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<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Significant problems with school student attendance and retention rates in South Australia have not been addressed with adequate resources and strategies, and remain a serious concern, according to a new report from Flinders University.</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_19896" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19896" style="width: 203px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img class="wp-image-19896 size-medium" src="https://www.school-news.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Andrew-Bills-203x300.jpg" alt="" width="203" height="300" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19896" class="wp-caption-text">Andrew Bills</figcaption></figure>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">With about 5000 young people in South Australia, and an estimated 50,000 nationally, the call to action is strong, say Flinders University researchers Dr Andrew Bills and Nigel Howard, who is also affiliated with UniSA.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The report – <i><a href="https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/its-time-to-act-making-the-case-for-a-cross-sectoral-response-to-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="0">It’s Time to Act</a></i> – comes as a response, and update, to the watershed 2000 SA report into school disengagement and detachment <i>Listen to me; I’m Leaving</i>, and the 2019 national report <i>Those Who Disappear</i>.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Many of the statistics the new academic report are alarming, including that:</span></p>
<ul >
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><span lang="EN-AU">1 in 4 school students in SA miss more than a month of schooling a year</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">1 in 2 Indigenous primary students in SA miss more than a month of schooling per year; and</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span lang="EN-AU">1 in 3 Year 10 students in SA schools miss more than a month of schooling a year.</span></li>
</ul>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span><span lang="EN-AU">Retention rates were equally disturbing – with 3 in 10 public school students not enrolling in Year 12 following the completion of year 11; and that 1 in 4 South Australians aged 20-to-24 have not completed Year 12.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span><span lang="EN-AU">“South Australia can lead the way in addressing school disengagement but we need a</span></p>
<figure id="attachment_19897" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-19897" style="width: 225px" class="wp-caption alignright"><img class="wp-image-19897 size-medium" src="https://www.school-news.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Nigel-Howard-225x300.jpeg" alt="" width="225" height="300" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-19897" class="wp-caption-text">Nigel Howard</figcaption></figure>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">government and education sector that is willing to work closely together in the interests of young people,” says Dr Bills, from Flinders University’s College of Education, Psychology and Social Work.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU"> </span><span lang="EN-AU">“What’s needed is a carefully crafted response to a very complex problem and this can only be done if we tackle all the barriers that occur in and out of school and increase schools’ ability to be responsive and flexible in supporting young people through all stages of their education.”</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The report comes with nine important recommendations:</span></p>
<ol start="1" type="1">
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst"><span lang="EN-AU">A commitment to designing a cross-sector youth compact for disadvantaged students</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Talk and listen to young people</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Talk and listen to school leaders, teachers and service providers</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Design a roadmap to work across the sectors and share information</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Early intervention to stop children leaving in the early years of secondary education</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Wrap around support at a local level</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Recognise flexible and alternative education as integral to the school ecosystem</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle"><span lang="EN-AU">Act on the need for a new kind of teacher</span></li>
<li class="x_MsoListParagraphCxSpLast"><span lang="EN-AU">Mainstream school redesign is long overdue</span></li>
</ol>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">“It is crucial for educators that we turn more serious attention to this neglected problem and to act swiftly on the recommendations,” says Dr Bills.</span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">The release of<i> </i></span><i><span lang="EN-AU">It’s Time to Act</span></i><span lang="EN-AU"> coincided with a SA Youth Policy Forum entitled ‘<i>Those who Disappear: The Education problem nobody wants to talk about’</i> &#8211; hosted by Flinders University at Victoria Square on 10 November which included the SA Commissioner for Children and Young People Helen Connolly, Education Department and Catholic school and independent school representatives.</span><span lang="EN-AU"> </span></p>
<p class="x_MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-AU">Read the <i><a href="https://researchnow.flinders.edu.au/en/publications/its-time-to-act-making-the-case-for-a-cross-sectoral-response-to-" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="1">It’s Time to Act report here</a></i> and watch the forum <a href="https://video.flinders.edu.au/events20/21/YouthPolicySeries.cfm?id=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="2">online here</a>. </span><span lang="EN-AU"><a href="https://video.flinders.edu.au/events20/21/YouthPolicySeries.cfm?id=2" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-auth="NotApplicable" data-linkindex="3">https://video.flinders.edu.au/events20/21/YouthPolicySeries.cfm?id=2</a></span></p>

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