Introducing Families And Schools Together Australia

Last week Mal, Fiona and Mark met for two days in Perth WA to strengthen Families And Schools together (FAST) Nationally. For the past few years the three of them have been working to expand this great program, and its outcomes Nationally. To date over 100 schools and communities across the country have benefitted from the FAST program. Mark, Mal and Fiona, are busy working on material development, governance, PR, evidence base, evaluation and training processes to further enhance FAST in the Australian context.

The Families and Schools Together (FAST) program has operated in various countries around the world. The founder of FAST Dr. Lynn Mc Donald first delivered FAST in Wisconsin in 1988. FAST was introduced into Australia in the early 1990’s, and has seen 100’s of Australian families lives changed through FAST’s activities which aim to; empower Parents, build supportive relationships, enhance family functioning, prevent child from experiencing school failure, Prevent substance abuse by the child and family and to reduce stress that parents and children experience from daily life situations.

FAST delivery has been successful in the remotest of Indigenous communities in Australia through to schools and families in our capital cities. A defining feature of FAST is its rigorous evaluation process, which provides statistically significant data to measure progress, make continuous improvements, and sustain FAST into the future. Built on evidence-based practices and rigorously tested, the FAST parent empowerment program consistently produce statistically significant improvements in children’s behaviour, emotional well-being, and academic performance while building social capital among families, schools and communities.

Impact Communities is currently delivering FAST in the Derwent Valley and Brighton municipality, federally funded through the Communities for Children initiative, facilitated by the Salvation Army.

If you are interested in implementing FAST in your community please get in touch.