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Lets Stay Put
Let’s Stay Put began as a two year project, funded by a Telstra Foundation Community Development Fund grant. It was conducted in two stages throughout 2006/07 in the school communities of Weir State School, Kelso State School and Rasmussen State School.
During Stage 1 extensive quantitative and qualitative data were gathered. All exits and arrivals were detailed, students were surveyed in relation to their experiences of mobility, and school practices related to mobile students were explored via teacher interviews and documentation of administration procedures and protocols. Through this the researchers have been able develop a profile of mobile students in each of the schools and to map the trends in mobility in each school. The Let’s Stay Put campaign was officially launched in a community event attended by over 400 school and community members at the Thuringowa Riverway complex.
In Stage 2, further data was collected and interventions developed in consultation with the whole school community. Significant policy responses were formulated with the active participation of all stakeholders.
Outcomes:
This project resulted in significant outcomes, such as
•With the support of the Queensland Government’s Department of Education, Training and the Arts and the Community Renewal program co-ordinated by the Department of Housing, a two-year trial of dedicated support staff began.
•Standardised enrolment and exit procedures have been implemented by each school
•School staff have a high level of awareness of the needs of mobile students
•Curriculum units have been developed to build a sense of belonging for staff and students
The success of Let’s Stay Put resulted in continued funding from the Community Development Fund, enabling a limited trial of the Mobility Support Officer Role in Townsville (Vincent State School, Heatley State School, Currajong State School) and Cairns (Cairns West State School, Balaclava State School, Parramatta State School)
Let’s Stay Put for Literacy and Numeracy Learning
‘Let’s stay put for literacy and numeracy learning’ is a collaborative research project involving primary schools in a range of locations across Queensland, funded by DEWR. The project aims to improve literacy and numeracy outcomes for highly mobile urban Indigenous students through a two-pronged approach. Firstly, intervening to reduce mobility and secondly, developing innovative responses to teaching and learning in highly mobile school contexts.
Action research groups have been established in each cluster of schools. Action research meetings will collaboratively review and design appropriately targeted intervention strategies for mobile students in an ongoing, locally responsive process. The systematic collection of data will support the action research process and provide a strong, evidence-based understanding of both the issues and the effectiveness of the interventions.
This collaborative project involves James Cook University’s School of Education and several clusters of school communities. A Townsville Cluster (Weir State School, Kelso State School and Rasmussen State School), Cairns Cluster (Cairns West State School, Balaclava State School, Parramatta State School), Rockhampton Cluster (Allenstown State School and Crescent Lagoon State School) and Logan Cluster (Marsden State School, Woodridge North State School and Woodridge State School).