up4it Program

The up4it Leadership Development Program is a creative and innovative strategy that addresses the poor attendance of Indigenous students in regional and remote communities in the Goldfields/Esperance, Gascoyne/Midwest, Pilbara, and Kimberley and regions.

The Program has two modes of delivery:

Remote Community Visits
Leadership Development Camps

Remote Community Visits

The up4it Leadership Development Program focuses on Indigenous and non-Indigenous students living in regional and remote communities in WA. Impacting primarily on primary and secondary school students, the Program also engages community members and elders from the following communities:

• Goldfields - Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Laverton, Leonora, Norseman and Wiluna.
• Gascoyne / Mid West - Cue, Meekatharra, Mt Magnet, Sandstone and Yalgoo.
• Pilbara -Cotton Creek, Jigalong, Onslow, Marble Bar, Newman, Port Hedland, South Hedland, Roebourne and Yandeyarra.
• Kimberley - Balgo, Billiluna, Halls Creek, Kununurra and Mulan.

Role Models WA specialist teams of high profile Indigenous and non-Indigenous sporting and community role models make three (3) visits to remote communities across WA delivering leadership workshops, sporting programs, and extracurricular activities and events to promote healthy lifestyles and the importance of education.

As well as sporting role models the visiting teams include a grooming and deportment specialist (popular with boys and girls!) and the local Indigenous rock band Yabu.

During the community visits, role models spend two to three days in each community spending time with students of all ages and liaising with school staff, community leaders and elders. The role models also assist teachers by promoting school attendance, attainment and behaviour.

The outcomes for the students involved relate to:

Sport and physical activity.
Enhancing healthy, safe lifestyles with an emphasis on no drugs, no alcohol and no violence,
Focus on education as the prime catalyst for significant positive change in their lives.
Leadership and teamwork skills development.

The visits guarantee reinforcement of the Program objectives for the students, and keep community engagement at a peak.

The remote school visits mean that all students are exposed to the Program, not just those achieving Program targets to receive an invitation to a Perth camp. More importantly, the visits secure a whole of community engagement with BBQ’s, sporting programs, and other events held before and after school. Indigenous community members, teaching staff, sponsors, and other stakeholders are invited to engage with the Role Models WA team and students. The events enhance community spirit, pride and recognition of the Program.

In the remote community, the team will try to identify local role models to continue the programs once they leave the community. As a Registered Training Organisation, Role Models WA is able to provide formal training to local role models. This strategy ensures the sustainability of the programs when the Role Models WA teams are not in the community either between visits, or in the event that a visit in not financially viable.

Leadership Development Camps

The Leadership Development Camps act as a motivational tool to encourage young Indigenous students enrolled in remote and regional schools to attend school regularly throughout the year. By achieving a pre-determined attendance target set by their school, successful students can be rewarded with a three day camp held in Perth.

School staff select students whose attendance rate had been above 80% to participate in the Perth Camp. School attainment and behaviour are also criteria for being selected to attend the camp.

The three day camp program uses prominent community and sports role models to deliver workshops, sports coaching and fun filled activities that reinforce positive messages about:

Healthy Lifestyles;
Sport and Physical Activity;
Education and Training; and,
Leadership and Teamwork.

UP4IT OUTCOMES
The fundamental purpose of the up4it Leadership Development program is to facilitate and sustain a measurable increase in school attendance rates amongst Indigenous students in regional and remote areas of Western Australia, and in the process:

• improve and sustain school attendance rates.
  
• increase participation in sporting and team building activities.
  
• encourage educational attainment.
  
• encourage retention through to Year 12.
  
• create awareness of the need for a healthy lifestyle avoiding drugs and alcohol.
• instil leadership skills and foster teamwork, improve motivation and enhance self esteem.
  

achieve greater parent/guardian and local community involvement in the education and well being of their children.



Key Objectives
The key objective of the up4it Program is to facilitate and sustain a measurable increase in school attendance rates amongst Indigenous students in regional and remote areas of Western Australia. The key outcomes of the up4it Program will be to:

• engage students participation and performance in sport and other extracurricular activities;
  
• improve attendance rates for participating school students;
  
• improve student behaviours;
  
• provide incentives and motivation for school attendance;
• provide opportunities for attendance to a Perth leadership camp

The Program objectives support and address the Government’s education engagement strategies. In particular, the program addresses the Government’s outcomes for Educated, Healthy, Safe and Supportive Communities with Life Long Learning in the Regions and Enhanced Quality of Regional Lifestyles by providing activities that encourage children to remain engaged in their education and their own future.