PEET grant for - Newman Senior High School

11/4/98

A local school and the School for Isolated and Distance Education have received grants from a special trust fund which supports innovative educational projects developed to benefit Western Australian students.

Education Minister Colin Barnett announced today that Newman Senior High School has received $4,040 for a project which will help students develop communication and interpersonal skills.

The School of Isolated and Distance Education (SIDE) received $3,500 for a project that will study how it can fine-tune the services offered to students who are isolated from support services and staff available in regular schools.

They are among 22 schools, community groups and individuals that have received a total of $109,000 in grants this year.

Mr Barnett said the funding was provided from the Public Education Endowment Trust (PEET), which was established in 1909 to support outstanding educational programs that help a wide-cross section of students.

Mr Barnett, who is chairman of the Trust, said the grants were made in four categories aimed at:

·      developing school and community links;

·      improving early childhood education;

·      assisting geographically isolated and disadvantaged students; or -

·      supporting students with disabilities.

The Minister said the special programs at Newman and SIDE were excellent examples of the innovative work being undertaken in WA schools.

"Newman Senior High School's grant will fund a two-day workshop run by Kids Help Line, the 24 hour telephone counselling service for children and young people," he said.

"The workshop was designed to help students refine and develop their interpersonal and communication skills. It will also introduce them to the concept of "being there" for their friends, since research had shown that when they had problems, most young people were likely to seek help or information from a trusted friend rather than from adult-run social agencies."

Mr Barnett said the students would be provided with information about - and practise in - the basic peer skills of listening and responding.

The project developed by the School of Isolated and Distance Education aimed to improve the services provided to students in regional areas who participated in its programs.

These could include such services as pastoral care through chaplains and school nurses.

SIDE developed a student services unit in 1996, staffed by student coordinators, psychologists, learning support teachers and a teacher-librarian.

The project would first establish a clear picture of the support services currently provided by the unit and other organisations, then identify new services that isolated students and their parents saw as important and determine how the services could be provided at a distance.

It would also consider:

·      links that could be established with other organisations that provided student support services;

·      how school nursing services could be provided to students concerned about social health issues, such as eating disorders, drugs and HIV/AIDs; and -

·      whether chaplaincy services could be made available through e-mail or a school magazine.

The objective of the project was to incorporate the recommended services in the school's student support programs in 1999 and beyond.

Media contacts: Justine Whittome, Minister's office, (08) 9222 9699 Penny Valentine, Education Department, (08) 9264 5348