Aboriginal Independent Community Schools' Support Unit

The AICS Support Unit was established in 1990 as a direct result of a collective decision taken by the then, ten Aboriginal Independent Schools.

To a large extent, it was a response by the schools to pressure being exerted on them by sections of a number of government departments, both State and Federal to accept a financial, administrative and staffing structure similar to that of the Catholic Education Office. The departments considered this to be a logical means of overcoming concerns regarding professional isolation, maintenance of academic standards, quality control of staff, etc.

The schools' response was clear and unambiguous. Collectively, they regarded moves in this direction as a major threat to their independence with the potential for a shift in control from the schools' governing bodies to a centralised organisation.

However, they clearly recognised the protective advantages of having a ‘service’ organisation directly answerable to themselves when it came to keeping schools informed whenever government policy and/or administrative action had the potential to undermine the independence and viability of the schools. From this initial ‘defensive’ response; flowed a number of 'pro-active' roles for the Support Unit which are summed up as follows:

• Raising the profile of the schools as legitimate and effective educational providers.
  
  

• Providing a channel for communicating policy developments linked to funding opportunities.
  
  

• Recruitment and industrial relations/awards interpretation support.
  
  

• Support for individual school administration in the area of planning, budgeting, acquittals submissions, etc.  (This was regarded as an essential support role in the early days of National Indigenous Education Policy and National Equity Program  funding).
  
  

• Assist in the organisation of shared and/or individual school professional development conferences, workshops, etc.
  
  

• The provision of up to date information on curriculum and teaching materials development.  (In the early years of the Support Unit this particularly applied to the area of Aboriginal (Australian) Languages in the classroom).

Since 1990, the Support Unit has consolidated and expanded these roles to provide an effective service under the collective control of the now, fifteen schools. This is achieved through the process of an annual conference which maintains, and adjusts where necessary, the policy under which the Support Unit operates. The day to day operations of the Support Unit also involve the schools through the use of teleconferencing and the maintenance of a close relationship with the schools' governing bodies through visits.

Currently the Support employs two full time coordinators, one based in Broome and the other based in Perth at the office of the Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia who also maintain close links with the Support Unit at both a professional and administrative level. Administrative support is provided by a part-time secretary based in the Perth Support Unit.