awards, and one national award. There will be two types of awards. Impact Awards will recognise effective school-community partnerships that can demonstrate successful outcomes. There will also be a smaller number of Seed Funding Awards that will recognise fledgling partnerships with great potential. In these cases the awards will provide initial funding to progress the collaboration.

Schools First is open to every primary and secondary school in Australia. Potential partners could include small or large businesses, health providers, libraries, parents, local government bodies, Chambers of Commerce, retirement villages, Rotary, Apex, Lions clubs, other schools, TAFEs, universities, kindergartens, and child care centres. A school might even partner remotely with a community group via technology.

ACER developed the entry and judging criteria for the awards, will train the judges to ensure consistency in the assessment of schools’ applications, and will provide customised feedback to schools. Schools First is intended to recognise and celebrate excellence in school-community partnerships. Applications for the awards are assessed on a number of criteria. In particular, schools must show that their partnership:

• has been set up to address an identified need or opportunity
• is well-planned and genuinely collaborative
• has been managed and implemented effectively
• has led to improved outcomes for students; and
• can be sustained.

The award criteria are based on research findings and have been developed by ACER with input from Australia Cares and the Foundation for Young Australians. The criteria have been piloted with a small number of teachers and principals from a range of schools.

The judging will be undertaken by a group of experienced educators with a deep understanding of schools, the award criteria and the goals of the Schools First program.  Site visits will be made to each of the state/territory award-winning schools, enabling the assessors to verify the information provided in the applications.

The awards program will be supported by a series of 80 regional workshops to assist schools in developing their applications. Workshop facilitators will provide toolkits for participants including templates for planning partnership projects and examples of successful school-community partnerships. Principals, teachers, students, parents, local government, health organisations, local businesses, community leaders and interested citizens will be able to attend the workshops.

Following the judging, schools will receive short customised reports about their applications, incorporating feedback from the assessors. These reports will help schools to identify what they are doing well and what they might do to further develop their community partnerships.

Visit the Schools First website <www.schoolsfirst.edu.au> for more information and to register your interest in the awards program.

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