Aboriginal Education

Aboriginal Education Policy

The responsibility for enacting the Aboriginal Education Policy rests with all Departmental staff. The policy should underpin and inform planning, teaching practice and approaches to educational leadership in all educational settings.

Evidence of effective implementation of the policy include:

Establishing, building and strengthening relationships with the local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, Aboriginal people and communities.
Providing, in partnership with Aboriginal people and communities, education that promotes quality teaching is engaging, and is culturally appropriate and relevant.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students will match or better the outcomes of the broader student population.
Implementation of Personalised Learning Pathways for all Aboriginal students in a school culture of high expectations.

The school's goal is to increase school and community awareness of indigenous histories and cultures under the banner of Reconciliation through Education.

Aboriginal Education Initiatives

At Abbotsford PS, we have a number of initiatives and events which support and enrich our learning programs with Aboriginal perspectives.

The school has an established Acknowledgment of Country which was developed with Aunty Fay Carroll and the SRC. The Acknowledgement of Country is displayed across the front fence of the school for the community to read.
Each year in Term 2, students, staff and parents participate in a Reconciliation Walk through the communities of Abbotsford and Wareemba to raise awareness on two significant milestones in the reconciliation journey— the successful 1967 referendum, and the High Court Mabo decision.
APS acknowledges NAIDOC Week each year with our local elder, Uncle Jimmy Smith giving a presentation and with students participating in classroom activities.
Students take part in an annual book swap to acknowledge Indigenous Literacy Day in Term 3. Students are encouraged to donate a gold coin. Money raised is donated to the Indigenous Literacy Foundation who then purchase reading resources for remote Indigenous communities.
School classrooms, offices and buildings have all been renamed with Dharug names chosen by staff and students based on the theme of country.
Abbotsford PS have athletic singlets with our unique Aboriginal art design and logo emblazoned on the front and back. The artwork designed by Lee Hampton is inspired by the traditional Wangal area that the school sits on.