The Education State
VCOSS Response to the Education State
Consultation Paper
July 2015
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About VCOSS
The Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) is
the peak body of the social and community sector in
Victoria. VCOSS members reflect the diversity of the
sector and include large charities, peak
organisations, small community services, advocacy
groups, and individuals interested in social policy. In
addition to supporting the sector, VCOSS represents
the interests of vulnerable and disadvantaged
Victorians in policy debates and advocates for the
development of a sustainable, fair and equitable
society.
This submission was prepared by Policy Advisor
Carly Nowell with input from VCOSS members.
Authorised by:
Emma King, Chief Executive Officer
© Copyright 2015
Victorian Council of Social Service
Victorian Council of Social Service
Level 8, 128 Exhibition Street
Melbourne, Victoria, 3000
+61 3 9235 1000
For enquiries:
Llewellyn Reynders, Policy and Programs Manager
llewellyn.reynders@vcoss.org.au
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Contents
Executive summary......................................................................................................................... 3
Recommendations .......................................................................................................................... 9
Recognising the importance of education for people facing disadvantage .................................... 13
Supporting vulnerable learners ..................................................................................................... 15
Learners experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage............................................................. 15
Children and young people in out-of-home care .................................................................... 16
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians ..................................................................... 17
Learners from CALD or refugee backgrounds ....................................................................... 18
Same-sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse (SSAIGD) learners ................................... 19
Learners experiencing chronic illness .................................................................................... 20
Learners with disability or additional healthcare needs .......................................................... 21
Learners in rural and regional Victoria ................................................................................... 23
Creating an inclusive and accessible education system ................................................................ 25
Early childhood ......................................................................................................................... 26
Universal access to kindergarten........................................................................................... 27
Playgroups ............................................................................................................................ 29
Schools ..................................................................................................................................... 30
More support to assist students with additional needs ........................................................... 31
Vocational Education and Training (VET).................................................................................. 34
Supporting at-risk and disengaged young people ......................................................................... 36
Early school leavers .................................................................................................................. 36
Increase retention of students in mainstream education ........................................................ 38
Alternative education programs ................................................................................................. 39
More support for targeted programs .......................................................................................... 43
Intensive case-management program ................................................................................... 43
Greater support for existing programs ................................................................................... 44
Improving education funding ......................................................................................................... 46
Equity-based funding ................................................................................................................ 46
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Schools funding models ............................................................................................................ 47
‘Developmentally load’ the system ............................................................................................ 48
Supporting students across the education continuum ................................................................... 50
Lifelong learning ........................................................................................................................ 50
Building a strong foundation ...................................................................................................... 50
Transitions ................................................................................................................................ 52
Transition to primary school .................................................................................................. 52
Transition to secondary school .............................................................................................. 53
Transition to education, training and the workforce ............................................................... 54
Creating stronger links between the education, community and business sectors......................... 56
Collaboration ............................................................................................................................. 56
Integrated service models ......................................................................................................... 58
Place-based approaches........................................................................................................... 60
