13 October 2023 – Between a child’s first 1,000 days and the start of school, children engage in an intense period of curiosity and development. During these two years, children require adult-guided learning in order to effectively build oral language and early literacy skills in order to be ready for later formal classroom learning. This doesn’t happen automatically.

Oral language and early literacy skills are the vital multipliers that underpin access to education, social, economic and other life opportunities. Australian and international research consistently attest to the importance of these domains.

To effectively address educational disparities, oral language and early literacy development must be a priority before children start school.

ALNF is pleased to present our contribution to national efforts for systemic educational change – with its Early Language and Literacy (EL&L) Program and the Early Language and Literacy Development Index (ELLDI).

We invite you to read the Overcoming Disadvantage in Early Childhood Study: evaluation of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s (ALNF) Early Language and Literacy Program Final Report (ODEC Report)

It confirms that the EL&L Program has closed the oral language and early literacy learning gap for children in marginalised communities in the year before school (p5).

It also introduces a world-first scale for 2- to 5-year-olds called the Early Language and Literacy Development Index (ELLDI). Uniquely, it can be deployed by local educators in early childhood education and care (ECEC) settings and in the early years of primary (it also extends to 8-year-olds) as a formative assessment to provide powerful insights to inform reflective practice.

The EL&L Program, accompanied by the ELLDI, constitutes evidence-informed practice in the early years. It promotes high quality language and pre-literacy engagement with children and can close the educational gap, particularly in communities where the vulnerabilities are most widespread.

The EL&L Program’s ultimate goal is sustainable, community-driven quality language and literacy teaching and learning flourishing in Australia (with international scope) towards equitable opportunities for all.

In order to achieve sustained change, the EL&L Program incorporates a place-based and community-led approach, empowering local adults to break the cycle of entrenched oral language and early literacy inequity.

It generates an opportunity to connect services in health and education, and leverages existing infrastructure and workforces.

EL&L and the ELLDI, in the hands of local educators and other service providers, informs and strengthens their everyday work with children as well as conversations with parents/carers and families.

Local adults undertake evidence-informed training and mentoring1 to learn strategies to support children’s oral language and early literacy growth, equipped with robust information via the ELLDI feedback about each child’s growth trajectory.

The ODEC Report shows that EL&L with the ELLDI is a powerful program that maximises children’s oral language and early literacy growth.

Positive strategic change is achievable.

Acknowledgements
This seminal work was made possible with a major grant from the Eureka Benevolent Foundation and with the support of the CAGES Foundation. We thank them for their visionary support. They understand the vital role that oral language and early literacy enrichment in the years prior to school plays in setting children up for positive educational experiences, and the myriad of life opportunities which flow from that. They also know that disadvantaged children are the least likely to receive support in their language and pre-literacy development.

3 July 2023 – We are so thrilled to announce that Lala Gutchen, our First Languages Program Facilitator for Erub Mer, has WON the National NAIDOC Caring for Country and Culture Award Category!

A proud Meuram woman from Erub Island in the Torres Strait, a composer, mother, fisherwoman, linguist, community organiser and cultural knowledge holder, Lala’s commitment to linguistic and social justice has seen her work tirelessly across a breadth of ground-breaking campaigns and projects, all driven by a unifying mission to protect and preserve her Country and Culture for future generations.

For the past three years, Lala has been an invaluable member of the ALNF team, helping to bring the Erub Mer First Languages Project to life. Thanks to Lala’s dedication to revitalising Erub Mer, the project has already led to the development of an Erub Mer literacy game app to teach, share and promote the Language amongst the younger generation, and together with her father, Kapua, they have recorded over 2000+ unrecorded words in Erub Mer, ensuring the Language is shared and celebrated for generations to come.

Deeply passionate about education and language revitalisation, Lala has also co-authored a series of journal articles for the Foundation for Endangered Languages, provided mentoring as a Community Educator through Living Languages, and has participated in research discovery workshops with the Queensland State Library.

She has also represented the Torres Strait nationally at the recent Warra: Indigenous Language Youth Forum in Adelaide and been a key cultural witness in a historic Queensland Land Court case, representing her people in a successful effort to preserve their Culture and protect the land. In 2019, Lala was also named a young Champion by First Languages Australia.

Lala, we are so proud to see your dedication and efforts being recognised once again and have no doubt that this is still only the beginning of your powerful journey to make change.

