As noted in a recent School Governance article, the theme of NAPCAN’s annual National Child Protection Week for 2021 is “Every child, in every community, needs a fair go”. Having a ‘fair go’ is as much a part of our Australian culture as it is a part of our national identity. Giving children a ‘fair go’ is not just an option, it is their right as young citizens, and it behoves all schools to ensure that this happens!

How Do We Recognise the ‘Bigger Picture’ in Treating Children Fairly and Equitably?

The 2021 theme is described as being "all about the importance of the 'bigger picture' in addressing child abuse and neglect".

Giving all students a ‘fair go’ means that schools need to look very closely at equity for their student body. The National Principles for Child Safe Organisations provide guidance on how to ensure that children are treated fairly and equitably. In particular:

• National Principle 2 - Children and young people are informed about their rights, participate in decisions affecting them and are taken seriously.
• National Principle 4 - Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.

The Commissioner for Children and Young People (WA) has this to say about National Principal 4:

“The strengths and differences of all children and young people should be celebrated regardless of age, ability, sex, gender, economic or cultural background. When organisations recognise and respond to the diverse needs of children and young people and their families, they will be more child centred and enable children and young people to participate more effectively.”

What Can Schools Do to Give all Students a ‘Fair Go’ Through Activities that Promote Equity?

Schools, as carers and providers of education for children of diverse backgrounds, circumstances and needs, must recognise the importance of equity in all their policies and practices. It is also important to note that equity is not the same as equality.

In laypersons terms, equality basically means being equal. Equity is not about being equal. In a school environment, equity is about ensuring that all students are given opportunities to achieve the same outcomes. Some may need more scaffolding or more resourcing than others. However, equality in terms of achievement, can be a very positive outcome of equity.

According to Waterford Education:

The quality of education that students receive directly correlates to their quality of life years down the road. Early education in particular has the power to shape a child’s future and the more resources available to them, the better. For this reason, it’s crucial for educators to address any barriers young students face to succeeding in school. The key is equity.”

If schools are serious about student equity, then they need to examine how they engage with the students in forums and platforms that are more than just within a classroom or general learning environment. Not all children engage effectively in larger group or classroom environments. Schools need to provide the appropriate forums where students are encouraged to voice their opinions and to engage in discussions about matters that affect them to ensure that there is equity in participation in school activities - basically, to ensure that all students are offered a ‘fair go’.

Practical examples of this include:

• providing access to technology for those students who need it (particularly important during the COVID-19 pandemic): for example, lending school devices to families for remote learning or – if back to face-to-face learning – for out-of-school projects
• provision of specific events at sports carnivals that cater for students with special needs. Rather than have these children involved in ‘sitting in the stands’ or assisting with timing, have events that encourage these students to participate in a manner that engages them
• provision of camps, tours and excursions and activities that focus not only on educational and safe engagement, but on promoting and encouraging active participation by all students
• provision of suitable school uniforms, services, and change room/toileting facilities for LGBTIQA+ students. Do you simply assume that these children will have to use the ‘disabled toilet’ facilities? Does your school have some ‘unisex’ toilet/change room facilities? Remember, aside from student duty of care, the main legal obligations regarding LGBTIQA+ students and prospective students relate to anti-discrimination
• monitoring how students in co-educational situations interact with each other. For example, do the boys in your class regularly ‘take over’ when it comes to practical activities such as science or sport? Do any of the students (male or female) engage in inappropriate gender stereotyping or sexist behaviour?
• encouraging students to engage in all educational programs particularly those that were once seen as gender specific. This is not new. Why are we still debating gender stereotypes in schools?
• reviewing the school’s processes for selection of students to participate in leadership roles. If the school is co-ed, is there an equitable mix of gender? If the school has children from a variety of cultures, is there a mix of cultures within the student leadership body that reflects similar proportions within the general student body? It still means choosing the best person for the role, but it is essential to engage with all students in a variety of situations to determine their suitability
• not every effective student leader is comfortable or effective in public speaking such as making a speech about why they should be a student leader. Sometimes their actions can speak much louder than words. Being equitable about the process of choosing your student leaders is no different to providing in-class assessment in a variety of ways so that all students have an opportunity to achieve
• engaging students in discussions about matters that affect them. One example could be to develop your student code of conduct with input from a student forum, or to discuss changes to the school canteen menu that follow the ‘traffic light’ code for healthy eating. Although this is a compliance requirement in several registration standards across the country as well as the National Quality Standard and the Boarding Standard, it is also a moral imperative for schools to listen to their students and to set up the appropriate forums where this can occur
• engaging with groups of children who have specific needs or cultural backgrounds such as children with special needs, overseas students, boarders from isolated communities or Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. The Queensland Government has developed a document regarding the participation of children and young people in decision-making. In the section regarding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, they note “For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children and young people, Child Safety staff must promote the child’s right to self-determination, and work in genuine partnership with the child, their family and their community to ensure the child and family’s culture has been central in the decision-making process.” Equity for these children often means a greater level of scaffolding or resourcing in the classroom or looking at alternative ways to engage them in decisions that affect them
• developing a wellness program, that will not only engage the students, but will encourage them to look at their mental health and wellbeing and provide both spaces and opportunity for growth and development in this area. Schools need to educate the children in a holistic manner and wellbeing must be considered to be an integral component of their education. In 2017, School Governance wrote about a growing concern for young people with mental health issues. We argued that school-based prevention and intervention strategies are paramount in reducing mental health issues that may interfere with student learning and social development. How much more relevant is this given the issues associated with COVID lockdowns, the subsequent stresses and even depression in our students?
• providing students with opportunities to identify the risks they encounter and what worries and concerns them. In partnership with their teachers, they should also be given opportunities to develop strategies to prevent and respond to these risks and concerns as noted in Protective Participation: The Voices of Young People on Safety. Students need to have access to, and be encouraged to participate in, discussions or forums where they can do more than just discuss policy directives. They need to be able to identify both hazards and risks (not just from a WHS perspective) that cause them concern. It is only by listening to them that schools can accurately gauge and develop the controls needed to manage the risks.

This message regarding risk identification by children is also promoted strongly by the Australian Institute for Family Studies. Many adults will tell you that they try to shield children from information about risks (such as sexual abuse) for fear that the information might be overwhelming or not something that the child would be able to comprehend or cope with (usually due to their age). The Australian Institute for Family Studies argues that “in attempting to protect children and young people from distressing information, adults rendered children more vulnerable and unwittingly caused them more distress”.

There is a wonderful document produced by the Commissioner for Children in Tasmania. Schools could use this as a reference:

“Children’s participation is more than just asking them for their ideas and views. It’s about listening to them, taking them seriously and turning their ideas and suggestions into reality. It is also about providing them with the ability to influence some of the things that affect them and at the same time helping adults understand children’s issues through their lens.”

Conclusion

So, are we really only paying lip service when we speak about equity and giving our students a ‘fair go’ in our schools? I don’t think so. I believe that many schools would use my suggestions as a checklist regarding what they already do.

If your school is doing these types of activities, and probably many more, then please ‘shout it from the rooftops’. If you want to promote your school’s point of difference or value adding, wouldn’t equity and giving all students a ‘fair go’ be highly valued by prospective families?