STEMfooty will travel to the state’s north-west and APY Land schools thanks to a new partnership with the Bibbulmun Fund.

Working with the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Education Committee (PYEC) and the Yadu Health Aboriginal Corporation, this new partnership will see the program reach over 150 students in these remote areas.

Delivered by the Adelaide Crows Foundation, STEMfooty combines classroom learning with hands-on experiences to use football as an avenue to inspire a greater understanding of, and interest in, Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths for Year 7 students.

In regional schools who have so far participated in the program, Indigenous students have shown a 75 per cent increase in their STEMfooty academic results.

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are currently under-represented in STEM, particularly at the university level, where 0.5% of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander population has a STEM qualification, compared to 5% of the non-Indigenous population.

STEMfooty Manager Katie Gloede said she hoped the program would help students look at science and maths in a new light.

“We have worked with some regional schools in the past; however this partnership will see us take our program to students from the farthest corners of our state,” Gloede said.

“Thanks to support from the Bibbulmun Fund, teachers from these schools will take part in an intensive face to face induction and our educators will travel to the schools twice during the year to support the program delivery.

“This will ensure the students receive the best possible experience and the opportunity to get everything they possibly can from the program.

“It has been fantastic working with the Bibbulmun Fund, PYEC and Yadu Health to work out the best way to deliver the program to these communities.

“Football is such a massive part of the community in these regions, and we know the students will respond to this program.”

Adelaide Football Club Indigenous Programs Manager Jeremy Johncock said he hoped the program would encourage more students from these areas to consider a career in maths and science.

“Many young Indigenous people think of maths and science as something done in a notebook in the classroom, and the beauty of this program is opening their eyes to all the different ways that these subjects play a role in their lives,” Johncock said.

“A big benefit of this program in these schools is that we aren’t taking kids out of the classroom to do extracurricular activities – everything they learn in STEMfooty is part of their curriculum, but we are putting it in a context that they understand.

“COVID has meant we haven’t had the ability to go out to these communities like we have in the past, but this program is the perfect opportunity to get back out there and build on our relationships with the communities and schools”

The Bibbulmun Fund designs and delivers programs around entrepreneurship, education, numeracy and literacy for Indigenous students.

Bibbulmun Fund Chairperson Kim Collard said the Board was excited to support the STEMfooty Program.

“We were impressed with the way this program uses football as the ‘vehicle’ to get students into the classroom and then to deliver science, technology, engineering and maths subjects into the classroom curriculum in such a culturally appropriate context was the determining factor in supporting this initiative,” Collard said.

“We look forward to receiving regular updates from the Crows Foundation on the students progress of the STEMfooty Program.”

The Adelaide Football Club is committed to being an active participant in Australia’s reconciliation journey.

The Club’s Second Innovate Reconciliation Action Plan can be found here: https://resources.afc.com.au/aflc-adel/document/2021/02/25/4fdc1f8c-3dcc-4a00-a9cb-79380b49f3d9/INTR0501-2021-2022-RAP-Report-FA-Web-.pdf