24 April 2023 – The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation was honoured to take part in the National Early Language and Literacy Coalition Forum on 22 March 2023.

Professor Tom Calma AO, Co-Chair of ALNF, was invited to present the opening address, welcoming participants and officially launching the Forum.

His opening address is published below:

Prof Tom Calma AO: National Early Language and Literacy Coalition Forum Speech – March 22, 2023

Acknowledgement of Country

Opening Address

Good Morning and thank you for the invitation to share a few words at today’s Forum. I have been involved with Early Years Language and Literacy with the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) since 2009 and have now co-chaired the ALNF for over a decade. I acknowledge my fellow co-chair Mary-Ruth Mendel who we will hear from later in the morning.

The first time I welcomed participants to talk about early language and literacy was back in 2016 when it was my great pleasure to give the opening address at the very first National Literacy Summit. The Australian Libraries and Information Association – ALIA, organised that very first Summit.

The aim then was to bring together people who placed a high value on children accessing a quality education because their literacy abilities gave them skills to do so.

That day’s conversations revolved around the common understanding that strong development in early language and early literacy across the 0-5 years of age, crucially underpins later successful reading and writing acquisition and, hence – access to a good education, with lifestyle options and choices.

As we say at ALNF, ‘so that children can write their own bright futures’.

Evolving from the momentum of that first Summit, the National Early Language and Literacy Coalition formalised as a working group of talented people who in 2021 produced the Proposed National Early Language and Literacy Strategy —— a quality document of strategic direction recommendations.

Anyone wishing to view the document can go to the Coalition’s website to view it. (earlylanguageandliteracy.org.au)

I congratulate the Coalition on this important work that is recognised as a substantial contribution within the collective representations that the current Commonwealth Government is reviewing for the much welcomed Early Years Strategy – that we are all so thrilled is occurring.

As a newish grand-father of a delightful, chatty, little grandson, I can say with absolute certainty that, like me, parents and grandparents, aunties and uncles want the very best opportunities for their own children, their communities’ children and for all Australian children.

All of us here know that a little one who has strong speaking and listening skills is going to explore their own world with ever increasing curiosity and confidence, navigating and building relationships and friendships as they go. We also know that nearly 30% of under 5 (year old) children do not start school with strong communication skills.

These vulnerable children are, for the most part, living in vulnerable communities. For most, un-fortunately, a cycle of disadvantage rotates through the generations.

Changing that outcome must include providing community-led, community involved practical programs that break through the trans-generational hand-me-down of low literacy by uplifting literacy levels – beginning in the early years.

The problems just compound for children with these communication and literacy challenges. We know that a protective factor for health and wellbeing is education. We also know that those children who start school behind, stay behind.

Not having a strong start in the early years can have far reaching ramifications that negatively impact health and happiness and generally pass from one generation to the next. Multiple disadvantage factors compound each other creating a vicious cycle where low education perpetuates poor health as well as ……early exits from high school, low employment and job retention rates, increased trauma episodes, suicide and deep sadness.

This cycle is underpinned by low literacy and poor communication skills. It is more than a glass ceiling – it is a rock-hard cap restricting people from participating in a productive society. Breaking that cycle needs 2 things to happen.

We need to start supporting children and families and educators in the very early years, with

the very elements you as a group know are essential; strong early language and literacy growth.

Closing the Gap on health involves Closing the education Gap.

Since our first Summit in 2016, the conversation has matured.

The Commonwealth and various State governments have responded to calls to address many aspects with-in the early years’ envelope. And, the Early Years Strategy will generate strategic and systemic change. But, it is a very competitive space as there are multiple aspects needing attention.

The Early Years Strategy:

aspires to “shape the future of Australia’s children and their families.”;

recognises how critical the early years are for children’s development and continued success over their lifetime; and

is committed to creating a “more integrated, holistic approach to the early years and to better support education”.

But, a word of caution, the key skills of strong language and literacy development in the early years must not get overlooked or the Strategy’s aspiration of “continued success over their (that is, a child’s) lifetime” will not be achieved.

Without the inclusion of well thought out plans (and the funding for these plans) to support communities to achieve local, strong early years’ language and literacy capacity, these aspirations and the intersection between health and education will not be positively impacted.

