- Published:
- Thursday 30 November 2023
The Allan Labor Government is continuing to support not-for-profit organisations that enhance and enrich Victoria’s education system through funding to theatres, galleries and other community groups across the state.
Minister for Education Ben Carroll today announced the Strategic Partnerships Program, which will give students and teachers across the state the benefit of partnerships with creative, professional, educational and First Nations organisations, helping broaden learning beyond the classroom.
As part of the initiative, 81 organisations will share $8.2 million – providing opportunities that are not usually available in mainstream classrooms or professional development settings.
Organisations receiving funding include the Art Gallery of Ballarat, which provides students with access to active arts learning experiences through its collection of 11,500 works to develop critical, creative thinking as well as strengthen visual, oral and written literacy skills.
North Melbourne Football Club’s community arm The Huddle is also recieiving funding to continue its Maths Hoops game. This boosts grades 4 to 7 students’ maths skills by using playing cards featuring NBA and WNBA players to gain confidence in problem solving, and offers support for teachers to integrate the program into their classrooms.
The Footscray Community Arts centre wil deliver Telling Our Stories: Learning First Nations Perspectives to 1,400 students online and in-person, which applies Indigenous knowledge and understanding across the curriculum and also provides mentoring workshops for wellbeing to Koorie students.
The Strategic Partnerships Program is a long-standing grants partnership that funds not‑for‑profit organisations to provide programs across two categories: student learning and teacher professional development.
Across the 81 funded organisations the average grant size is nearly $100,000 over two years. About three-quarters of programs support student learning and a quarter are for teacher professional learning, which is consistent with the mix in previous funding rounds.
20 programs will be delivered in only regional and rural Victoria, with the majority of programs to be delivered in a combination of metro Melbourne and at least one regional area.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Education Ben Carroll
“Learning doesn’t only happen in the classroom and that’s why our Government is proud to support these organisations who enrich and enhance the educational experience of Victorian students and teachers.”
“Victoria isn’t just the Education State - we’re the arts, culture and tourism capital of Victoria, and these partnerships bring the benefits of these sectors into our schools.”