PALS program promotes reconciliation in WA classrooms
Schools across Western Australia will continue to create projects next year that promote and advance reconciliation in their local community through the Partnership, Acceptance, Learning and Sharing (PALS) program.
PALS provides $1000 grants to Western Australian schools for a wide range of projects that incorporate and increase the understanding of Aboriginal cultures, histories and communities.
This may include creating a language or dance program, attending a cooking lesson using traditional bush tucker or creating a book in the local Aboriginal language.
A Project Toolkit has been developed to assist educators to integrate reconciliation projects into the classroom through the meaningful teaching and learning of Aboriginal histories, cultures and communities, and provides resources to assist schools to plan and develop PALS projects.
The toolkit provides project ideas, examples of past projects and information and guidance on how to build relationships with their local Aboriginal community.
Last year PALS funded a total of 678 projects in 643 schools, engaging 100,000 students across the State. This meant 60 per cent of all schools in WA participated in the PALS program.
The next round will open January 20, 2021 to all Western Australian primary and secondary schools.