I encourage all here today to ensure that your expert knowledge in early language and literacy is heard and included in the Strategy plans. I recommend that government access and be guided by your expertise formally and regularly.

I would like to see an advisory group of Coalition members routinely invited, and funded, to provide guidance and feedback so that the practical business of providing early language and literacy skills and opportunities to communities are not lost amongst competing needs.

As you go about your thinking and discussions today, keep practical plans for early years oral language and literacy development top of mind.

As you did by producing the Proposed National Early Years Strategy, keep that practical focus on how quality language and literacy development can be built with, and not for, communities to create informed communities who are skilled at supporting strong growth in children’s early language and literacy.

May I contribute today with two practical considerations:

Today is the first day of Harmony Week –

Over half of all Australians are born overseas or have at least one parent who was born overseas. They, along with First Nation Australians, cherish their home languages and literacy. Sharing language and literacy through stories and song promotes inclusiveness, respect and belonging which in turn, is a protective factor for healthy children and adults. (Again, Closing the Gap for health involves Closing the Education Gap).

Shared language and literacy experiences in the very early years through authentic engagement with quality home language, and English language learning experiences builds strong communities and strong children. I have heard on countless occasions that families wish their children to be strong and capable in both English and in their home language.

And this group here today needs to ensure that home languages, which includes Aboriginal and Torres Strait Languages, are included in the Early Years Strategy backed by clear guidelines as to how this work will be funded and rolled out from the urban to very remote early years learning sites.

In my view, attendance and engagement with families will grow and children will have a stronger pathway to English language and literacy skills and a stronger educational journey …… promoting stronger health and wellbeing too.

This segues neatly into my next key practical consideration – it is – positive engagement with digital opportunities that enhance children’s learning growth.

As Co-Chair of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), and Chair of the Living First Language Platform Co. I oversee three of their digital products which are examples of harnessing the best of what new technology offers for children’s growth and community involvement.

First example…..The Living First Language Platform is a multi-award winning*, internationally recognised app. It is a globally scalable digital platform that Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait communities are using to rapidly and collectively record, curate, explore and share their Language as vibrant, living teaching and learning resources.

Second is the Feed the Monster app – it is an early literacy game in First Languages. The Warumungu version is soon to be available from your preferred App Store.

Third is the Early Language and Literacy Development Index (ELLDI) that is a digital formative assessment, with a world unique progression scale for 2 – 8 year-olds. At the moment it is in English but has the digital architecture to be replicated in home languages too.

These are three (3) examples of utilising the exceptional opportunities that quality digital technology designs open up for quality education opportunities.

The ability to view, and hear and interact with the content is so enriching. Children can hear their own community members pronouncing words correctly as they listen to a story or sing a song, which can then be shared from one site to another building a rich resource of quality locally sourced multi-sensory language and literacy learning experiences. I can definitely tell you that communities want more than the jingle, “Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in home language!

This Thursday, a wonderful event will be held here in Canberra at the National Library of Australia – It showcases what I have just described.

The event is a launch presented by the Papulu Apparr – Kari Aboriginal Corporation (PAK) a Language Centre in Tennant Creek in partnership with ALNF.

The launch represents a significant milestone in the 19-year collaboration between PAK and ALNF, and will highlight the innovations made possible by the award- winning* Living First Language Platform.

On the day, ALNF and PAK will unveil the comprehensive Warumungu Language Space on the Platform along with the Warumungu version of the Feed the Monster Arranji yukur nukku junta!

The Platform and the practical learning resources that flow from it are an example of the type of practical tools Australia needs for sharing quality home language and literacy experiences across geographic divides.

Invitations to this launch are on the front tables ….. you are all invited to the launch this Thursday or you can join on-line. The zoom link will be put in the chat if you are interested – Thursday at noon.

As the National Early Language and Literacy Coalition your expertise is wide ranging and represents long standing experience in language and literacy services that support communities and children.

I thank you for asking me to open today’s important conversations and wish you a very productive day.

* The LFLP awards…… The LFLP has international recognition and has been awarded for its innovation by the likes of Google, SXSW, MIT Solve and the UN- based World Summit Awards.

24 February 2022 – We are excited to announce that Isaiah Firebrace has become the most recent ambassador for The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF), joining a powerful group of Australians supporting the vital work we do in communities across the nation.

