A VIDEO TO SHOW THE BENEFITS OF COMING TO SCHOOL - YARRALIN NT

Following successful completion of a similar project in the Kalkarindji Community, Victoria Daly Regional Council approached us to work with the Yarralin School and Remote School Attendance Strategy (RSAS) team to create a short promotional film on the benefits of school attendance.

Yarralin Community is located on Ngarinyman country, 380km southwest of Katherine. It has a strong RSAS team who work very well and closely with the Yarralin School. The RSAS Supervisor, Wesley, was eager to do the project and believed it would benefit school attendance and also encourage older students to attend in 2020.

With a background in producing and editing films, the Council chose Community First Development volunteer, Monique, to work with them on this project. Prior to commencing filming, Community First Development’s Regional Manager, Nina, and Senior Community Development Officer, Tania, had a phone meeting with the Principal of Yarralin School to discuss the upcoming project and any concerns he had. The Principal was very excited about the project and eager for it to commence.

Nina and Monique spent four days in Yarralin Community filming the promotional video. Monique used her expertise to develop video content through a consultative and collaborative process with RSAS team members, Wesley and Desley. As part of the filming, Monique accompanied Desley and Wesley as they picked up children to take them to school.

“I’m really proud of the work that we do here, getting kids to school.”

Wesley Campbell, RSAS Supervisor, Yarralin

Monique also filmed at the school and spoke to both teachers and students as part of the filming. During her final day in Yarralin, she also ran a small introductory workshop with a teacher and a small number of students on basic filming and editing techniques using the mobile app, KineMaster.

The end product was a fantastic result. The video was beautifully edited and woven together, clearly highlighting the RSAS team’s critical role in getting children to school and the team’s strong relationship with teachers, students and the broader Community.

The RSAS team has been instrumental in our school, I’ve seen a whole change in our school. Our team is Wesley and Desley and they are awesome, we are very very lucky to have them. They get our kids to school every day.

Ms Sharon, Yarralin School

It is fair to say that the video has had a powerful impact on many and is being shared far and wide to promote the work of RSAS, not just in Yarralin but in all communities running the program.

Loretta, Remote School Attendance Strategy Co-ordinator, Victoria Daly Regional Council