Lessons from previous place-based approaches................................................................... 61
Strengthening parental engagement ............................................................................................. 63
Improving data collection for better policy development ................................................................ 65
Performance data ..................................................................................................................... 65
Data sharing.............................................................................................................................. 66
Student voice ............................................................................................................................ 67
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Executive summary
The Victorian Council of Social Service (VCOSS) welcomes the Andrews State Government’s
vision to make Victoria the ‘Education State’. Providing a quality education to all learners is widely
acknowledged as being a key way of developing a strong and inclusive society and economy.
VCOSS believes all Victorian children, young people and adult learners have the right to access a
high quality education. We further believe it is imperative that our education system be structured
and resourced to operate in a way that ensures people facing disadvantage are particularly
supported to fully participate and achieve strong educational outcomes. We believe these things
combined are the mark of a truly successful world-class education system.
If the Education State can deliver a high quality universal education system that also ensures
students facing disadvantage are particularly supported, Victoria will be helping people overcome
the barriers they face to fulfilling their potential, helping break cycles of poverty in our community
and building a stronger future for all.
Based on member organisations’ frontline experience and drawing on a wide evidence base,
VCOSS’ submission to the Education State raises a broad range of issues, potential models,
approaches and a set of recommendations aimed to help Victoria deliver this quality, accessible
education system. These include opportunities for the government, education and community
sectors to work together on integrated and holistic approaches that improve the wellbeing,
educational and life outcomes of vulnerable learners.
This submission reinforces the fundamental importance of developing a universally accessible
quality education system from early childhood, through school years and at the vocational
education level. It explores the importance of supporting students through critical developmental
and transition periods. It discusses the unique issues facing vulnerable learners and explores how
these can be addressed, proposing models that further target support to these learners. Key
approaches around this include drawing on successful integrated service and place-based models,
where community groups, education providers and governments work together to provide service
models that target individual communities’ specific strengths and challenges.
This submission also outlines the great importance of parental engagement and ways in which the
education, community and business sectors can further interact to best support learners and their
families at all levels of the education system. One important aspect of such collaboration is in
further developing and expanding alternative education settings across Victoria, to provide
effective options for students at risk of disengaging from the education and training system.
The submission also advocates funding approaches aimed to arrest the increasing inequality of
access and outcomes occurring in the Victorian education system, as well as the rising costs of
education. The importance of data collection and tracking of student outcomes, particularly
outcomes for students facing disadvantage, is also discussed.
3
Evidence shows that educational attainment is an important predictor of an individual's future
social and economic wellbeing.1 People are likely to achieve better life outcomes if they can
access a high quality education throughout their early childhood, their school years and potentially
on through further education and training. They are also able to best utilise these educational
opportunities if they are well supported to fully participate and remain engaged with them.
However, many children, young people and adult learners experiencing disadvantage face barriers
that prevent them from accessing the same level of quality education as their peers, and barriers
that contribute to them being unable to fully participate or stay engaged in the education system.
Students facing disadvantage are more likely to be developmentally vulnerable than their peers
when they start school.2 Given the importance of the early years in shaping an individual’s life
outcomes, the impact of this is significant and long-lasting. These trends continue into the school
years with evidence suggesting children from low-income families, Aboriginal children, children
with disabilities, those with low English proficiency and children living in remote areas are most at
risk of poor educational outcomes at school.3 Children who are in out-of-home care are also at
greater risk, with evidence indicating about half of all children in care are below the national
benchmarks for numeracy and literacy, and only a small percentage complete year 12 or
equivalent.4 Same sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse students and students experiencing
chronic illness also face unique barriers to education and need additional support. It is important
that the unique needs of these vulnerable learners are understood and receive targeted assistance
to help address the barriers to education and training they face.
Universal early childhood services and schools are uniquely placed to identify signs of early
vulnerability and to implement strategies that improve young people’s wellbeing and life outcomes.
Similarly, Vocational Education and Training (VET) plays an important role in supporting vulnerable
learners to overcome workforce participation barriers and provides an important pathway to
employment. It is important that early childhood education, schools and VET systems are inclusive
