It is one thing to invest in whole school improvement but for students to benefit they need to be there. Low school attendance is a nation wide issue; The Grattan Institute recently reported: "On a typical school day in Australia, about 11 percent of students who should be at school are absent." Hence, improving attendance and engagement has been a strong focus for schools we partner with this year.
With generous MPF donor support Rosebud Secondary College (RSC) has piloted SAIL (Student Attendance Ignites Learning) where classes are offered online daily to students enrolled in the program. The classes focus on literacy and numeracy, plus there is a weekly wellbeing session. Opportunities to come on site and socialise with other SAIL participants are given each term. The program has improved attendance for some of the School's most disengaged students by 40%.
Feedback from one student, "At the beginning of term 3, I returned back to school full time. Without the SAIL program, I probably would've never returned, or definitely at least taken far longer to return. Every day I go to school, I feel comforted with the knowledge that if I ever felt anxious, I have a great support system in place. Overall, the SAIL program was truly a lifesaver for me, and I would’ve never made my return back to school had I not felt so understood."
Feedback from a parent, "The SAILs team have supported us every step of the way and never pressured my son into fitting into a box that he just cant fit in to. I can never express enough thanks for what this program has offered our family and only hope this can be offered to students and families in the future to come."
Thank you to our wonderful donors who have supported this work, including Zagora Foundation, Grace and Emilio Foundation, Barr Family Foundation and Sentinel Foundation. We look forward to seeing the progress this program continues to make in 2026.
