Kimberley Schools Project
The Kimberley Schools Project (KSP) is a collaboration between the Department of Education, Catholic Education Western Australia, the Association of Independent Schools Western Australia and the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. The Project commenced as a $25 million, Royalties for Regions funding investment from 2018 through to 2022. Through the Project, the Department has worked to customise and better support existing strategies to accelerate all children’s learning, and in particular Aboriginal students’ progress, in Kimberley schools and communities.
The KSP currently supports 23 schools across the Kimberley and has predominantly focused on targeted teaching and early years with considerable success.
In May 2022, the State Government announced that as part of the $40.4 million package to tackle juvenile crime in the Kimberley, KSP would receive a further $11.7 million to extend the project for a further three years (2023-24 to 2025-26).
The extension of funding came with expectation that the KSP resourcing will be strengthened to focus on regular student attendance, student and community engagement. A range of strategies have been designed to support schools in these two areas.
The Kimberley Schools Project comprises of four integrated areas:
- Targeted teaching: evidence-based
literacy teaching strategies and quality materials with frequent
measurement of progress to inform planning and delivery. - Better early years learning and care: community co-design initiatives that build on and improve
existing services, and engage families as first teachers. - Regular attendance: community
partnerships to deliver strategies that aim to resolve issues of
non-attendance in particular communities. - Increased student and community engagement: co-designed community initiatives that build positive
relationships between the school and the community.
Implementation of the above pillars will be enabled
through inter-agency collaboration, leadership and, as per the Aboriginal
Cultural Standards Framework, positive, deep-rooted behaviours, attitudes and
practices that lead to:
- culturally responsive leadership;
- leadership focused on improving outcomes for all students;
- teaching with high expectations and in ways that enable children to
realise their full potential; - a learning environment that is welcoming for students and reflects
community expectations for their children.
The KSP has designed a differentiated framework of
support for KSP schools from 2023 to 2026. Below is an illustration of the
framework. The Project Responsibilities indicates the level of support provided
to schools by the KSP.
Implementation phase – schools receive an intense
amount of support from the KSP and as schools build their capacity the Schools
Responsibilities will increase, KSP support will decrease, and schools will
transition to the sustain phase.
The need for the project was initially identified in the Kimberley Development Commission’s 2036 and Beyond: A Regional Investment Blueprint for the Kimberley. The project is also one of ten priority actions in the Regional Services Reform Unit’s Resilient Families, Stronger Communities roadmap.
Recent updates
The first newsletter containing updates on the Kimberley Schools Project was released in September 2019. Most recent issue is available in the link below:
Read the Kimberley Schools Project newsletter for Term 2, 2021
The project also has a Twitter account @kimberley_sp that keeps stakeholders informed. Below are two videos (and accompanying transcripts) giving an insight into the project.
Video 1 How does the program work in participating schools?
[Introduction music plays and continues in the background throughout the video]
Lauren Jeffery (Kindergarten and Pre-Primary School Teacher, Bayulu Remote Community School)
“Once KSP has come on and we’ve learnt about Explicit Instruction and Let’s Decode, I’ve seen the such amazing results that I’ve ever seen in 12 years of teaching Kindy, I’m so excited and amazed by what they’re capable of.’’
Zeth (Student)– “I’ve been learning about numbers and millions and billions of numbers”.
[Students respond quickly to teachers questions in a fast paced loud format]
Jane Salt (Principal, Bayulu Remote Community School)– “Our students are very engaged and focused in their learning”.
Video 2 How does the program work in participating schools?
[Introduction music plays and continues in the background throughout the video] Jane Salt (Principal, Bayulu Remote Community School) [children playing in the background]
“Today we’ve had two staff up from Dawson Park Primary school in Perth, visit our school, so today was about having some experts come into the school and share their knowledge and show us and give us some feedback and so it was an opportunity for our teachers to see the experts in action and look at a daily review in numeracy and it was affirmation we were on the right track. Then moving forward having coaches come back to Bayulu School to observe our staff and give them that feedback, specific feedback about where to next.’’
Participating schools
All public and non-government Kimberley schools have the option of joining and are invited to submit an expression of interest each year. The 24 schools participating are listed below.
KSP Tranches
| wdt_ID | Tranche 1 Schools 2018 | Tranche 2 Schools 2019 | Tranche 3 Schools mid 2019 | Tranche 4 Schools 2020 | Tranche 5 Schools 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bayulu Remote Community School | Broome North Primary School | Fitzroy Valley District High School | Holy Rosary School | Nullagine Primary School |
| 2 | Dawul Remote Community School | Broome Primary School | Jungdranung Remote Community School | ||
| 3 | Derby District High School | Halls Creek District High School | Kimberley School of the Air | ||
| 4 | Djugerari Remote Community School | East Kimberley College (formerly Kununurra District High School) | |||
| 5 | Kalumburu Remote Community School | Muludja Remote Community School | |||
| 6 | La Grange Remote Community School | Ngalapita Remote Community School | |||
| 7 | Looma Remote Community School | Roebuck Primary School | |||
| 8 | Nyikina Mangala Community School* | Wananami Remote Community School | |||
| 9 | Wangkatjungka Remote Community School | Warlawurru (Redhill) Catholic School | |||
| 10 | Wyndham District High School | ||||
| Tranche 1 Schools 2018 | Tranche 2 Schools 2019 | Tranche 3 Schools mid 2019 | Tranche 4 Schools 2020 | Tranche 5 Schools 2021 |
*Nyikina Mangala Community School have formally withdrawn from the Project from commencement of Term 2, 2021.
Details of each participating school are also available on the map below.
Further information
For further information on the project, please contact Mark Williams, Manager, Kimberley Schools Project on (08) 9192 0835 or 0436 602 841, or Ian Ralph, Principal, Kimberley Schools Project, 0403 762 889.
Useful Links
Invest In the Kimberley
The Kimberley boasts many progressive, vibrant and promising industries with large potential for future growth.
Annual Report
Ensuring the transparency and accountability for the Kimberley Development Commission.
Our Region
The Kimberley is a complex landscape that represents one sixth of Western Australia’s land mass; equivalent to twice the size of Victoria.
Local Content
Our Local Content Advisor will help develop, promote and maximise opportunities in the regions.