If he wasn’t busy enough leading up to performing at Eurovision Australia Decides this week, Isaiah has squeezed in time to join an organisation with a cause close to his heart.

A proud Yorta Yorta and Gunditjmara man, Isaiah is one of the youngest people to become an ALNF ambassador, joining the likes of Adam Goodes (Board member and Ambassador), Buddy and Jesinta Franklin, Benjamin Law, Baker Boy, Jess Hatzis (Co-founder of Frank Body), Virginia Gay, Cosentino and Zaachariaha Fielding (Electric Fields) to name a few.

Isaiah says: “I’m absolutely stoked to be coming on board as an Ambassador for the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation. Educating kids with a particular focus on Aboriginal history and culture is something so close to my heart and to be involved with this wonderful organisation, and to help them with the incredible work that they are doing, is really a dream for me. I just can’t wait to jump in and do what I can with the team!”

Co-Founder and Executive Director, Kim Kelly says: “Isaiah is an inspirational young person, committed to using his voice to create change. We are thrilled he has joined the ALNF family and is standing with us to empower children and communities through literacy, language and education. Together, we will make great things happen!”

17 November 2021 – As part of our work raising language and literacy standards in some of Australia’s most marginalised communities , ALNF is privileged to partner with some truly visionary people and organisations – wonderful change makers who make a difference to children’s lives every day.

The dedicated and passionate team at Greater Charitable Foundation are a stellar example of the true potential that lies within charitable partnerships and the myriad of possibilities that can open up when like-minded organisations work together to bring about change.

The Greater Charitable Foundation has been a key supporter of ALNF’s Early Language and Literacy program since 2019, sharing our vision and helping to transform the literacy and life outcomes of over 430 children, training and upskilling 58 educators, and empowering communities across the greater Taree region.

Today, we would like to shine the spotlight on this inspiring organisation, in recognition of all that we have achieved together and in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Greater Charitable Foundation.

With a mission to improve life outcomes, the Greater Charitable Foundation has a proud tradition of supporting its local community, working with a number of charity partners throughout NSW and South-East Queensland since its inception in 2011.

Immediately inspired by ALNF’s vision that ‘literacy is freedom’, the Greater Charitable Foundation entered this unique three-year partnership in support of ALNF’s belief that ‘literacy allows individuals to access education, participate meaningfully in our society and to have a voice’.

So why target the Taree Community in particular? With many customers and employees residing within this beautiful part of the world, the Greater Charitable Foundation has been passionate about achieving holistic outcomes for the broader community in this region. Inspired by the work that ALNF was already doing in the area, the Foundation saw this partnership as a way to contribute to this passion-driven work.

“The [ALNF] program is tailor-made and designed to achieve maximum impact for children that participate, and the community within which the program is delivered. Like with everything ALNF does, the EL&L Taree program has also been built on the basis of significant research. Its strength and importance also resides in the program’s community-led approach. The fact that it will be continuing to deliver long-term outcomes for these children, and the community, for years to come is just an added bonus!”, says Kelly Gannon, Communications and Stakeholder Engagement Specialist, dedicated member of the Greater Charitable family, and friend of ALNF.

Throughout this partnership, the team at ALNF has also been lucky enough to work with Anne Long, a passionate advocate of education and literacy (pictured with ALNF Co-Founders Kim Kelly and Mary-Ruth Mendel).

An avid reader as a child, with a love of the classic tale “Anne of Green Gables”, Anne agrees that “education – in particular, literacy – is the key to unlocking disadvantage so I believe it is critical that every person is provided with the skills to build their capability and have access to a literate future.”

An active member of a number of life-changing organisations including Perinatal Anxiety & Depression Australia and the Hunter Corporate Collaborative, what inspires Anne in continuing to engage in community-led work? “I am fortunate that every day I go to work, I feel I am helping facilitate practical and tangible support for some of our community’s most disadvantaged members”, she says.

With team members like Anne, it’s not surprising to see an unrelenting commitment to community across the entire Greater Charitable organisation!

Currently supporting another 2 charity organisations throughout NSW and South-East Queensland, all of the Foundation’s funded programs are aimed at creating long-term change for beneficiaries, ranging from early intervention support, youth re-engagement education and employment programs.

The Foundation also has a strong commitment to volunteering, duly recognised when they were awarded the NSW Corporate Volunteer Team of the Year at the 2020 NSW Volunteer of the Year Awards ceremony.

