ALP Announces Policy to Encourage Sporting Students to Stay in School

Media Release: The Hon. Julia Gillard, MP, The Hon. Simon Crean, MP, The Hon. Mark Arbib, MP and The Hon. Kate Ellis, MP, 8 August 2010; The Australian, 9 August 2010

The Australian Labor Party has released a policy to address truancy and student retention that would prevent students from participating in weekend sport if they failed to attend school.

The Minister for Employment Participation, Mr Mark Arbib, indicated that the No School, No Play policy had been developed in conjunction with eight national sporting organisations ‘who will develop plans for specific local projects working with schools and sports clubs’.

He indicated that this might involve ‘player codes of honour’, ‘school attendance self-declarations’, mentoring and leadership development by club coaches for students or rewards for improved school attendance such as coaching sessions with sporting ambassadors.

The Prime Minister stated that ‘what we know is if we can say to kids that access to sport, to something that they enjoy, is earned as a privilege because they attend at school then that makes a difference to school attendance’.

The $2 million program is to be funded through the Australian Government’s 2010 Budget commitment to establish an Australian Indigenous Education Foundation Program.

 

 

Back to News Page