Educational Support Scholarships
Closing the education gap for children and young people living in foster, kinship and residential care.
Helping children and young people living in foster, kinship and residential care catch up to their peers and re-engage with education.
Children spend most of their young life at school but for some children, every day is a struggle.
The education gap between young people in care and those with complex needs and their peers starts early, widens over time, and often lasts a lifetime. This can lead to school disengagement and a downward spiral.
Early intervention through education support programs like Little Stars Learners is critical.
The little stars foundation awards grants of between $4,000 to $8,000 to children living in foster, kinship and residential care.
Why it Works
Children living in foster, kinship and residential care show lower achievement rates overall on the national Minimum Standards in NAPLAN tests than all other Qld Students. Students in out of home care are less likely to complete their high school education or go on to tertiary education.
69% of youth involved in the youth justice system had experienced or been impacted by Domestic and family violence. 63% of youth involved in the youth justice system were totally disengaged from education, training or employment One third of serious repeat offenders among Qld youth are living in foster, kinship and residential care. It doesn’t need to be this way. The key to breaking the cycle and helping children heal from trauma is to provide them with supportive early intervention programs which help them feel safe and enable them to build positive relationships, re-engage with learning, catch up to their peers and thrive at school.
Educational Grant scholarships give children access to support outside of school that they wouldn’t otherwise have access to. This includes access to a school bag and items for school including lunch box, stationary and the like, assistance with school uniforms if needed and tutor supports, as well as help with access to devices
Why it Works
This helps these groups of vulnerable children to access specialised tutoring through the Little Stars Learners Program to ensure that children living in Out-of-Home Care and experiencing other disadvantage to obtain life changing support and be in a better position to achieve their goals.
When a tutor who understands your experience and what you are going through comes to your home in a safe place and builds a connection first and foremost, it sets the foundation for learning to take place.
Little Stars in the Media
