In mid February, we were delighted to welcome teachers and teaching staff from schools in Walgett, Bourke and Orange for three days of SWAY training.

SWAY (sounds, words, Aboriginal Language and yarning) is an oral language and early literacy program developed by educators, Aboriginal Education officers and Speech Pathologists at the Royal Far West School.

The training included theory based and interactive workshops, with participants also learning about evidence based strategies that can be used to support students’ speech and language development.
A ‘ready to go’ box of classroom resources was also provided to each teacher so that the SWAY program can be easily implemented back at their home school.

SWAY provides teachers with a robust framework in which to embed local Aboriginal language, culture and stories into their classroom program.