The Ready Set Crow (RSC) team capped off a busy year with another successful trip to the APY Lands – one of nine visits to remote communities undertaken by Andrew McLeod and his team.

The program aims to engage, support, retain and promote the education of remote students by facilitating secondary school opportunities.

A key part of this is regular community liaison visits to the Far West Region and the APY Lands, with the RSC team travelling more than 26,000 kilometres as part of visits to remote communities this year.

The program then supports students and families who take up the opportunity to experience life in Adelaide, by way of a short term or transitional visit to Wiltja Residential.  

In its first year the program has supported more than 140 students and the Adelaide Football Club and the Federal Government have agreed to an extension of their partnership to ensure RSC continues to assist remote Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander students in 2018.

Andrew McLeod said it had been a successful year for the program.   

“Many of the students who have received intensive support from the RSC team have shown improved levels of school attendance and engagement which is what we are trying to achieve,” McLeod said.

“This is a long term project and we’ll see the biggest impact in two or three years with the ongoing relationships and trust built over time, so when the younger kids reach high school age they will feel more comfortable about making the transition to school in Adelaide.

“We’re grateful that the Federal Government will continue to support us in fostering and supporting young Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with their education.”

The Ready Set Crow project is proudly funded by the Australian Government and delivered in partnership with Wiltja Residential and the Department of Education and Childhood Development.