Inquiry into the state education system in Victoria - Victorian Aboriginal Child Care Agency

That the Department of Education ensure the right to self-determination is upheld and voices of Aboriginal children and young people are listened to and respected in education settings, including: • Ensuring Individual Education Plans (IEPs), Career Action Plans, and Transition Plans are completed in a timely manner and revisited annually for every Aboriginal student; and that compliance is report. [...] There is a wealth of freely available expertise, support and resources designed to promote cultural safety and representation of Aboriginal children and young people in the education system that can and should be used by schools to create cultural safety and ensure representation and visibility in school settings.11 Recognising that all Victorians need to understand, respect and learn about Aborig. [...] A whole-of-school approach that is trauma-informed is required so that the needs of children with trauma backgrounds are inbuilt to the policies and structures of the school environment, and knowledge of how to safely and successfully work with these children and improve their learning outcomes and experiences is widespread. [...] Far too often it is considered the responsibility of the child to manage the changes required to fit back into the school environment and system, when the onus for change should be on the educators and the system to assess how they can adapt to the needs of the child and make the school a safe and supportive environment for these children to return to. [...] The impact of school leadership on student wellbeing, learning outcomes and school culture We know that many of our carers and children have had experiences with schools and the education system where they have felt that their voices and requests were not heard by school staff and leadership, disempowering them and leading to a lack of safety and trust to continue engaging with the system.