October 1, 2012
By Marcus Priaulx
Cherbourg Shire Council is hoping to bring the Clontarf Foundation program to the town so it can lower crime rates and boost education results.
CEO Warren Collins said the local Parent and Community Engagement (PaCE) program, which was established 22 months ago, had laid the foundation for the Clontarf program to have maximum impact.
“We believe PaCE has been a huge success at improving parent and family engagement with their schools but it’s time to take it to another level,” Mr Collins said.
The Clontarf Foundation was recently credited by the Western Australia Police Service for helping drastically reduce Carnarvon crime rates within its first year of operation in 2011-2012.
Carnarvon police said a reduction in criminal activity had been directly linked to the commencement of the Carnarvon Clontarf Academy.
The Foundation helps young men to complete Year 12 and place them into further training and employment.
It was established by former teacher and Sydney Swans player Gerard Neesham in 2000 with 25 boys in Perth and has grown to 47 academies across Western Australia, the Northern Territory, Victoria and NSW.
It aims to improve the education, discipline, self-esteem, life skills and employment prospects of young Aboriginal men and by so doing, equip them to participate more meaningfully in society.
The program uses the existing passion the young men have for football, both AFL and Rugby League, to attract them to school.
Cherbourg Council hopes the first Queensland academy can be established in its town.
Mr Neesham recently visited the town at the invitation of the Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council.
He and senior Clontarf staff have also met with Queensland and Federal government officials to find their level of interest in having the Foundation come to Cherbourg.
“The money it would cost is cheap as chips compared to the cost of not having it,” Mr Collins said.
“We’re hoping the government will embrace our request to have the Academy establish a pilot program here in Cherbourg.
“The uptake of our existing PaCE programs has been phenomenal and we believe many of Cherbourg’s youth social and education woes could be reduced to almost nothing within five years as long as our PaCE program continues to be refunded and it’s successful in getting a Clontarf Foundation Academy within our town.
“I think this can be achieved and it would provide a happier future for all.”
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The aim of the PaCE program is to build an education culture within families and the community.
It is a federally funded Cherbourg Aboriginal Shire Council program that aims to have every parent send every child to school every day, on time, to ensure a happier future for all.
Barambah PaCE began its work in November 2010. It was set a target of establishing contact with 150 parents and carers, 25 community members and 25 others by December 31, 2012. The community response to its programs has been huge. So far it’s registered 1267 parent contacts, 675 with community members and 693 with others (as of September 13, 2012).
It partners any school that a child from Cherbourg attends. At the moment this involves six primary schools and two secondary.