and accessible for all members of the community. However, education providers can’t achieve this
alone. Students facing disadvantage and their families need to be supported by a wider service
system that provides a broad range of community services and interventions that meets their
specific and often complex needs, if they are to access and fully participate in education.5
There is strong evidence that the pre-school years of childhood lay the foundations for optimal
development, and for later success at school. Children who participate in at least one year of
kindergarten have on average higher overall development, learning, cognitive and social-emotional
1
Committee for Economic Development of Australia (CEDA), Addressing entrenched disadvantage in Australia, CEDA, April 2015.
D Gonski, K Boston, K Greiner, C Lawrence, B Scales and P Tannock, Review of Funding for Schooling: Final Report, Canberra,
December 2011, p. 112.
3
Ibid., p. 111.
4
S Wise, S Pollock, G Mitchell, C Argus and P Farquhar, CIAO: Care-system impacts on academic outcomes, Anglicare Victoria and
Wesley Mission Victoria, Melbourne, 2010, p. 8.
5
T Moore and A Skinner, An integrated approach to early childhood development: Background Paper, Murdoch Childrens Research
Institute and The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health, Melbourne, 2010.
2
4
outcomes, than children who have not participated.6 To make Victoria the Education State, we
need to establish a high quality, accessible early childhood education system. This includes
providing universal access to three-year-old kindergarten and increasing rates of participation in
four-year-old kindergarten among vulnerable children. It also includes increasing playgroup
participation rates of children aged 0-4, to support early childhood development and parental
engagement. Playgroups provide an ideal way to engage parents early and prepare them for ongoing involvement in their child’s education, as well as setting children on a positive education
trajectory.
A student’s health and wellbeing can affect their learning and academic outcomes at school.7
Schools can help to support the educational outcomes, as well as children’s overall wellbeing, by
providing a supportive learning environment that promotes good physical and mental health and by
fostering student’s social and emotional development.8 To achieve this, primary and secondary
schools need to be adequately resourced and supported by the Department of Education and
Training (DET), to better assist vulnerable students.
VET provides a pathway to employment for many Victorian and plays a key role in tackling a range
of barriers to workforce participation, including long-term unemployment, early school leaving, low
literacy or numeracy skills, and the need to retrain or up-skill. However, recent funding changes,
cuts and inadequate quality control of VET providers, have adversely affected the sector’s ability to
support students, particularly young people and adult learners facing disadvantage. To strengthen
the VET system, funding models could be modified to reflect the additional costs of providing
education to higher-needs students. Initiatives to raise enrolment levels and improve the
engagement of people who face barriers to accessing vocational education would support this.
Better matching of training courses to job opportunities would improve outcomes for students and
the state. Stronger quality control and auditing processes across the VET system would also better
protect vulnerable learners.
To become the Education State, Victoria also needs a range of strategies to address the issue of
early school leaving. More than 10,000 Victorian students disengage from school every year 9 and
evidence suggests that educational disengagement is starting younger.10 There are multiple and
often interrelated factors that lead to young people disengaging from school. Early school leavers
are vulnerable to financial hardship, increased risk of physical and mental health issues, greater
6
C Gong, J McNamara and R Cassells, AMP.NATSEM Income and Wealth Report: Issue 28 - Little Australians: Differences in early
childhood development, Sydney, AMP.NATSEM, April 2011.
7
Public Health England, Op. Cit.; T Bentley and C Cazaly, The shared work of learning: Lifting educational achievement through
collaboration, Mitchell Institute research report No. 01/2015, Mitchell Institute for Health and Education Policy and the Centre for
Strategic Education, Melbourne, 2015, p. 50.
8
Public Health England, Op. Cit.
9
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Reforming Support to Vulnerable Young People: A discussion paper,
Melbourne, 2012.
10
Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, The Hume Under 16 Project Out of School - Out of Sight Final Report, 2012, p.6,
http://www.nmit.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Hume-Under-16-Project-Out-of-School-Out-of-Sight-Report.pdf.
5
susceptibility to drug and alcohol misuse and homelessness, and have a higher probability of
becoming involved in the justice system. 11
Alternative education settings and programs play a key role in enabling young people to remain
engaged in education, particularly those who experience disadvantage. These could be expanded
across the state and supported by a range of other measures. These include supporting schools to
take more responsibility to retain students at risk of disengaging; investing in an education reengagement program providing intensive, case-managed support for students at risk of
disengaging or already disengaged from school; and building stronger links between the
education, training, community and employment sectors, through greater support for initiatives
such as the Local Learning and Employment Networks. These measures would help fill the large
service gap for at-risk and disengaged young people created by the loss of the federally funded
Youth Connections program in 2014.
Inequality is also growing within Australia’s Education System12 with evidence showing strong links
between low levels of educational achievement and educational disadvantage.13 It is critical that
any changes to the education system be underpinned by a needs-based funding model, in line with
the recommendations from the Gonski Review of Funding for Schooling.14 Equity funding needs to
