School: The Pavilion (Banksia-La Trobe Secondary College) (VIC)
Partner: Berry Street Victoria and others
This small secondary school located in a low socio-economic suburb of Melbourne has a special off-campus program for students who are seriously disengaged from education and training. The program currently has 63 students. Over 150 students have been enrolled since the program began two and a half years ago. Approximately 20 per cent of students in the program are Indigenous. The program enrols students who are not attending school or engaged in any other education or training but are seeking to further their education. Students are referred to the program by family members, friends, support workers and schools and can also self-refer. Students participating in the program present with significant personal, social, physical, behavioural and/or educational issues. These issues often manifest themselves in the form of drug abuse, mental illness, social conflict or aggression.
The program caters predominantly for students 15 years of age or over, but students as young as 13 have been enrolled. Students come from different areas in Melbourne and have varied personal, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. The program arose from an approach to the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) from a number of service organisations, including Berry Street Victoria (BSV) which saw an urgent need for such a program within the state education system. The program operates from an off-site campus of Banksia-La Trobe Secondary College and is designed as a transition and/or reintegration program for young people of secondary school age who require access to education that is tailored to meet their individual needs. The program offers a holistic approach to each student, providing an intensive and personalised literacy and numeracy program and social work support. The staff provide an alternative and flexible form of education that follows the DEECD curriculum.
DEECD provides staffing for the program but BSV leases the building – a renovated soccer pavilion – from the local council. BSV also used their own maintenance and IT staff to ensure that the building was made suitable for school use. BSV is represented on the program’s advisory group, which operates much like a school council. BSV pays the utility bills and provides ongoing material support. Over 40 per cent of students enrolled in the program since it began have received direct support from BSV for extra emotional, social or psychological assistance.
BSV and the school have agreed that the children within the care of each party will be given access to the full range of services that the other party has to offer. If a child enters the school without support services and it is identified that the child needs welfare support to enable a successful reintegration into education, the school will call upon BSV to undertake an immediate intake assessment. The student will then be offered the necessary support services. Conversely, if BSV has a young person living within their care who cannot access the necessary educational support, then the young person will be offered immediate support at the school.
Program staff have supported students through their involvement with the police, justice system, welfare agencies, educational institutions and employers. The school provides BSV and their partner organisations with ongoing support and curriculum assistance for residential carers who oversee the education of those children residing within state care who do not currently attend any form of school.
The Impact Award money will be used to ensure that the students in the program have a permanent home that provides a stimulating learning environment for them.
