School Programs

The Alliance's work with schools is informed by its guide to school & system improvement priorities for equity - more information here.

The Alliance works with schools to engage students and teachers as partners in their school improvement efforts for education equity

(see our School Improvement for Education Equity Program).

We also support low-SES schools to collaborate to drive school and system improvement for greater equity (see our upcoming workshops and our School + System Improvement Network).

Our programs have been designed to specifically work with priority cohort students and with low-socioeconomic education settings, recognising their specific challenges and needs.

If you would like to discuss further, please contact the Alliance's Founder, Tim Warwick, at tim@equityalliance.com.au

Workshop:
What's working well to improve outcomes in low-SES schools?

Join us for this in-person workshop on Friday 22nd November at Orygen Parkville.

It will be an interactive and engaging workshop that provides the opportunity to:

Identify and celebrate what's enabling positive change for your school community
Share practice and learn from colleagues
Test new tools that support improvement in complex school environments (including activating student and teacher agency)
Collaborate to identify and test shared improvement priorities for low-SES communities (for both schools and the wider system)

It's an opportunity to test and refine your school improvement priorities for 2025 and to plan for their effective implementation.

More information on the workshop can be accessed here.

And register here.

School + System Improvement Network

Further information on the Network can be accessed here.

Commencing 2025, the Network will support participants (either school-based teams or individual teachers/school leaders) to:

Share best-practice across low-SES schools;
Build shared understanding of key improvement strategies for low-SES communities;
Build capacity in leading improvement in complex environments;
Establish a network of school and system leaders to collaborate on change.

We are fortunate to be partnering with Orange Compass, experts in improving complex systems, as well as some experienced School Improvement Critical Friends on this Network.

The Network will initially focus on low-SES schools across Outer Melbourne. We are looking for school leaders who are passionate about seeing improvement in our schools and education system, who have a deep understanding of their context and a track record of successful implementation of improvement priorities.

School Improvement Program

An overview of the program can be accessed here.

This program supports schools to improve student engagement and staff collective efficacy through activating them as partners in school improvement.

Participants will focus on improvement priorities for equity - particularly effective implementation of wellbeing & inclusion initiatives.

The school identifies two groups:

Student Champions - 10-15 students from across student leadership and priority cohorts
Staff Champions - 5-10 staff from across School Leadership, Wellbeing & Behaviour, and Teaching Staff (especially those passionate about equity)

The Alliance facilitates the following activities:

Student Champions Intro Session (2 hours) - building an understanding of education equity and identifying a set of key barriers and opportunities
Staff Champions Intro Session (1.5 hours) - education equity definition, data and research; contributing to the set of barriers and opportunities
Co-Design Workshop (3 hours) - Student and Staff Champions work together to identify school improvement actions, evidence of impact and activities to address the barriers to equity.

Additional Offerings

The Alliance provides the following additional programs to further support school improvement for education equity:

Implementation and Monitoring Support - Student and Staff Champions are supported to monitor implementation through Learning Walks and Structured De-Briefs
Whole Staff Professional Learning - Student and Staff Champions are supported to share the learnings
School Leadership Team De-Briefs - Student and Staff Champions are supported to share the learning with their Leadership Team to support reflection and identifying next steps
Wellbeing & Inclusion Framework Co-Design - Student and Staff Champions are supported to lead the co-design of a Wellbeing & Inclusion Framework based on multi-tiered systems of support.

Supporting Resources

The following documents underpin the Education Equity Alliance's work.

The Alliance's Ethics Statement sets out its guidelines for its ethical and responsible engagement with young people. This includes both the benefits of engagement, risk mitigation, and how student contributions are used appropriately.

The Alliance's Child Safety and Wellbeing Policy and Code of Conduct covers how the Alliance meets its legal and ethical obligations to ensure the safety and wellbeing of the students it works with.

The Alliance's Reading Guide sets out the key literature and research that underpin its approach towards both equity and system-change.

Education Equity Alliance