recognise both the individual circumstances of the student and their family, as well as the overall
level of disadvantage within schools. This supports disadvantaged students across the entire
system, not just in certain postcodes or schools, as well as addressing the adverse effects of
concentrated disadvantage. Schools in concentrated disadvantage areas have higher proportions
of students who need more support to succeed, along with a more limited ability to raise additional
local funds to resource this.
The rising costs of education are also a key barrier for students facing disadvantage. Families are
being asked to spend increasing amounts on their children’s education both in direct costs, such
as for school uniforms, elective subjects, and camps and excursions, along with indirect costs,
such as purchasing a computer and providing internet access at home. It is important that
vulnerable families are provided with additional assistance to ensure no one is further
disadvantaged due to the costs of education. Along with this submission, further detail regarding
rising education inequity and school costs are contained in the VCOSS Submission to the
Schools Funding Review.
The Education State should also support lifelong learning for all Victorians. All children and young
people need to learn core literacy and numeracy skills to set them on positive educational
trajectories. Supporting children and young people to successfully transition through each of the
key education stages, including by building strong pathways between education institutions, will
help children achieve their best possible educational outcomes and support learners to reengage
11
Deloitte Access Economics, The socio-economic benefits of investing in the prevention of early school leaving, prepared for Hands
On Learning Australia, 2012.
12
T Bentley and C Cazaly, Op. Cit.
13
D Gonski et al., Op. Cit., p. 111.
14
D Gonski et al., Op. Cit.
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with the education system when needed. Resourcing the system to better support people at crucial
brain development periods, including in early childhood and when children are entering
adolescence, will also help them achieve their best possible educational outcomes.
Supporting parents involvement in their child’s learning from birth through to adulthood helps
students achieve their best possible educational outcomes. There is strong evidence that parental
engagement has a significant effect on children’s educational achievement, even when controlling
for other factors such as socioeconomic status and parent education levels.15 Parental
engagement, appears to have benefits across all age groups, however different strategies are
required at different stages such as early childhood, primary school and secondary school.16
Collaboration between the education sector, the community sector and families has been shown to
be highly effective in supporting students, particularly for disadvantaged students who may face
numerous challenges to their education.17 Evidence suggests that vulnerable children and families
have difficulty finding out about and accessing the services they need.18 Integrated service models
that provide children, young people and their families, as well as the broader community, with
better access to a range of services and activities, are an effective way to reach vulnerable people
and link them with the community services they need. Integrated services also facilitate prevention
and early intervention of issues, helping children and families to access appropriate support when
it’s first needed, rather than later when the problem has escalated or become entrenched.
There is also growing evidence of the benefit that place-based approaches bring to preventing and
responding to vulnerability and disadvantage for children, young people and families.19 Placebased models are designed to empower the community to work together to improve outcomes,
service delivery and coordination, address specific issues such as poverty, and drive positive
outcomes more generally for the community.20 They are particularly useful when trying to address
complex social problems and entrenched social disadvantage.21 To succeed, it is vital that
attempts to support place-based approaches are driven by the communities themselves and build
on their existing strengths and networks.
Finally, capturing and reporting quality data by DET will help inform more effective initiatives and
long-term government policies. Existing data sources could be better connected to help track
outcomes for disadvantaged students over time. Further attention could also be directed to
tracking the educational performance of specific cohorts of vulnerable students, including children
15
C Desforges and A Abouchaar, The impact of parental involvement, parental support and family education on pupil achievements and
adjustment: A literature review, Department for Education and Skills, 2003, p. 86; T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.
16
L Emerson, J Fear, S Fox and E Sanders, Parental engagement in learning and schooling: Lessons from research. A report by the
Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth (ARACY) for the Family-School and Community Partnerships Bureau, Canberra,
2012, pp. 12, 44-47.
17
T Bentley and C Cazaly, Op. Cit.
18
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.,p. 6.
19
T.G Moore, H McHugh-Dillon, K Bull, R Fry, B Laidlaw and S West, The evidence: what we know about place-based approaches
to support children’s wellbeing, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and The Royal Children’s Hospital Centre for Community
Child Health, Parkville, Victoria, 2014.
20
Ibid.
21
S Wilks, J Lahausse and B Edwards, Commonwealth Place-Based Service Delivery Initiatives, Key Learnings project (Research
Report no. 32), Australian Institute of Family Studies, Melbourne, April 2015.
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in out-of-home care and children with chronic illness or disability. Children, young people and adult
learners could benefit from sharing relevant data between education providers, government and
the community sector. This would help facilitate more integrated and holistic approaches to
supporting the wellbeing of vulnerable learners. Involving vulnerable children, young people and
