Focus on improving consistency, balance and Excellence in Arts Education delivery to Indigenous students, non-Indigenous students and teachers including all phases of learning in rural and remote contexts.

REACH is an Arts (all strands: Visual Arts, Drama, Dance, Music and Media) strategy being implemented by Education Queensland to connect and bring together people at primary and secondary schools all over FNQ (local, rural and remote) to:

• Improve Arts teacher practice by identifying existing strengths and skills and sharing these curriculum and classroom practices

• Identify talented Arts students and improve their learning and career pathways

• Develop and run school-based Excellence courses for students using Artists in Residence

• Exhibit and celebrate successful outcomes of Arts students

• Build up a range of resources to support practical implementation of Arts in schools throughout FNQ

• Students in general (Indigenous and non Indigenous, urban, rural and remote)

• Identified Students who have an interest or ability in the ArtsThis strategy aims to target Indigenous and non-Indigenous Arts students in urban, rural and remote centres, by providing opportunities for them to participate in Arts excellence curriculum programs and events that connect with other REACH students, educators and industry members throughout the region. Rather than removing talented Arts students from their schools into centres of excellence, REACH aims to create a strong network between education, training and industry within the Far North Queensland region that supports students’ Arts development at their school whilst enabling them to build relationships and share experiences with people operating in other parts of the region.

• Classroom Teachers (primary, secondary, urban, rural and remote)

• Identified Teachers who have existing arts expertise and experience (primary, secondary, urban, rural and remote)The REACH Strategy aims to support Far North Queensland Arts Teachers in both Primary and Secondary Schools in sharing, developing and maintaining excellence in Arts curriculum and classroom practice. Important in this process is identifying existing Arts education success and expertise in the region as well as areas where teachers would benefit from professional development. This may be offered via designated P.D. days, outside school hours workshops, or through parallel practice, whereby teachers with expertise in particular arts areas work in classrooms alongside teachers who identify as wanting increased skills in these areas.

• Wider Arts Community (Indigenous and non-Indigenous, urban, rural and remote professionals, practitioners and audiences)Integral in this strategy is the development of relationships between schools and the wider Arts community, including tertiary training institutions, regional Arts organisations, industry professionals, Arts practitioners and community audiences. This is to be achieved initially by: increasing communication, partnerships and opportunities for collaboration with local arts organizations and professionals; utilising Arts practitioners within the region for Artist-In-Residence learning experiences; and by increasing opportunities for celebrating and showcasing students’ successful Arts outcomes to community audiences.

From these 3 Hubs, Arts events, programs and initiatives will be administered involving other schools in their clusters so that all involved are REACHing toward the common goal of excellence in Arts education throughout the region.