About Fregon

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Welcome to Fregon Anangu School.

The majority of students are Anangu and their first language is Pitjantjatjara which is spoken across the APY lands. The learning of English commences at our preschool but all students have a formal Pitjantjatjara once a week.

A significant factor for Anangu Communities and Schools is the transient nature of the population due to culture, family or funerals. The School can have many students from other communities who attend for periods of days or weeks.

In 2015 the Federal Government initiated an attendance and employment strategy which has overseen a steady improvement in student attendance.

Limited housing for Anangu, force people to live in large family groups within Fregon Anangu Community and sometimes on their homelands.

Working at Fregon

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Opportunity for Anangu employment in the community varies depending on projects that are being implemented. At present there is a major road construction project and other minor projects looking to support indigenous employment in the area.

Anangu are employed throughout the school and Education is one of the large employers of Anangu in the APY lands.

For both Non-Anangu and Anangu the main employment opportunities remain in health, education and arts.

DECD provides a great deal of support for educators thinking about a career in the APY lands. Please contact the Principal directly or DECD HR for more information about teaching in Fregon or any of the other ‘Lands’ schools.

The Community

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Fregon (Kaltjiti) community is situated in the far northwest corner of South Australia in the Pitjantjatjara Yankunytjatjara Lands; it is approximately 1300kms from Adelaide by road.

Fregon Anangu School is part of the Kaltjiti community, and associated with Irintata and Watinuma Homelands. It is situated between the Everard and Musgrave Ranges and has a population of approximately 250 Anangu and about 30 non-Anangu who reside in town or on the associated homelands. Pitjantjatjara is the first language of Anangu, English is their second language.

Pitjantjatjara people traditionally occupied an area of range and sandhill country in the far north-west of South Australia and neighbouring areas of Western Australia and the Northern Territory. They had close cultural ties with their neighbours, the Yankunytjatjara to the east and the Ngaatjatjara to the west.

People envisage themselves as related to the land and other species, and each group has special rights and obligations in relation to the land, stories, rituals and resources of their region.

The community sees the school as a bridge between Anangu and non-Anangu culture with a very important role in empowering young Anangu with the 'skills for determination' through literacy development. Anangu are involved in school decision making through the school and community councils.