their families, as well as vulnerable adult learners, in the design of programs and interventions that
affect them will also help improve service delivery and design.
Community service organisations play a vital role in supporting vulnerable children, young people
and their families, along with adult learners, to help them improve their wellbeing and overcome
barriers to participating in education and training. This can include support around physical and
mental wellbeing, housing and homelessness, alcohol and other drug issues, financial assistance
and emergency relief. Community service organisations also provide specialist support, such as
supporting students with disability and children and young people in out-of-home care. They also
help to address skills gaps and build the aspirations of vulnerable children and young people,
through mentoring programs and targeted learning programs. They support parental engagement
in children’s learning through delivering a range of programs spanning from early childhood
through to secondary school. Community service organisations also play a key role in supporting
vulnerable young people to remain engaged with education, delivering alternative education
programs, outreach services to connect and engage at-risk young people, and targeted casemanagement support. Increasingly, they are also supporting families facing disadvantage to cover
the rising costs of education.
In this submission, VCOSS aims to draw on its members’ frontline community experience across
all these issues, as well as a wide evidence base, to present the community sector’s unique
insights and perspectives on how Victoria can build a quality universal education system that also
effectively supports learners facing disadvantage, to truly become the Education State.
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Recommendations
VCOSS makes the following recommendations to the help make Victoria the Education State:
Supporting vulnerable learners
Recommendation: That DET commits to understanding and addressing the issues
faced by different groups of vulnerable learners, and provides targeted assistance to
address the barriers to education and training they face.
Creating an inclusive and accessible education system
Recommendation: That DET supports all aspects of the education system to be
inclusive and accessible for all Victorian learners.
Early childhood
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government fully funds universal access to
three-year-old kindergarten and aims to improve vulnerable children’s rate of
participation.
Recommendation: That DET aims to increase participation rates in four-year-old
kindergarten, particularly for vulnerable children.
Recommendation: That DET fund the continuum of playgroups in Victoria to help
increase participation rates of children aged 0-4 in playgroup, and to support and
enhance the delivery of these playgroups.
School years
Recommendation: That DET provide schools with more dedicated resources to
support vulnerable students.
Recommendation: That more ‘joined-up’ services are provided to better support
students through a stronger interface between schools and the community sector and
through enabling schools to work more closely together to support students moving
between schools.
Recommendation: That schools are supported and encouraged to retain students at
risk of disengaging from the universal school system, and in managing students who
misbehave, to reduce the reliance on suspensions and expulsions.
Vocational Education and Training
9
Recommendation: That DET revises VET funding models to reflect the additional
costs of providing education to vulnerable students and the higher costs associated with
operating in rural and regional areas.
Recommendation: That DET delivers targeted initiatives to improve the enrolment and
engagement of vulnerable learners in the VET system.
Recommendation: That DET considers options for better matching training
opportunities to job opportunities and high growth industries.
Recommendation: That the quality control and auditing process of the VET system
and its providers is strengthened, to better protect vulnerable learners.
Supporting at-risk and disengaged young people
Recommendation: That schools be supported to retain students at risk of disengaging.
Recommendation: That alternative education settings and programs are viewed as a
legitimate pathway for young people and accordingly resourced to increase their
coverage across the entire state.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government invests in an education reengagement program that provides intensive, case-managed support targeting students
who are at risk of disengaging, or have already disengaged, from school.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government provides greater resources to
programs that promote partnerships between schools and community organisations,
and provides practical support to schools to assist young people at risk of disengaging.
Improving education funding
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government allocates a greater proportion of
school funding to the equity-based component, to better support disadvantaged
students and schools.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government provide greater support to
disadvantaged families to ensure no student is disadvantaged due to the cost of
education.
Recommendation: That the proposed model for determining needs-based funding in
schools be amended to better reflect the full range of factors that indicate disadvantage.
Recommendation: That the education system be ‘developmentally loaded’ in line with
evidence showing the crucial brain development periods that occur in early childhood
and when children are entering adolescence.
10
Supporting students across the education continuum
Recommendation: That DET support lifelong learning by ensuring there are strong
pathways between education institutions, and by valuing the contribution of all parts of
the education system, including community providers such as Learn Locals and
neighbourhood houses.
Recommendation: That the government support vulnerable children and young people
by investing in programs that support the development of core literacy and numeracy
skills.
Recommendation: That DET invests in a range of strategies that facilitate successful
transitions through the key educational stages, particularly for vulnerable families.
