Relationships First

Cognition Education’s Relationships First programme is a culturally responsive practice that focuses on accelerating and sustaining the achievement outcomes of indigenous and marginalised students, to maximise the achievement of all learners.

Developed in collaboration with Emeritus Professor Russell Bishop, Relationships First is an evidence informed wrap-around framework that works to increase equity through transforming classroom, leadership and system practices, creating a culturally responsive context for learning.

Relationships First supports educators to build relationships with students, with a specific emphasis on marginalised students. Cognition Education’s programme is based on over a decade’s worth of research into what works best for indigenous and minoritized students, looking at the factors necessary to transform their schooling experience from one of failure, to one of success. This research is considered to be one of the most powerful contributions to educational research and practice in the past 50 years.