THE CHALLENGES KIDS FACE
Statistics show kids from refugee and migrant backgrounds face barriers that many others don’t.
33% of humanitarian entrants between 12-24 years arrive with six or fewer years of education. (1)
19% of females and 12% of males have never attended school prior to their arrival in Australia. (2)
Refugee and migrant children are usually placed in a year level at school according to their age and not their academic abilities. (3)
It will take 2-3 years to learn English to maintain a fluent conversation, and 5-7 years to reach native speaker level and achieve academic success in a new language. (4)
11% of children from a refugee or asylum seeker background suffer from PTSD. (5)
50% of children and young people of refugee background (0-17 years) live in relative poverty compared with 14.3% of other 0-17-year-olds in Australia. (6)
Incidences of racial discrimination faced by kids from diverse backgrounds in Australia have steadily risen from almost one in ten to one in five between 2007 and 2016. (7)
Students born outside Australia are less likely to be in full-time employment after graduation (45%) than domestic students (69%). (8)
By age 15, children from low socioeconomic households are on average three years behind in school than those from high socioeconomic households. (9)
*Sources at the bottom of this page.
WHAT RMCC KIDS ARE TELLING US
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
57%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
46%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
Our free School Holiday program provides excursions and activities so RMCC kids can enjoy new experiences and remain connected to other kids and their wider community during the holidays.
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
43%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
Our weekly life skills workshops help build resilience while also presenting new learning opportunities designed to inspire the kids and introduce them to new experiences.
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
49%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
100%
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
71%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
Our Sidekicks programs enable kids to spend one afternoon every week with other kids from refugee and migrant backgrounds, creating friendships and building support networks.
BEFORE RMCC SUPPORT
29%
TAILORED RMCC RESPONSE
RMCC upskills schools through professional development workshops on how best to support children from refugee and migrant backgrounds at school, and provides guidance on ways to engage their parents with the school community.
RMCC’S TAILORED PROGRAMS
Our weekly specialised programs are co-designed with the kids and families that RMCC serves. Their input highlights how RMCC can best support the kids through their post-settlement journey, and how RMCC programs can respond to the unique barriers they are experiencing.
Sidekicks Senior
RMCC’s weekly after-school mentoring program supporting secondary school students.
Our Sidekicks Senior program brings together secondary school students from refugee and migrant backgrounds with individual mentors (their Sidekicks) who deliver personalised support and training that covers education, social identity and belonging, life skills, and mental health and wellbeing.
Sidekicks Junior
RMCC’s weekly after-school mentoring program supporting primary school students.
Our Sidekicks Junior program brings together primary school students from refugee and migrant backgrounds with individual mentors (their Sidekicks) who deliver personalised support and training that covers education, social identity and belonging, life skills, and mental health and wellbeing.
Side by Side
RMCC’s weekly after-school program supporting prep to grade 2 students and their parents.
Our Side by Side program works with children aged prep to grade 2 and their parents or guardians. It aims to boost children’s educational outcomes through early engagement in learning, and increases their parents’ capacity and confidence to engage in their child’s learning at home and in the wider school community.
Side by Side also supports schools with workshops and strategies on ways to support children from a refugee and migrant background and engage their families.
School Holiday Program
Creating memorable holiday experiences and helping kids explore their new community.
Our School Holiday Program builds trust and connections between children from refugee and migrant backgrounds, their mentors, their peers, and the community. We create memorable experiences that make this a place to call home.
Educational Material Aid
Providing kids with the stationery, books and learning materials they need to engage in their education.
Our Educational Material Aid program ensures children from refugee and migrant families are not at a material disadvantage to their peers and provides the tools and resources they need to engage in their education at school and at home.
ONGOING SUPPORT PROVIDED TO RMCC KIDS
Weekly access to a program tailored to their individual ongoing or changing needs through their settlement journey.
A sidekick who will be their mentor, friend and positive role model.
A judgement and shame-free space amongst their peers and mentors where they can learn and grow.
Ongoing monitoring of individual needs and progress through RMCC’s monitoring and evaluation framework.
Educational material aid that includes a backpack, stationery and other essentials to ensure they are not at a material disadvantage to their peers.
Access to RMCC’s school holiday program, amplified music program, one-on-one support and referral to other specialist support when needed.
If you are from a refugee or migrant background and would like your school-aged kids to receive RMCC support, please message us.
*Data sources:
(2) English skills, engagement in education, and entrance into employment of recently arrived humanitarian migrants, figure 2, page 5.
(3) No one teaches you to become an Australian, 3.128, 3.129, 3.132 and 3.148.
(4) Refugee Status Report. A report on how refugee children and young people in Victoria are faring, page 6.
(5) Prevalence of serious mental disorder in 7000 refugees resettled in western countries: a systematic review, page 1309 and Refugee Status Report. A report on how refugee children and young people in Victoria are faring, page 41.
(6) Refugee Status Report. A report on how refugee children and young people in Victoria are faring, page 2.
(7) Spotlight on the wellbeing of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, page 13.
(8) Spotlight on the wellbeing of young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds, page 9.
(9) Statistics from Australian Government, Department of Education, Skills and Employment.
