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Stepping Stones: from caravan park to school

Children who live on caravan parks often find it difficult making the transition from caravan park life to school life. The Caravan Project at the University of Newcastle’s Family Action Centre has been aware of this issue for some time, and in early 2006 it received funding from the Telstra Foundation to help children from Freeman’s Waterhole Caravan Park to make a successful transition to Cooranbong Public School.

The two-year project, Stepping Stones, focuses on facilitating partnerships between parents, schools, and children’s and community services. The principal of Cooranbong Public School, Russell Irwin, and his staff have been actively involved in Stepping Stones from the beginning.

Dee Brooks, project coordinator at the FAC, said, “In the first year, funds were allocated for teacher-release hours. This enabled a teacher to co-facilitate a Homework Club every Thursday at the school. Other funds enabled a Caravan Project Community Development Worker, Kerry Hernandez, to facilitate a Seasons for Growth program, and provided transport for parents to attend meetings at school."

An assets map of the Cooranbong area was developed through Stepping Stones and resulted in a forum being held in conjunction with Hunter-New England Health. By encouraging the involvement of other services – such as early childhood nurses and early childhood education centres – in supporting the children on the park, we assisted parents to gain new parenting skills, while also providing opportunities for teachers to meet parents at the park.” said Dee. Stepping Stones is integrated to support the other Caravan Project activities currently operating on parks in the area.

According to research, there are several underlying factors that contribute to a poor transition to school and disengagement from school for marginalised children on caravan parks. These factors include high levels of marginalisation and disadvantage among park residents; children under five not accessing preschool or other early childhood services; and parents who left school early and/or had poor experiences at school themselves. “There are other factors at work, too,” continued Dee. “School staff are, at times, unsure of the best ways to support students from parks. Also, the living situations of the children can make success at school difficult.”

The 2007 year is an exciting one for Stepping Stones. The project team is delighted to be working with Kerrie Nicholls, a former teacher from Cooranbong School, who will examine resilience-building in students through the Stepping Stones Homework Club (now called Building Resilience in Cooranbong Kids, or ‘BRICK’).

An evaluation of the project is also planned, and support work will continue with the Freemans Waterhole Caravan Park community.

Through Stepping Stones, Dee has provide practical and emotional support to some of the families . The promising results have encouraged the Caravan Project to expand this role by employing a support worker for three days a week to work more intensely with residents in need of additional support.

If you’d like to know more about Stepping Stones or any of the Caravan Project’s work, contact Dee Brooks on 02 4921 6845 or go to: http://www.newcastle.edu.au/centre/fac/caravanproject/index.html.