The QTU is formalising its commitment to reconciliation with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Australians by developing its own reconciliation action plan (RAP).

RAPs are developed in partnership with the national not-for-profit organisation, Reconciliation Australia. Many organisations now have these plans, from other trade union organisations, such as the Queensland Council of Unions and the ACTU, to tertiary institutions, community groups, large corporations and banks. Interstate, some teacher unions (such as the State School Teachers’ Union of Western Australia) have RAPs under development.

At the suggestion of Gandu Jarjum, the QTU’s committee for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander members, the QTU has now decided to develop its own RAP, in the belief that developing our own plan and committing to further actions will enable us to progress towards reconciliation and show deeper respect for our Indigenous cultures.

A RAP working party (pictured) was established last year, and a draft RAP has been developed and considered by Gandu Jarjum, Executive and State Council. It is hoped that the draft RAP will be endorsed at the QTU Biennial Conference later this month, with a view to it being launched at the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Education Conference in September and State Council in October.

The RAP development process requires broad consultation, and we would love to hear your views. If you would like to read the draft RAP and provide feedback, please contact Kim Roy at services@qtu.asn.au

RAPs for schools: Reconciliation Australia’s Nurragunnawali program

Reconciliation action plans can also be developed for schools and other educational institutions. Heatley State School (Townsville) and the Gympie Flexible Learning Centre are two Queensland educational institutions to have had their RAP published on Reconciliation Australia’s RAP Hub, and several QTU members have advised me that their school is in the process of developing a RAP.

To assist schools, both with reconciliation generally and RAP development, Reconciliation Australia has created a program called Nurragunnawali: Reconciliation in Schools and Early Learning. This program is designed to help schools develop environments that foster a high level of knowledge and pride in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander histories, cultures and contributions. It provides a framework to enable positive and meaningful action in the classroom, across the school and with the wider community. The primary audience for the program is teachers and educators, and it contains four program areas:

• schools and early learning reconciliation action plans
• curriculum resources
• professional resources
• school and early learning reconciliation awards.

The RAP developer, an online system schools can use to develop their RAP, is very easy to use, and well thought out. It is a far simpler system for developing a RAP than that companies have to use – with the RAP developer, schools simply enter data into the program. One of the more difficult sections of a RAP to complete is “suggested actions”; the schools RAP developer provides drop down options that can be selected, which makes this process much easier. A high level of support is provided, including as contacts and reminders. This program has made the fairly complex task of developing a RAP as straightforward for schools as possible, and school RAPs do not have to be endorsed by Reconciliation Australia.

DET’s Assistant Director-General State Schools – Indigenous Education, Selwyn Button, has indicated that the department is very supportive of the Nurragunnawali program and is encouraging Queensland schools to develop their own RAP.

To find out more, visit www.reconciliation.org.au/schools