Kate Leatham’s motivation to help run a primary school program for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI) children in Gippsland was simple.
“I don’t want another child to have a horrible primary and secondary school experience like I did.”
Kate, one of the 250 TAFE Gippsland students who walked the stage at the Gippsland Performing Arts Centre at Tuesday night’s graduation, recently completed her Certificate IV in School Based Education Support to help enhance her role at work by learning more about the education sector.
Now a full-time Prevention and Activity Worker at Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service (YWAHS), Kate is making a huge difference in the lives of Gippsland’s youth.
“When I started my role in 2020, I really felt I needed to further my knowledge and try to understand more about ATSI students who are struggling at school,” Kate said.
“I want to make learning fun and enjoyable, so our kids get to uni and further their dreams. I never want any child to feel that they are dumb or can’t thrive in school. I want to see a more ‘first step and then next step’ or ‘I do, we do, you do’ approach. If my teachers back then did this kind of learning, I know I would have gone further in my schooling.”
Kate officially graduated from her TAFE Gippsland course at Graduation 2024 on Tuesday 7 May.
As part of her role with YWAHS, Kate has helped to build and run a specialist support program for ATSI students in years 5 and 6 in a school in East Gippsland, with the aim of building their self-esteem and confidence, but also to connect them with their cultural background.
The program has been operating for more than ten years and in 2021, Kate started with this program, and said it’s been great to see the children get more and more confident each week.
“They can yarn with their peers, myself and my work colleagues about anything in our group as there is no judgment,” Kate said.
“We support each other, the kids learn more about their culture and we get guest speakers to join the group and talk about the ‘old ways’. We do excursions and go out on country with our guest speakers, so the students understand more about the significant areas in and around East Gippsland. They just love to learn new things each week.”
Growing up with dyslexia in the nineties, Kate knows firsthand the challenges posed by an unforgiving education system with no access to culturally appropriate learning assistance. Despite her learning disorder, Kate managed to finish her schooling thanks to her supportive mum who created a fun learning environment for her at home.
Given her less than ideal schooling experience, Kate’s decision to take up further study at TAFE Gippsland didn’t come lightly. But she did it for the kids.
“It challenged me – working full-time, then my placement and assignments – but it made me get out of my comfort zone, which is something I never thought I would be able to achieve in my life,” Kate said.
“I remember having moments thinking ‘I can’t do this’ and feeling overwhelmed, but my teacher Melinda, wow was she was amazing. She really understood me. I knew I could contact her about anything, and she made the sessions fun. I really enjoyed the course and absolutely loved my placement at East Gippsland Specialist School in Bairnsdale. I helped support some amazing teachers who go above and beyond in their roles. I worked with a wonderful art teacher and with the skills I learnt from my course, I could implement these skills and help the children more.”
Stoked to be able to give kids in the region more opportunities than she had herself, Kate believes the program is really helping close the gap for the students she’s working with – creating a safe space for them to connect with their culture and be proud of their heritage.
“We have our Acknowledgement to Country song we play each session; one student reads out aloud the Welcome to Country in their own style,” Kate said.
“I worked with a student for two years who applied to get into a big boarding school. I sat with this student for a couple of hours over several weeks until they got their speech just right. The student delivered the speech over Zoom and found out the following week they got accepted. Wow! That was that an amazing feeling knowing I helped this student achieve their goal. It was a real moment for me seeing this student crying for joy with the wonderful news and the student thanking me for everything and for believing in them.”
But Kate’s work with the program doesn’t stop there. Currently working with two schools in East Gippsland, they’re hoping to add another school to their list soon.
“We know this program changes students’ lives, having the extra support they require to build their confidence and connect with their culture,” Kate said.
“I’m just so excited to get out into more schools and help students achieve their goals.”
Daphne Yarram, CEO of Yoowinna Wurnalung Aboriginal Healing Service added “We are so proud of Kate’s achievement in completing her study, recognition of Kate’s own personal struggles and learning journey highlight her amazing contributions and recognition, that someone can make a difference in each of our young ones lives through Kate’s passion, commitment and care that she brings this insight into the programs we deliver for Aboriginal children and young people. It is so important for Mob to be working with Mob”.