The education of Indigenous students has often suffered from ad hoc and sporadic efforts which might work well for a while and then go off the boil. A teacher with a particular commitment and interest might leave. Funding might be withdrawn from a program. A policy might be squeezed off the list to be attended to.

In remote areas of the country, communities are unfortunately familiar with programs that seem to be working, but fall away when a particular teacher or principal leaves. But this phenomenon is far from restricted to remote areas.

All these considerations tell us that effective action to improve outcomes for Indigenous students needs to be carefully planned and implemented, and that sustainability of improvement must be considered from the outset.

What gets prioritised gets done. This means having in place a policy and a plan to implement that policy. Responsibilities need to be assigned, targets established, and progress towards their achievement monitored. Strategies need to be thought through and, professional development, where necessary, and resources provided.

We know this, and we know that such procedures work. The substantial quality of education in this country hinges on this knowledge.

The Workbook provides an outline for this process.