Empowering young minds

The Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) and UNICEF Australia have released the Empowering Young Minds report, exploring holistic learning focused on healthy development through wellbeing and education. In its top five areas for action, the report highlights Holistic Education Reform, calling for the Australian education system to align with the principles of the Reinventing Australian Schools paper. 

With an emphasis on wellbeing, health, and learning for every child, the Reinventing Australian Schools paper (by Prof Pasi Sahlberg, et al.) outlines the case and vision for shifting the core purpose of schools from a primary focus on academic intelligence to equally focusing on holistic child development through a whole child and whole school approach.

Page 15 of the paper highlights Wentworth Public School, a NSW Kitchen Garden Program school since 2010, as an example of a school offering holistic education with a strong focus on the whole child. Wentworth Public School has provided education to the Wentworth community for one hundred and fifty years. The school services an isolated area of the state which is subject to extremes of climate, being situated in a semi-arid area.

Wentworth's collaborative nature was on show at their recent working bee, where Year 5 and 6 students teamed up with the younger kindergarten children to fill garden beds and prepare soil ready for spring time planting. Similarly, the school's Parents & Citizens Association (P&C) teamed up with a local Tupperware Consultant (and parent) to involve the whole school community in a fundraising drive for their Kitchen Garden Program. The result was a refresh of the school's kitchen equipment to improve the learning experience and capabilities of their young chefs.

"I didn’t ever imagine that my daughter would be asking to have silverbeet for dinner."

Parent of a student, Wentworth Primary School

Aligned with all six pillars of the NEST: Australia’s wellbeing framework for children and young people, the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Program is an evidence-based, positive, preventative health and education program supporting cross-curriculum learning and development outcomes while improving school engagement and social connection for children, young people, their families and communities.

With 20 years of experience supporting educators around Australia to give children and young people the opportunity for hands-on, active learning in kitchen and garden classes, we have seen the important connection between health, wellbeing and academic achievement to ensure Australia’s children and young people thrive.

To explore how the Kitchen Garden Program can benefit your school or early childhood service, please reach out to our Support Team on 13000 SAKGF (1300 072 543) or support@kitchengardenfoundation.org.au