Adult Education is a key priority of the school in line with our Aboriginal Workforce Development strategy. Local staff from across the school take part in a range of professional development, accredited and non-accredited training both on-site and in Darwin.

Local educator development is a major focus of our Adult Education program. The school has a number of registered Aboriginal teachers who completed their training in the Remote Area Teacher Education program in the 1980s and 1990s. Our school’s local Murrinhpatha and Religion Teachers are celebrated for their years of service to the school and community.

With decades’ gap in graduations of qualified Aboriginal teachers in Wadeye, the school is investing in the next generation of Teachers and Assistant Teachers. A group of Assistant Teachers have completed their Certificate II in Functional Literacy and have received the Authority to Teach in their area of specialisation, through the Teacher Registration Board. These Assistant Teachers are involved in a wide range of professional development activities including Age-appropriate Pedagogies, Lyn Sharett Professional Development and weekly Learning Together meetings with classroom teachers.

The school has employed a qualified trainer to rewrite and contextualise the Certificate III in School Based Education Support so it is tailored for remote communities, focussing on EALD learners. Assessment design incorporates the use of modelling, scaffolding and recycling of assessment style to support EALD learners. Assessment and learning materials that have been created are practical and work-based, avoiding excessive written tasks. The approach integrates cultural elements into assessments and learning activities making the course relevant and accessible to Aboriginal community learners.

The school is also linking in with outside providers, both in Wadeye and outside the community, including the Department of Industry, Trade and Tourism to set up more training opportunities.

Course completed or to be completed by local staff at the school are:

  • Certificate III in School Based Education
  • Certificate III in Commercial Cookery
  • Certificate III in Childhood Education and Care
  • Certificate II in Sport and Recreation
  • Certificate IV in Training and Assessment
  • Certificate III in Christian Ministry and Theology

The school also supports staff attendance at courses provided at Nungalinya College in Darwin, a Combined Churches Training College for Indigenous Australians.