“Like ALNF, we are so passionate about the work that we do, and believe we are the lucky ones to be able to fund and partner with organisations creating such impactful and lasting change throughout our communities”.

8 September 2021 – Today, the National Early Language and Literacy Strategy, a ground-breaking proposal in support of children’s language and literacy development, has been released calling on the Australian government to adopt a national strategy to ensure Australian children receive the best start in life.

As a key member of the National Early Language and Literacy Coalition (NELLC), ALNF has worked together with nine other coalition partners since 2018 to develop this comprehensive strategy, including Speech Pathology Australia, The Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Australian Literacy Educators’ Association.

The early years of a child’s life (from birth to five years of age) are the most critical for speech, language and communication development and serve as the vital foundations for future success in education, employment, and life outcomes.

Right now in Australia, nearly 1 in 5 children are developmentally behind before they even start school, with research showing that children who start school behind, often stay behind.

This is made alarmingly evident by the fact that around 44% of Australian adults today do not have the functional literacy skills they need to cope with the demands of everyday life and work.

The proposed National Strategy aims to fill the existing vacuum in this space; Australia does not currently have a national strategy to support children’s early years’ language and literacy development.

The proposal examines the current scale of the situation on the ground in communities across the nation, and establishes a common understanding around early language and literacy development whilst recognising the importance of home languages.

Importantly, it outlines priority areas, objectives and proposed actions with careful consideration to the diversity of communities in Australia and the need for tailored approaches to specific population groups.

The National Coalition calls on the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments to adopt this proposed strategy and commit to the development of our children’s language and literacy skills as a national priority.

ALNF’s Co-Chair, Professor Tom Calma AO, has highlighted the crucial need for this strategy to be adopted to transform children’s early development and ensure they are given the vital skills they need to reach their full potential as adults and Australia’s future emerging leaders. He said, “All Australian children, from all walks of life and from all postcodes, deserve equity of access to quality early years learning environments that include and celebrate their families, communities, home languages, their cultures and their uniqueness.”

“The pre-schoolers of today are the youth and leadership of our future. Every parent wants their children and the children of Australia to be literate, well educated and great communicators. They want them to realise their full potential. A coordinated national strategy will create the systemic cohesion necessary for every child to benefit during those sensitive formative years before entering formal schooling.”

Read the full proposed strategy here and join us to ensure our children are given the opportunity to thrive and reach their full potential by signing the petition.

4 August 2021 – ALNF is excited to announce our new partnership with Thirriwirri, a First Nations-owned venture, rooted in decades of extensive experience in First Nations affairs.

“Thirriwirri” is the Muktung (Maneroo) word for Ironbark- tough, textured and enduring, with deep roots in Country and culture.

It is a fitting representation of the approach and commitment of the Thirriwirri organisation to serve and amplify the voice of our First Nations communities.

With a shared focus on strengthening the capacity and confidence of First Nations communities around the country, this new partnership will elevate the collective missions of ALNF and Thirriwirri to achieve tangible and long-term improvements in the social and economic wellbeing of First Nations peoples, and empower them to be their own change-makers.

To learn more about Thirriwirri, please visit their website.

2 August 2021 – When we asked our newest ambassador and acclaimed author and illustrator, Matt Shanks, to share a few words with us about why he joined ALNF, we had no idea how extraordinary his response would be.

Matt’s words move us, inspire us, and hit right at the heart of why ALNF exists.

Thank you, Matt. We are honoured to have you join us on this journey.

Why do I support the ALNF? In recent years, I’ve done a lot of work to understand privilege, both as a concept, but also my own privilege. I wrote about it some time ago here. Of all the ways to think about it, there’s one version of privilege that isn’t often talked about and that’s the fundamentals of literacy. Yes, there’s the idea of ‘education’ but that’s usually spoken about in terms of wealth and class (which are linked of course), but not necessarily the fundamentals of reading, writing, and numeracy. That’s where ALNF comes in.

