School: Yule Brook College (WA)
Partner: Big Picture Education Australia (BPEA), Clontarf Foundation
Title of project: Education Through Passion – One Student at a Time
Yule Brook College is a metropolitan middle school, catering for 160 students from Years 8 to 10. The majority of the students are male and 40% are Aboriginal. Labelled as one of the ten most disadvantaged schools in WA and in the top 100 most disadvantaged in Australia, the college retains a diverse population which includes mostly local students and Aboriginal boys. In addition it offers a second chance for a small percentage of youths referred by Juvenile Justice, students who have been excluded from other schools and individuals with intellectual disability or other issues. The college's challenge is to inspire all of its students to attend school and motivate them to become independent life-long learners with positive aspirations towards employment.
The main strengths of the college are: the whole school approach and the passionate, caring staff who provide fundamental pastoral care with a personalised curriculum. As well as providing an interesting, individualised approach to learning that engages students and their parents, the school successfully re-engages disenfranchised young people and their families. The college builds a strong foundation for transition to further education and employment, successfully builds positive relationships with the local Aboriginal community and encourages harmony between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal students. Yule Brook College recently celebrated the tenth anniversary of a groundbreaking school and Aboriginal community agreement.
The college has formed a partnership with several community organisations to develop an innovative method of curriculum delivery that successfully engages students and has improved falling literacy and numeracy levels. Traditional curriculum delivery to students with emotional and social challenges and lacking basic skills to complete secondary education had failed to address the learning difficulties experienced by many incoming students. As a result, the College is a very different place today and the partnerships with Big Picture Education Australia (BPEA) and Clontarf Foundation have allowed innovative practice to flourish and a positive culture of teaching and learning to develop in a calm and orderly environment.
Big Picture Education Australia (BPEA) is a not-for-profit company that designs improved education programs for new or developing schools and trains educators as leaders in schools and communities. Its philosophy is based on solid research and encompasses a highly personalised approach, combining academic work with real-world learning. Focusing on educating one student at a time, BPEA places the student, their passions and their interests at the centre of the learning process. Clontarf Foundation is another not-for-profit organisation which aims to improve education, self-discipline, self-esteem, life skills and employment prospects for young Aboriginal men and equip them to participate purposefully in society. Clontarf uses football as a hook to engage students and takes this opportunity to mentor and counsel students, encouraging behavioural change, developing positive attitudes and assisting students to graduate from school, secure meaningful employment and maximise their life outcomes.
Yule Brook College has worked successfully in collaboration with its partners to change the school culture to encourage attendance and retention and to engage students. Research demonstrates that schools with a high level of family and community involvement provide a strong foundation for improved learning and academic results. As a result of the partnership and the mentoring program implemented in the college, reading, writing and numeracy skills from Years 7 to 9 have dramatically improved; every Year 7 Aboriginal student from feeder primary schools was successfully enrolled and started and enrolments have increased; all Aboriginal students graduated and successfully transitioned to either upper school or employment. As a direct result of the partnership, the college has seen a positive change in the culture of the school and staff and student morale has been lifted.
