School hubs meet the real-world needs of children and families

Something extraordinary has been happening at Ashcroft Public School.

Children who once struggled to attend regularly are now turning up eager to learn. Parents who felt isolated are becoming active partners in their children’s education. Teachers are feeling supported, energised and able to focus on what they do best instead of feeling as though they are being stretched thin.

This is the Mirrung model in action, an initiative that has not only changed the school but has transformed an entire local community.

Over the past three years, our philanthropically funded partnership between NCOSS and Ashcroft Public School has delivered tangible results:

• Attendance has risen to 90.4 per cent, which is above the state average.
  
  
• Reading comprehension has jumped nearly 30 percentage points, number and place value by 20 points, and phonic screening by 18.
  
  
• Student wellbeing is soaring, with 98 per cent of children reporting a strong sense of belonging and 92 per cent feeling deeply connected to their school.
  
  
• Teacher wellbeing has also improved: 87 per cent of staff say their wellbeing is better because of Mirrung, and 93 per cent report a stronger understanding of how poverty affects learning.

These are not marginal gains. They are life-changing outcomes for children who deserve nothing less.

NCOSS has released an evaluation report that shows how Mirrung closes equity gaps not by tinkering around the edges, but by addressing the complex realities families face in health, housing, food security, access to services and integrating that support seamlessly into the school environment.

Mirrung was never intended to be a short-term experiment. It was designed to be a new way of thinking about how schools in deeply disadvantaged communities can operate: as safe, supportive hubs that meet the real-world needs of children and families.

Ashcroft Public School has become a model for what is possible.

We have the blueprint and the compelling data. What we need now is the commitment to ensure that Mirrung doesn’t become a success story cut short, but the beginning of lasting change across our state.