It seems to me that our society is built on the underlying assumption that to participate in it in a meaningful way – ‘meaningful’ being in a way that benefits the community (by way of contributing to ‘the commons’ in various ways) as well as the individual (by way of agency) – one must be able to read, write, and count. There’s plenty of research to show that not everyone has equal (or sometimes any) access to what’s needed for them to learn those skills. So, if we don’t do anything about it, the marginalised become further marginalised and illiteracy becomes systemic. Not only do individuals suffer but so too does the community – all of us do. So, by partnering with the ALNF who provide access, training and support to those who struggle to get those things because of historical discrimination, we start to shift the system from the bottom up. It’s not fast work, but important work often isn’t. In a world that is mostly about quick returns and hockey-stick growth curves, it’s not something that anything but patient capital can solve. And, being privileged to have patient capital, the ALNF seems an obvious choice.

The problem with addressing the root cause of anything is that it can be difficult to measure effectiveness. How can you possibly put a number on unlocking the ability to read, write, and count in a single person let alone a whole community? It’s easy for an organisation to just leave it there; to trust in its donors to have faith that the world will right itself if you just keep donating ‘for the cause’. But, from my first interaction with the organisation, the ALNF showed that tracking efficacy (as best we can) was a top priority – both qualitatively and quantitatively. It’s wonderful to be a small part of a community using the exact thing we’re trying to provide access to to make the change we seek to make – a more equal, fair, and educated bunch of humans in this generation, and the ones to come.

26 July 2021 –

On 17 June 2021, “Know Your Country”, a nationwide, First Nations led campaign was launched calling for structural reforms of the Education system to close the knowledge gap about First Nations history and culture at school.

As an ally of the campaign, ALNF stands together with convenor World Vision Australia, as well as the campaign’s First Nations Led organisations, and other allies including ANTaR and Amnesty International.

The Know Your Country campaign aims to address the lack of involvement by local First Nations communities in delivering authentic and locally relevant curriculum content, by creating safe spaces for First Nations communities to represent their own histories and cultures.

It calls on political parties at all tiers of Government to commit to funding First Nations cultural educators in every primary school, inspired by a vision for all children to be able to access the wisdom of the world’s oldest continuous culture.

With 7 out of 10 Australians agreeing that education is the key to reducing racism, there has never been a more crucial moment for these proposed changes to our Education system to take effect, transforming how Australians understand each other and promoting a shared understanding of First Nations cultures.

ALNF’s Co-Chair, Professor Tom Calma AO, believes in the campaign’s potential to shape emerging Australian leaders. A member of the Know Your Country First Nations Advisor Panel. Professor Calma said, “All children will benefit from knowing about the people and their culture of the country where they go to school. First Nations Cultural Educators will provide educational, health and wellbeing benefits that will shape these still emerging leaders.”

Campaign lead, World Vision’s First Nations Policy Advisor and Wiradjuri man, Dr Scott Winch, said “The next step towards Reconciliation starts at school. A shared understanding of our past, including the diversity of Australian culture, will build a stronger Australia.”

To learn more about the Know Your Country campaign, please visit the website.

Join us and take action to close the knowledge gap about First Nations people and cultures:

Sign the petition to employ First Nations Cultural Educators in every primary school
Add your organisation as an ally
Ask your School Principal to sign up your school

Acknowledgement: The Know Your Country logo by Rachael Sarra

4 May 2021 – How do we give all children the best possible start to life?

What does high quality early childhood education and care look like and how do we ensure all children are able to access it?

These are big challenges needing even bigger solutions.

And they have never been more pressing than in the current state of the world, with the COVID-19 crisis severely disrupting children’s education and learning across the globe.

In the lead-up to the fourth session of a ground-breaking webinar series entitled ‘The Big Five Challenges in Education in a Changed World’, ALNF Co-Founder, Mary-Ruth Mendel, has co-authored an article examining the progress that has been made so far in ensuring children get the best possible start to life.

Together with Dr. Dan Cloney, Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Council for Educational Research (ACER) and Myra Geddes of Goodstart Early Learning, the three early childhood and education specialists navigate these all-important questions and discuss how we can achieve the required targets to ensure equitable and quality early childhood education and care for all Australian children.

To read the full article in Teacher Magazine, please click here.

18 March 2021 – Today on National Close the Gap Day, the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation (ALNF) and World Vision Australia have released a joint report finding that one in four First Nations households has no internet access. This prevalent and widespread “Digital Divide” is limiting learning opportunities for Indigenous students.

Despite being the 16th year since ALNF’s Co-Chair, Professor Tom Calma, first called on Australian governments to Close the Gap, the ongoing inequalities between First Nations and non-First Nations peoples continue to persist.

