Community Language Schools

The Office of Multicultural Interests (OMI) provi​des support to eligible not-for-profit community organisations to teach
lan​​guages other than​​ English ​for students from Kindergarten to Year 12 out ​of ​school hours.

Community language schools in Western Australia can access:

  • development support
  • a free professional learning program
  • the Community Language Schools WA website
  • the Community Languages Collection at the State Library of WA
  • grants for new and established schools to support administration and operations.​
C​ommunity language school funding currently supports 47 community language schools teaching 28 languages to more than 6320 students.

Community ​​Lan​​guage School gr​​​a​nts

OMI provides an annual funding round for grants to support community language school administration and operations.

Per Capita grants assist with the costs of operating the school. The per capita amount is up to $120 per student. The full grant amount is based on the number of students enrolled in the school year. To apply for Per Capita funding, community language schools must have achieved Stage 1 - Registration of the Pathways to Improvement Program (PIP).

New School grants provide one-off funding of up to $4000 to new schools to support the administrative costs of setting up the school. To apply for a New School grant, a school must demonstrate it has been operating between 12 and 52 weeks and have completed or be working towards completion of Stage 1 - Registration of the Pathways to Improvement Program (PIP).

Funding for 2021

OMI is now accepting applications from community language schools for funding in the 2021 school year. 

Applications are due by 4.00pm Monday 8 March 2021.

Download the funding guidelines and the Per Capita grant application form:

Community language schools that are new to the program must contact OMI to confirm their eligibility for funding and obtain the New School grant application form.

Phone: 61 8 6552 1603

Email: communitylanguages@omi.wa.gov.au

Reporting for 2020 funding

The final report template is now available to download for community language schools who received an OMI grant in 2020. 

The report form can be downloaded at the link below.

Community language schools must submit their final report and supporting material to communitylanguages@omi.wa.gov.au by Monday 1 February 2021.

Organisations with outstanding reporting for grants through OMI may not be considered for new funding.

Pathways to Improvement Program

The Pathways to Improvement Program (PIP) is a development program for community language schools. The PIP has been developed to improve and maintain quality language teaching and learning. The PIP helps administrators, teachers, parents, community members and students understand what makes a good community language school and quality language program.

To apply for Per Capita funding, community language schools must have achieved Stage 1 - Registration of the PIP.

Schools that achieve the registration stage will qualify for future community language school funding, subject to maintaining their PIP portfolio documentation. The annual application process requires schools to provide updated school information, student enrolment details, and budget. All other information is gathered through the PIP.

OMI is currently planning with the PIP team to resume the program in 2021. Further information about this will be shared in February on this page.

Professional Learning Program

Community language schools can access professional learning workshops for teachers and administrators. 

The program is offered free to all community language schools in WA, including schools that do not receive grant funding from OMI.

The professional learning program:

  • supports the delivery of quality language education and administration
  • builds the capacity of community language schools to deliver language education that is complementary to language education in mainstream schools.

Professional learning workshops in 2021 are currently being scheduled to resume in March. Further information about this will be shared in February on this page.

Community Language Schools WA website

The Community Language Schools WA website is a destination for information, resources, networking and collaboration for community language teachers and administrators. It is an excellent resource for the sector and encourages community languages schools to contribute stories and experiences.

Community Languages Collection

The State Library of W​estern Australia (SLWA) houses an extensive collection of teaching materials and resources for more than 40 languages. The collection has been made available to language teachers, particularly those from the community languages sector, through OMI.

The Community Languages Collection comprises a range of hardcopy, digital, audio and visual resources that can be used in classes or in the development of lesson plans, ensuring students are receiving the best possible language education.

The State Library of WA has also developed Teacher Resources for use by community language teachers. The Community Languages Collection is available at the State Library of WA, Perth Cultural Centre, 25 Francis Street, Northbridge.

Templates

The following templates may be useful for your school's administration, and to submit with your funding application or final report where requested:

Page reviewed 25 January 2021