Access to education plays an important role in the development of Australia’s youth, and can impact an individual’s future employment, income, and health prospects.
Today in Australia, the gap between students experiencing disadvantage and their more advantaged peers is too wide. According to research, this gap begins early, with one in three disadvantaged children missing key development milestones, making them vulnerable to falling behind, even in their first year of school. Understanding the fact that one in six young Australians are classed are living in disadvantage, the magnitude of this problem becomes clear.
As children move through school, these gaps continue to grow, and by the time they are in high school, some disadvantaged students are as much as three years behind their peers in the key areas of numeracy and literacy. These young people are then at risk of disengaging from school, or dropping out entirely, limiting their future employment potential or further study.
The stark reality of ‘free’ public education is that it is rarely free. Uniforms, school shoes, textbooks, tuition, excursions, and internet access are just some of the educational essentials that come at an added cost.
The key to bridging the education gap is clear: providing children in need with equal access to educational resources ensures every child is given a chance, regardless of their financial situation.
Dedicated to tackling this problem, The Smith Family is Australia’s leading children’s education charity. Its flagship program, Learning for Life, has been continually evolving for close to 30 years, providing disadvantaged young Australians long-term educational support.
The program supports students financially so they can afford school essentials, educationally through the provision of additional learning and mentoring programs before and after school, and emotionally through dedicated one-on-one support and guidance.
The Learning for Life program has changed the lives of many disadvantaged young Australians and their families, helping them to improve their education over a long-term approach.
Inspired by the work of The Smith Family, Interflow, a leading pipeline infrastructure company, is committed to improving the lives in the communities they serve by sponsoring young Australians experiencing disadvantage to help provide long-term educational support.
2022 marked Interflow’s fifth year supporting the Learning for Life program, sponsoring 36 students throughout the year, nine of which come from Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander backgrounds.
Currently, 28 of Interflow’s sponsored students are school-aged, and eight are proudly attending tertiary education under a full scholarship. Once a student leaves the program, Interflow replaces them with another student of a similar demographic.
In October, one of Interflow’s sponsored students visited its Queensland office to share how the Learning for Life program helped her achieve her learning potential by removing the financial burden of fees, accommodation and equipment. The emotional experience helped the people of Interflow understand the magnitude of the impact the program has on the students who take part.
Throughout 2022, over 58,000 young Australians received support through The Smith Family’s Learning for Life program, thanks to the help of generous sponsors. While there’s always a need for more corporate partners, it’s important each year to reflect on the impact the program has made on lives all over the country.
Interflow’s liaison for The Smith Family, Debbie Alston, shared her perspective.
“Without the support of The Smith Family, it’s tough to think where some of these children would be,” she said.
“Through the Learning for Life Program, it’s inspiring to see where these kids are now and what they can achieve through the access to education this program provides.”
The Smith Family now turns its eyes toward the next five years, with the goal to reach 100,000 students on the Learning for Life program by 2027 and to ensure each of them has digital access.
If you’d like to learn more about how you can support the Learning for Life program, click here for more information.