The report Connecting on Country: Closing The Digital Divide for First Nations Students In The Age of COVID-19 has found that the unjust Digital Divide in Australia today between First Nations and non-First Nations communities has only served to widen these gaps further.

With First Nations students four times more likely to have no internet at home, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed and deepened these long-existing disadvantages in digital access and learning. School closures have meant that many First Nations students have not been able to access the learning materials, teaching and support that their class peers could access online, setting Australia back years in the progress made towards targets on educational equality.

The report also found that First Nations homes relied more heavily on costly, inefficient mobile data for internet access (37 per cent) compared with the general population (21 per cent), meaning First Nations households are spending a greater portion of their household income on internet access than non- First Nations families, exposing them to further financial strain.

In terms of both digital access and affordability, the report found the gaps between First Nations and non-First Nations families are only getting wider.

ALNF Co-Founder, Co-Chair and Executive Director, Mary-Ruth Mendel, said: “Online learning is a key feature of modern education but this report highlights the unacceptable fact that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have less educational opportunities due to inequitable access to technology and the internet”.

“Online learning is here to stay. Currently in Australia 1 in 4 First Nation households do not have internet access at home. Don’t think that this applies to remote Australia only – it includes city families, regional and remote families too. This report highlights educational inequity where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students have the greatest online disadvantage. The Digital Divide compounds the Educational Divide”.

Despite these figures, ALNF believes that this moment in history can be the turning point. As a nation, we can use this crisis as the long-needed trigger to boldly reshape the way we educate our children.

ALNF and World Vision Australia have called on the Australian Government to lead efforts to close the Digital Divide through a number of key actions including:

Developing a First Nations Digital Inclusion Strategy, in consultation with First Nations communities and Aboriginal education consultative groups

Prioritising First Nations communities in the rollout of the Mobile Black Spot Program to improve mobile phone coverage in remote Australia

Including a dedicated target on Closing the Digital Divide in the Closing the Gap agreement

Exploring public-private partnerships to close the Digital Divide by increasing the affordability and access of going online for First Nations students

Funding research into the impact of the Digital Divide on the education of First Nations students to inform further policy solutions and resourcing decisions

Professor Calma supports the report’s recommendations and reinforced that “advancements in technology and digital distribution of reading and learning resources are welcomed, but when not backed up with a comprehensive implementation strategy to close the Digital Divide, the gap in Indigenous educational equality will widen”.

“Digital delivery and access are key determinants of both education and health and non-access is significantly and detrimentally impacting on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples – irrespective of where they live”.

Author of the report and World Vision’s First Nations senior policy advisor, Dr. Scott Winch, said: “Addressing the Digital Divide should not be a question of ‘if’ but ‘how fast’. In 2021, online access and digital inclusion are a necessity for all Australian students, not a luxury. It’s imperative that First Nations students can access the same resources and education opportunities as other Australian students who take access to equipment and internet connections for granted.”

Education is a human right, one to which all Australian children are entitled regardless of socio-economic status, race or location.

Read the full report here.

1 February 2021 – We’re thrilled to announce that the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s newest ambassador is Indigenous model and activist Nathan McGuire!

A proud Whadjuk Noongar man, Nathan has been outspoken about the urgent need for the Australian fashion industry to place Indigenous perspectives front and centre in discussions around diversity.

In his advocacy efforts, Nathan has said that “As Indigenous models, we’re proud of our heritage. It is important to us that we get to speak and own the space within fashion, where we decide on matters that affect us. That space must be reserved for us; our voices must be at the forefront.”

Nathan is committed to a diversity that extends beyond box-ticking to reflect genuine change in how organisations are structured. This aligns perfectly with ALNF’s foundational belief in the importance of working alongside, rather than for, marginalised communities to empower kids with literacy and language skills.

For both Nathan and ALNF, entrenching positive cultural shifts is the only way that progress can be made that is sustainable and long-lasting.

Nathan said, “I’m very excited to be an ambassador with ALNF. I have been so inspired by the many ways ALNF empower the next generation with access to literacy and numeracy. The work they do is incredible and I’m grateful for the opportunity to support such an amazing foundation.”

We welcome Nathan, and are excited to explore all the ways that this collaboration benefits communities right across Australia.