Creating stronger links between the education, community and business sectors
Recommendation: That DET helps facilitate greater collaboration between the
education sector and the community sector.
Recommendation: That DET facilitates the development of integrated service models
that provide children, young people and their families with better access to a range of
education, community and health services.
Recommendation: That DET facilitate the expansion of place-based responses across
Victoria through place-based loadings for disadvantaged communities to help them
address the complex issues they face.
Strengthening parental engagement
Recommendation: That strategies be developed to support effective parental
engagement throughout the education continuum, from early childhood through to
primary and secondary school years.
Improving data collection for better policy development
Recommendation: That DET improve its current data collection methods to enable
tracking of educational outcomes for disadvantaged students over time.
Recommendation: That DET facilitates the sharing of relevant data between
education providers and other sectors, and between government departments to better
support vulnerable learners.
11
Recommendation: That vulnerable learners, including children, young people and
adult learners, be directly involved in devising changes to the education system that
affect them.
12
Recognising the importance of
education for people facing
disadvantage
Educational attainment is an important predictor of an individual's future social and economic
wellbeing and is one of best ways to help tackle disadvantage and break the cycle of poverty.22
However, many children, young people and adult learners experiencing disadvantage face barriers
that prevent them from accessing the same level of quality education as their peers, and barriers
that contribute to them being unable to fully participate or stay engaged in the education system.
This can prevent them achieving their best possible educational outcomes and developing the
skills to best help set them on positive life trajectories, contributing to intergenerational cycles of
poverty. People facing disadvantage need support from the education and community sectors to
access and fully participate in education, achieve their best possible educational outcomes and
fulfil their potential.
VCOSS supports the longstanding founding premise of the education system in Victoria, that all
children and young people, regardless of any form of disadvantage they face, have the right to
access the same level of high quality education. We further believe the education system can only
truly be considered to be functioning at its strongest, when it is structured and resourced to operate
in a way that ensures people facing disadvantage are particularly supported to fully participate and
achieve their best possible educational outcomes. Socioeconomic factors, or other forms of
disadvantage, should not determine how well a child can do at school, or the educational
outcomes they are able to achieve. We believe that an education system must provide quality
universal access, while also effectively supporting learners facing disadvantage to overcome
barriers, fully participate and achieve their best possible outcomes, to be considered a truly
successful and world-class education system.
As well as the importance of having a strong school system, evidence indicates quality early
childhood development services are also crucial to helping people achieve their best possible
educational outcomes. Vulnerable children reap the greatest benefit from these services, and
return the greatest value to society from investment in these services.23 Children and young people
in families experiencing disadvantage can benefit enormously from a range of services, particularly
when accessed early, before problems escalate and knowledge and skill gaps widen.
22
Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Op. Cit.
Committee for Economic Development, The economic promise of investing in high-quality preschool: Using early education to
improve economic growth and the fiscal sustainability of states and the nation, Washington, US, 2006.
23
13
VET is also an important pathway from school through to employment for many Victorians facing
disadvantage. It can be key in helping many people tackle a range of barriers to workforce
participation, including long-term unemployment, early school leaving, low literacy or numeracy
skills, or the need to retrain or upskill. Recognising the importance of VET and strengthening the
system is a crucial aspect of supporting people facing disadvantage to gain the education and
training they need to gain valuable skills, fulfil their potential enter the workforce.
This submission outlines insights and recommendations to help build a quality universal education
system that also effectively supports learners facing disadvantage to achieve their best possible
outcomes. In preparing it, VCOSS has both drawn from the evidence base and consulted widely
with our members, who are a diverse range of community sector organisations possessing
expertise and frontline experience in supporting children, young people and their families, along
with adult learners, to overcome disadvantage and maximise their educational potential.
Learners facing disadvantage
The terms ‘vulnerable’, ‘at-risk’ and ‘experiencing disadvantage’ are used interchangeably in
this submission to refer to children, young people or adult learners who face barriers to
accessing and participating in education. The barriers faced are broad, and often complex
and interrelated. They may include personal barriers, such as mental or physical health
issues; family circumstances, such as poverty, homelessness or low levels of parental
education, and community-based barriers such as having limited access to supports and
services.
Links to other relevant reviews and submissions
There are several other Victorian education-based reviews which have run recently, or in tandem
with the Education State consultation process. The input provided to each of these reviews can be
beneficial in informing the others, as many of the issues are interrelated and cannot be considered
adequately in isolation. Some relevant reviews to consider as part of the Education State
consultation process include:

