The best way you can get involved or register your interest is to join our mailing list.
That way, you’ll receive our monthly e-newsletters and any updates about the program.

Join our mailing list.

The Schools First Awards are open to every primary and secondary school in Australia.
Public, private, special needs, religious and independent schools can all submit an application.

Find out more about the Award Categories.

The Early Childhood Schools, which are a new initiative by the ACT, fit our definition of a school as they are registered as public schools in the ACT. Pre-schools are not regarded as schools for the purposes of Schools First but as Early Childhood Schools have classes from K-2, they are eligible.

However, because of the highly competitive nature of the Schools First Awards, preference will be given to programs and partnerships that show direct benefits to school aged children, rather than pre-school children.

The best thing about Schools First is that communities and businesses can get together with local schools and help decide what's best for their community. That means you can develop a project that's right for your joint needs.

Communities can provide support in many forms – financial resources, people resources, time and facility resources, skills, tools, talents and enthusiasm.

Learn about the key features of effective school-community partnerships (106KB PDF).

At Schools First, our goal is to help improve student outcomes. What that means is that every school will achieve something different – something that's right for them. That could be increased attendance, greater engagement, improved literacy and numeracy...the possibilities are endless.

Discover more via our Toolkit.

This website is the central hub for all information, resources and toolkits about Schools First. For more about the types of support we provide schools, go to our Ongoing Support page.

To make sure you get the latest updates about the program, we also recommend you join our mailing list.

A service offered to a school at a cost, or a program for which the school is paying a fee to have delivered.

There are many organisations that offer schools programs that can be imported into the school at a cost - these are not community partnerships.

Ready-made programs imported into the school without collaboration between the school and a community partner from the beginning cannot be considered a partnership.

If, however, the school works closely with the other organisations using this program to improve outcomes for students and the community, then it could become a partnership.

No. External programs offered to a school which have not been developed in conjunction with the school to address an identified need, are not considered partnerships in the terms of Schools First.

There is often a cost involved in providing material for the project and this is not a fee for service but necessary expenditure. The partner must not be making a financial profit from the school - it must be a shared venture to improve educational outcomes for students.

We've created a service where schools and community groups can register their details and requirements to see if there's a relevant partner in their area. So, if you've identified a student need and have a partnership idea to improve a student outcome, take a look at our Partnership Matching Service.

In April, May and early June 2010, we'll be running partnership forums in cities and regional centres around Australia. These forums will provide members of local communities and schools with practical guidance to creating and strengthening their partnerships to improve student outcomes.

And, if you can’t attend a forum, you can watch one online via our Online Partnership Forums.

Find out more about the Partnership Forums.

Anyone interested in finding out how to build school and community partnerships can attend, including principals, teachers, students, parents, local government, community organisations, local businesses and citizens.

Find out more about the Partnership Forums.

At the Foundation for Young Australians, we’re committed to improving the life chances and learning outcomes of all young people. We’re also focussed on achieving educational reform in Australia so young people have equal access to a high quality education.

We believe that Schools First is a great opportunity to deliver on these commitments because of the school-community partnerships the program is unearthing, supporting and promoting. The benefits to students who are part of these partnerships are far greater than any of us imagine. Every day we’re part of the Schools First, we grow more confident that we’re heading in the right direction.

Learn more about FYA and the other two partners.

At ACER, our mission is to improve learning. Schools First is a wonderful way for us to do this and make a positive and tangible contribution to schools seeking to improve educational outcomes for young people. Around Australia, great work is being done by schools to improve their students’ outcomes – the program showcases some of them.

By being involved in Schools First, we can help schools in several ways. Not only can we raise awareness about the characteristics of highly effective school-community partnerships but we can assist schools with building and sustaining their partnerships. In addition, we believe that the customised feedback Schools First provides schools can help them recognise the importance of having an evidence base for their programs. In turn, we can assist the schools with data collection, monitoring and evaluation and encourage them to draw on the broader community to share expertise and resources.

Find out more about ACER and the other two partners.

At NAB we believe we have a responsibility to the communities where our customers and our people live and work. Schools First is a unique and large scale education initiative with enormous potential to capture the hearts and minds of NAB employees, communities and students. We wanted to help support communities' "dreams and aspirations" for education in Australia.

Learn more about NAB and the other two Schools First Partners.