Learning That Connects: Insights From Our Partnership With LOOKOUT
At Equal Education, we are committed to driving lasting change by creating meaningful opportunities that work to close the education gap for under-resourced young people. We collaborate across regions, cultures, and systems to ensure every learner, no matter their background or location, has access to the support they need to thrive.
To put that commitment into action, we’ve partnered with the LOOKOUT team in Australia to pilot an innovative project through our Tuition Individualised Learning Programme (TILP).
Reimagining Learning for Everyone
First Nations children in care in Australia have historically experienced trauma and a loss of cultural connection and heritage. As a result, many face ongoing struggles to fully engage with education and are more likely to experience social and economic disadvantage.
Recognising these complex challenges, including disrupted education and cultural disconnection, Equal Education and the LOOKOUT team partnered to adapt a reading intervention that integrates culturally meaningful content and supports the development of literacy skills while fostering a stronger sense of cultural identity and belonging. This approach has had a powerful effect on engagement from learners, helping reignite a connection to learning.
The Equal Education and LOOKOUT partnership was designed to go beyond academic progress and success, it aims to support the whole child through culturally responsive and personalised interventions. In this Q&A, we sit down with our TILP and Quality Assurance Lead, Chloe Collins, to reflect on how personalised support is helping young people re-engage with learning.
What is the TILP programme, and what makes this initiative so unique?
The TILP programme is designed to focus on student engagement and literacy attainment through the delivery of an individualised literacy programme. What makes the programme unique in Australia is the emphasis on re-engaging children with their cultural roots, through the use of culturally appropriate texts designed to help children explore and engage with their rich history.
How does the partnership between Equal Education and the LOOKOUT team contribute to the impact we are trying to achieve?
The partnership between Equal Education and the LOOKOUT team exemplifies the power of cross-cultural collaboration in addressing the complex challenges faced by children in care. By uniting expertise from the UK and Australia, the partnership fosters innovative educational approaches grounded in cultural awareness and shared values. This collaboration not only enhances support for the same vulnerable cohort—children in care—but also broadens the scope of the work by integrating First Nations cultural perspectives, ensuring culturally responsive and holistic education support. As a result, the initiative extends the reach and resonance of the social issue across international boundaries, promoting greater advocacy, visibility, and systemic change for care-experienced children around the world.
What unique approach or adaptation was introduced by the TILP programme and how does it work?
We knew that we needed to work with an online learning platform and found ReadingWise which is an online literacy platform that is designed to adapt and respond to the user’s needs. ReadingWise was chosen by Equal Education as the preferred platform to use with TILP students due to its proven track record and the ability to tailor elements to individual needs. It soon became clear, however, that this cohort of students would benefit from reading materials which were more closely aligned with their experiences and cultural history as First Nations peoples. With that in mind, both Equal Education and LOOKOUT worked with ReadingWise to source texts which were culturally meaningful and relevant to students and these texts were then recorded and uploaded to the platform so that students could use these materials to raise their literacy attainment.
How does the programme measure and aim to strengthen the children's connection to their culture?
The programme takes a holistic and proactive approach to strengthening children’s connection to their culture, recognising it as a vital part of their identity and wellbeing. Tutors are equipped with culturally relevant resources designed to engage students in meaningful learning that reflects their heritage and lived experience. Through the ReadingWise platform, students explore biographies of First Nations peoples as part of their literacy development, offering both educational enrichment and cultural affirmation. To better understand and support each child’s cultural identity, surveys were conducted with their carers, providing valuable insights into the students’ existing cultural connections. In turn, carers are offered tailored information and guidance to help them nurture and deepen these connections at home, ensuring the support network around each child is both informed and culturally responsive.
What’s next for TILP?
The 2025 TILP pilot has come to an end and Equal Education will shortly be publishing a report on the pilot. Additionally, together with LOOKOUT, we will be exploring opportunities to present the findings at various conferences in Victoria and hopefully further afield in Australia.
At Equal Education, we look forward to sharing our learnings and contributing to the ongoing dialogue around improving support for First Nations children in care through culturally informed, evidence-led approaches. By working in partnership with the community, listening deeply, and centring lived experience, we hope to contribute to a more inclusive, empowering system: one where every child feels seen, supported, and connected to learning.
