NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. 37 Cavendish Street Stanmore NSW 2048 Tel: 02 9550 5666 Fax: 02 9550 3361 Web: www.aecg.nsw.edu.au With a sense of optimism and hope, NSW CETA enters into a renewed partnership agreement with the NSW Ministry of Education. We are optimistic that we can continue to build on past successes that ensure our employees have access and opportunities in the education system by continuing to work respectfully and in collaboration with the New South Wales Department of Education. We hope that the inequalities and inequalities that exist for our children in obtaining an education will be a priority for the Ministry and that the pockets of racism that exist in all its forms will be challenged. NSW CETA promotes respect, empowerment and self-determination through its local and regional network and believes that the collaborative consultation process is an essential part of equal and fundamental partnerships to achieve equality. CETA New South Wales is the result of an educational movement that advocates for the right of access to and participation in an education system. The Partnership Agreement sets out how we will achieve this and our shared responsibility. By walking together, by working together, we are looking to a future, a future that builds a nation based on tolerance, respect and understanding of the unique place of its First Nations. A future laid by the foundations of an education system that celebrates and recognizes that we are the oldest living culture of humanity.
Cindy Berwick President, NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Inc. Indigenous education in New South Wales public schools will be strengthened under a new partnership agreement signed this week between the New South Wales Department of Education and the New South Wales Indigenous Education Advisory Group (NSW CETA). The agreement was signed for today`s virtual launch by Cindy Berwick, President of NSW CETAexternal link, and Mark Scott, Secretary of NSW`s Department of Education, in the presence of Minister Mitchell. Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said the key to the agreement is to ensure that every Indigenous child and youth in New South Wales can reach their potential. “CETA New South Wales is the supreme advisory body to the Department of Indigenous Education. This partnership underpins work to strengthen the education of Indigenous children and youth,” said Ms. Mitchell. The New South Wales Department of Education appreciates our continued partnership with the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group Incorporated (NSW CETA) and is committed to further strengthening this relationship. We recognise that CETA New South Wales is the community`s primary advisory body for Indigenous education at all levels and stages of planning and decision-making. Our renewed partnership emphasizes a strengths-based approach.
The ministry is committed to respectfully listening and learning from NSW CETA and its network of regional and local CETAs. We are proud of the foundation of trust that underpins our relationship and we will work together and take the next steps in a genuine and egalitarian partnership. Together, we will strengthen cooperation between Indigenous communities and schools, together we will work towards common goals in Indigenous education, and together we will celebrate the successes of our students and communities. The Department and CETA of New South Wales are accountable to each other as we work to ensure our students reach their full academic potential and while embracing and nurturing their social, emotional, spiritual and cultural needs during their individual travels. We will work together to provide all staff and students with an understanding and appreciation of the richness and diversity of Indigenous cultures and histories. The Ministry recognizes and appreciates the support of CETA`s New South Wales Community Base in this work. We know that by improving knowledge and understanding and listening to Indigenous voices, we will help build a culturally safe school environment where racism is eliminated and which is a great place to work and learn. In education, we know that every child deserves to be known, valued and cared for in school, and we are serious about preparing young people for a fulfilling life as engaged citizens in a complex and dynamic society.
I look forward to nsw`s department and CETA working together, working together to achieve these ambitions. Mark Scott AO Secretary, New South Wales Department of Education In a spirit of partnership, NSW CETA and the Department of Education and Training are jointly committed, in their own cultural contexts and practices, to respect, value and support each other to help Indigenous students achieve successful education and training outcomes in four main areas of intervention. These focus areas are: “The clarity of the partnership will guide the development of a 10-year plan with responsibility for interim and annual reporting.” Our partnership is not new. This agreement builds on a very close relationship that the department already has with NSW CETA. With this agreement, we now have clear expectations for building relationships with Indigenous students, Indigenous families and communities, and the people of NSW CETA. . Aboriginal Education and Community Engagement Unit Level 14, 1 Oxford Street Darlinghurst NSW 2010 Tel: 02 9244 5640 Fax: 02 9244 5365 NSW CETA Inc. offers a range of training courses for teachers and assistants. Courses include Indigenous content and perspectives, which helps to understand the unique relationship between Indigenous people and their environment. Cindy Berwick, Chair of the NSW Aboriginal Education Consultative Group, said she was optimistic that she could continue to build on the successes achieved so far, which ensure Indigenous peoples have access and opportunities in the education system by continuing to work with respect and collaboration with the New South Wales Department of Education. CETA New South Wales is the result of an educational movement that advocates for the right of access to and participation in an education system.
The Partnership Agreement sets out how they intend to achieve this and their shared responsibility. The partnership agreement has meaning and purpose. This means that we must be accountable to the community as we continue to demand our right to a system of education and training that recognizes and respects indigenous peoples as members of the oldest living culture of humanity and the first peoples of this country. The NSW CETA Inc. website provides an interactive map for schools to find their local CETA representatives. “It is important that students in New South Wales get to know, understand and learn about the land of the people they live and study and celebrate the richness of our state`s Indigenous cultures. Reversing this trend requires the involvement of Indigenous communities, Indigenous parents and caregivers, grandparents, families, students, their teachers, school staff, TAFE staff, and everyone working in education and training. This partnership agreement reflects a relationship between the Department of Education and Training and NEW SOUTH WALES CETA that exists to give Indigenous students the opportunity to enjoy more choice, more freedom, better health and greater opportunities. We must have high expectations of our Aboriginal students, of ourselves and of the community.
We must not allow ourselves to apologize for the lack of success of Indigenous students in school and at TAFE. The Partnership Agreement is a Memorandum of Understanding on how NSW CETA and the Ministry of Education and Training plan to work together. NSW CETA`s strength is its community base through its network of local and regional CETAs….
