CYP Matters

Respect and listening

Moving Upstream: Confronting Racism to Open Up Children’s Potential
Racism imposes unique and substantial stressors on the daily lives of families raising young children of colour. Understanding how these stressors affect child health and development provides a compelling framework for new ideas about how communities, policies and programs, might build a stronger future for us all. More >

Preventing hair discrimination in schools
Engagement with key stakeholders, research, and court cases in the UK, indicate discrimination related to hair or hairstyles disproportionately affects pupils with Afro-textured hair or hairstyles. This is often because of the way some schools’ rules relating to hair or hairstyles are designed and implemented. More >

Enjoying and achieving

National Assessment Program Literacy and Numeracy (NAPLAN): national report 2022
This report provides nationally comparable data on the 2022 national and state/territory results for each test domain and year level assessed, and for each year level by gender, Indigenous status and language background. More >

Advancing Digital Inclusion in Low Income Australian Families – Interim Findings Report
Families living on low incomes are among the least digitally included Australians and are at greater risk of broader social exclusion. Digital ability and inclusion have been linked to a range of social and economic benefits. More >

‘Once students knew their identity, they excelled’: how to talk about excellence in Indigenous education
The federal government’s Indigenous education priorities highlight school attendance, literacy, numeracy and Year 12 attainment, framing students and their families as a ‘problem’ to ‘fix’. This research explored the question: ‘How is excellence in Indigenous education defined by Indigenous peoples?’ More >

New study finds Australia’s preschool expansion ‘has not better prepared’ kids for school
Federal government preschool funding to provide universal early childhood services has also been billed as better preparing children for school, but has not been accompanied by randomised evaluations of these programs. More >

Participation

Evaluation of the Inclusion Support Program
The objective of the Inclusion Support Program (ISP) introduced in July 2016 is to promote and support inclusive child care, addressing potential barriers to the full participation of children with additional needs. More >

 Young Australians to play a vital role in Albanese Government
The establishment of a Youth Steering Committee will ensure young Australians have a say on issues that matter to them. The Committee is made up of 15 young people from across Australia, including from regional, rural and remote areas, from a range of backgrounds and with different experiences. More >

 Port Lincoln student Mia Speed writes children’s story in Wirangu Indigenous language
School student Mia Speed couldn’t find a book written in her traditional Wirangu language to read to her nieces and nephews so she decided to write one herself. She’s now helping the next generation of kids connect with their culture through a children’s picture story featuring native Australian animals and her Wirangu language. More >

Prepared for adult life

Australia’s living standards are going backwards, and it’s young people who will suffer the most
Australia has a problem with intergenerational inequality, and it’s not going away. Support from the working population, via taxation and other transfers, to children and older people no longer ensures generational improvements in living standards. More >

 Supporting young people experiencing disadvantage to secure work
This short article provides an overview of the evidence on young people experiencing disadvantage and unemployment, highlighting strategies that may be useful for practitioners working in education and employment settings to support young people experiencing disadvantage, to prepare for and find work. More >

Health and wellbeing

Perceptions of Intergenerational Inequality in Policymaking and Possible Responses: The Case of Australia
One in six Australian children (and 44% of children in sole parent families) live in poverty, but it doesn’t have to be this way. New research sheds light on the relationship between policy and poverty, showing how policy settings mean some groups in society get a big share of the pie while other groups go (sometimes literally) hungry. More >

Impact of Childhood Adversities on the Mental Health of LGBTQI+ Youth – Podcast
This podcast explores a systematic review research paper of studies from the US, Asia, Canada and Europe on the impact of childhood adversities on the mental health of LGBTQI+ young people. The episode discusses how sexual orientation disclosure is linked with mental health problems such as social anxiety disorder, phobia, or PTSD. More >

How young people from humanitarian backgrounds are settling in Australia
This short article provides a snapshot of how young migrants aged 15–25 years from humanitarian backgrounds are settling in Australia based on findings from the Building a New Life in Australia (BLNA) study. More >

Queensland schools’ art therapy program changing the lives of refugee children
The Healing through Expressive Arts and Learning (HEAL) program uses art, music, dance and drama to help children address trauma and mental health challenges and runs in five Brisbane schools. More >

Mission Australia 2022 Youth Survey report
The Youth Survey 2022 revealed most young people were actively engaged in study and/or work, have support networks to turn to and are proud to be part of their community. However, poor mental health and low wellbeing continue to be a concern and many young people experienced financial and housing instability. More >

Commonwealth Closing the Gap annual report 2022
This is the first annual report since the commencement of the National Agreement on Closing the Gap in 2020, and the release of the Commonwealth Closing the Gap Implementation Plan in 2021. The report outlines the Commonwealth’s actions to progress the Closing the Gap Priority Reforms and socio-economic outcomes. More >

Safe and nurtured

Core Components of Public Health Approaches to Preventing Child Abuse and Neglect
In this chapter, six core components of effective public health approaches to preventing maltreatment and increasing safety and wellbeing for children and young people are identified with the object of improving child outcomes. More >

Why language matters: ‘Sexting’ or ‘sharing nudes’?
Social media, chat apps, online games and other interactive platforms play a central role in children’s lives. But this wave of advances has brought more than just new forms of communication and entertainment. A whole range of words and phrases have been introduced into the vocabularies of both adults and children. More >

Ending gendered violence: A focus on kids and young people
Ending gender-based violence, including domestic and family violence, requires a clear commitment to ending children’s and young people’s experiences of such violence. It also requires a clear commitment to providing age-appropriate recovery support and services. More >

It’s never too late
Recent research has found 71% of children and young people are spending more time on the internet on their own. It’s never too late, is a microsite helping adults better understand online child sexual abuse and exploitation, how to identify the signs, and take actionable steps to support the children and young people in their lives. More >

Guardian for Children and Young People Annual Report 2021-22
The report details the Training Centre Visitor’s increased efforts in 2021-2022 to monitor conditions in Kurlana Tapa Youth Justice Centre and an increase in the number of children and young people in out-of-home care with a notable growth in requests for assistance for advocacy on both individual and systemic matters. More >