HELPING HAND TO CRACK CYCLE OF POVERTY

LEARNING in a time of COVID-19 has thrown up many challenges for Australian kids, not least those living in disadvantaged communities.

The pandemic has added another layer of adversity for the 1.2 million children and young people growing up in poverty in Australia, according to charity The Smith Family and online education provider 3P Learning.

“In this complex environment, where COVID casts a huge shadow on everything we do, the challenge is not only bare necessities like food, clothing and shelter but technology access, reliable internet and effective resources,” says Allan Dougan, global head of education at 3P Learning, which has been distributing ABC Reading Eggs to schools and families for more than a decade.

“This is before we even consider the role that someone at home has to help students with their learning during periods of remoteness.”

Wendy Field, who heads policy and programs for The Smith Family, says kids from disadvantaged communities often struggle to keep up at school, and this happened even before the pandemic. “Through no fault of their own, children growing up in poverty start school behind in basic reading and numeracy skills, and without the right support they often stay behind,” she says.

Field says boosting children’s motivation to read, as well as their skills, is key to improving literacy in disadvantaged communities.

“Parents’ and carers’ attitudes and literacy practices from the early years right through school are significant,” she says.

“Practice and motivation are also important. Children who like to read, read more, and because they read more, their reading is better.

“Interventions aimed at improving children’s reading need to combine motivation-building techniques, with skills building strategies.”

3P Learning is helping The Smith Family support the education of kids in need through the Read, Learn, Empower fundraiser.

Read, Learn, Empower aims to raise

$15,000 by donating $1 from every sign-up to a free 30-day trail of 3P Learning’s ABC Reading Eggs program before September 30. Families who already use ABC Reading

Eggs can also take part by uploading a video of their children using the program, with 3P Learning donating a 12-month online subscription to The Smith Family for every video entered.

The money raised will support The Smith Family’s education programs, like Learning

For Life, which helps more than 56,000 young Australians from disadvantaged backgrounds succeed at school and to create better futures for themselves.