School Funding Review (VCOSS submission attached)

Vocational Education and Training (VET) Funding Review

Schools Focused Youth Services (SFYS)

Review into Parent Payment Policies

Review into Strengthening DET regional relationships and support

Review of Program for Students with Disability

Managed Individual Plans (MIPs) Review

Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN) Review
14
Supporting vulnerable learners
Recommendation: That DET commits to understanding and addressing the unique
issues faced by different groups of vulnerable learners, and provides targeted
assistance to address the barriers to education and training they face.
Learners experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage
The relationship between someone’s socioeconomic disadvantage and their educational outcomes
is well established. One third of children living in disadvantaged communities are behind their
peers on one or more key developmental areas when they start school. These include
communication skills, language and cognitive skills, or social competence.24 Evidence from the
Australian Early Development Census (AEDC) suggests that for children living in low
socioeconomic areas, low scores in their first year of school can place them on a poor
developmental trajectory throughout their schooling.25 However, high scores on the AEDC can
provide a buffer throughout their schooling, highlighting the importance of early intervention. 26
The impact of low socioeconomic status is also evident in academic achievement at school and in
year 12 completion rates. Results from the 2012 Programme for International Student Assessment
(PISA) show a strong correlation in Australia between students’ socioeconomic background and
their performance across all literacy domains (mathematical, scientific and reading).27 The
performance gap between Australian students in the highest and lowest socioeconomic groups is
significant, equating to around two-and-a-half years of schooling across each of the three domains.
Data also confirms that Victorian students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are less likely to
complete year 12 (60 per cent) compared to those from high socioeconomic backgrounds (80 per
per cent).28 This gap has been widening over time.29
Low socioeconomic status also remains a significant predictor of young people not undertaking
further education and training, especially university study, even when taking other factors into
consideration.30 While this may be partially attributed to lower levels of school achievement than
students from high socioeconomic status backgrounds, it has also been found that students from
24
Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Op. Cit.
Australian Early Development Census, Research Snapshot: The impact of socioeconomics and school readiness for life course
educational trajectories, ED14-0193, 2014.
26
Ibid.
27
S Thomson , L De Bortoli, S Buckley, PISA in Brief Highlights from the full Australian report: PISA 2012: How Australia measures up,
Australian Council for Educational Research, 2013, p.21.
28
Victorian Auditor-General’s Report, Student Completion Rates, Victoria, 2012, p.18
29
Ibid.
30
Curtis D, Drummond A, Halsey J and Lawson M, Peer-mentoring of students in rural and low socioeconomic status schools:
increasing aspirations for higher education, NCVER, Adelaide, 2012. p. 25.
25
15
low-income families generally have lower aspirations for tertiary education and training as well as
low aspirations for their careers.31
Children and young people in out-of-home care
Children and young people in out-of-home care32 are one of the community’s most vulnerable
social groups.33 In addition to dealing with the trauma which led them to be placed in care, they
face a range of ongoing challenges and disruptions to their social connections and their
education.34 Due to placement instability, children and young people may miss substantial periods
of schooling, experience frequent change of schools (requiring them to adjust to new teachers and
classmates); and experience curriculum disruptions, repeating some components, whilst not
continuing others.35 Lack of access to appropriate education programs, and delays in enrolments
can also be an issue. Research suggests young people in care may have lower expectations
placed on them to succeed in education.36 Many experience lower educational attainment than
their peers.37 Evidence shows about 50 per cent of children in care score below the national
benchmarks for numeracy and literacy, and only a small percentage go on to complete year 12 or
equivalent.38 Consequently, young people leaving care rarely transition to higher education and
thus miss out on the valuable opportunities that higher education can provide.
Further, many children in care are doubly disadvantaged, with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children, children with disabilities, those from low socioeconomic backgrounds and regional areas
of Victoria being over-represented in care.39 For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
children were eight times as likely as non-Aboriginal children to be receiving child protection
services, and 42 per cent of children who were the subject of a child protection substantiation were
from the lowest socioeconomic status category. 40
A review of out-of-home care leavers by La Trobe University identified a number of strategies to
help support their educational outcomes including:

