Aboriginal Education Strategy

The Catholic Church’s commitment to Aboriginal People

On the 29th November 1986 in Alice Springs, Pope John Paul II proclaimed:

"The Church of Australia will not be fully the Church that Jesus wants her to be until [the Aboriginal people of Australia] have made [their] contribution to her life and until that contribution has been joyfully received by others."

More recently, Pope Francis has called us to:

"… respond with honesty and integrity to the challenge of proclaiming the radicalism of the Gospel in a society which has grown comfortable with social exclusion, polarisation and scandalous inequality."

In relation to Aboriginal children and young people, he challenges us to seek answers to:

"…the marginalisation, exclusion and impoverishment that condemns millions of young people, especially youths from the original peoples."

The Australian Bishops have also committed to a new engagement with Aboriginal people with their 2023/4 Social Justice Statement ‘Listen, Learn, Love’.

Our vision

We acknowledge there have been some encouraging improvements in the educational outcomes of Aboriginal children and young people. But much more needs to be done to close the gap.

We support the vision set out in:

• Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration 
• National Aboriginal Education Strategy (2015).

“All Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people achieve their full learning potential, are empowered to shape their own futures and are supported to embrace their culture and identity as Australia’s First Nations peoples.” 

- National Aboriginal Education Strategy

What will be our indicators of success?

Our commitment is to see an increase in:

• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander enrolments
• the overall retention of Aboriginal students
• the proportion of Aboriginal students making successful transitions to post-schooling pathways and into employment
• the proportion of Aboriginal students achieving the minimum national numeracy and literacy standard
• the proportion of Aboriginal students in the top two bands in all NAPLAN domains.

We commit to:

• a decrease in the proportion of Aboriginal students in the bottom two bands in all NAPLAN domains
• improved wellbeing outcomes of Aboriginal students
• an increased knowledge and understanding of the histories, cultures and experiences of Aboriginal people as the First Peoples of Australia.

How will we do it?

We will ensure the active participation of Aboriginal peoples in our work, including through:

• The Catholic Schools NSW Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Reference Group
• The inter-diocesan Mawambul Network
• The Council of Catholic School Parents (CCSP) Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Parent Committee
• The NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group (AECG).

We will work in close partnership with Catholic School Agencies and others including:

• NSW Department of Education
• NSW Education Standards Authority
• universities
• community organisations.

We will take a multidisciplinary and cross-functional approach to:

• Educational measurement
• Literacy and numeracy
• Early years learning
• Wellbeing
• Vocational education and training
• Diverse learning
• Teacher accreditation and professional learning
• Schools resources
• Data and analytics.

Visit our Teaching and Learning content to learn more about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education.

Annual report

Download the 2024 Annual Report on Aboriginal Education Outcomes