Variety WA CEO Chris Chatterton is calling for targeted funding for at-risk children to access and stay in school via the scalable EduKids Grants program, which assisted 6,225 vulnerable children in Western Australia in 2024.
The program saw $300,000 granted to support 100 primary schools and 58 high schools across WA – one-fifth of all public schools in the state.
EduKids offers a unique way of ensuring a positive impact, with funding spent by schools on schoolbooks, bags, uniforms, shoes, canteen vouchers and breakfast club items aimed at direct assistance for children who need it most. But although Chatterton is proud that the program has already made a profound difference to more than 6,000 families, he says “we can and must do more to stop kids from slipping through the cracks”.
Variety WA is calling on the State and Federal Government to consider targeted funding for at-risk children to access and stay in school to help break the cycle of poverty. Chatterton says Variety’s award-winning program is scalable and
the children’s charity is keen to expand its offering both within the state and nationally to help more children who are experiencing disadvantage.
“There have been a number of initiatives from both State and Federal Government to help people, but too many children living below the poverty line are still missing out. Kids without shoes or uniform and no lunch are less likely to attend school, leading to poor education outcomes, which has a lifelong impact.
“The Variety WA EduKids Program provides direct, tangible and impactful support directly to those most in need. A pledge of $1.5 million for WA kids would mean Variety can offer the EduKids program at all 831 government schools in the state, supporting 33,000 of the most vulnerable children every year, equating to 10 per cent of the WA school population.”
Breaking the poverty cycle
At a national level, Chatterton says this would equate to approximately $14 million for targeted support for around 275,000 of the nation’s most disadvantaged children in every school in the country.
“Current research indicates that one in five West Australian children are experiencing some level of disadvantage and the EduKids program could make a real impact on breaking the cycle,” he says.
“By helping kids to stay in school with the supplies they might not otherwise have, EduKids helps keep children in
education longer, which can, in turn, lead to better life outcomes.
“The government has an important window of opportunity to address need in a meaningful way and put in place measures that are correctly targeted and have tangible, reportable results for the people who are most deserving of support.”
And with the WA state election happening on 8 March, Chatterton says “this is what voters want to see”.