Encouraging and supporting carers to create a home environment that is supportive of
education, including carer training where necessary (e.g. Parents as Educators);

More consistent use of education plans, including input from the children and young people
themselves
31
Curtis D et al., Op. Cit., p.25.
Out-of-home care covers relative/kinship care, foster care, residential care, family group homes, and independent living.
33
A Harvey, P McNamara, L Andrewartha, M Luckman, Out of care, into university: Raising higher education access and achievement
of care leavers, La Trobe University, Melbourne 2015.
34
CREATE Foundation, Report Card on Education, Sydney, 2006.
35
Ibid., p.10
36
J. J McDowall, Experiencing Out-of-Home Care in Australia: The Views of Children and Young People (CREATE report card 2013),
CREATE Foundation, Sydney, 2013.
37
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. Educational outcomes of children on guardianship or custody orders: a pilot study, Stage 2.
Child Welfare Series no. 49. Cat. no. CWS 37. Canberra, 2011; S Wise, et al., Op. Cit..
38
S Wise, et al., Op. Cit., p. 8.
39
A Harvey, et al., Op. Cit.
40
Ibid., p. viii.
32
16

Maintaining school consistency wherever possible, even when there is a change in
placement

Creating cultural change to raise the expectations that teachers, carers and significant
others have for care leavers

Access to mentoring and role modelling

Taking an integrated approach to welfare and educational case management

Supporting care leavers beyond the age of 18 to help them successfully transition to further
education or training, including providing financial, accommodation and mentoring
assistance.41
Feedback from VCOSS members also suggested that children in out-of-home care would benefit
from access to flexible teaching methods, and one-on-one support to help to them overcome
trauma and other barriers to education. Other suggested improvements include teacher training in
understanding trauma and managing difficult behaviours, to enable them to respond more
effectively to this group of students. There was a concern that suspensions or exclusion from class
may causes further disengagement for this vulnerable group of students.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Victorians
Despite some gains in recent years, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander42 children and young
people continue to be one of the most educationally disadvantaged groups in Australia. Results
from the 2012 AEDC, indicate Aboriginal children were twice as likely as non-Aboriginal children to
be developmentally vulnerable in their first year of school, and are nearly four times as likely to be
developmentally vulnerable in the domains of language and cognitive skills.43
This trend continues into secondary school, with results from the 2012 PISA revealing that 15year-old Aboriginal students are more than two-and-a-half years behind their non-Aboriginal peers
across the three key measures (mathematical literacy, scientific literacy and reading literacy).44
Further, education attainment is significantly lower for Aboriginal people, with Australian Bureau of
Statistics (ABS) data indicating less than half of Aboriginal Australians aged 20 years and over had
completed Year 12 or a Certificate III or above.45 These persistent gaps in educational outcomes in
early childhood education and school serve to limit the post-school options of Aboriginal young
people, which can perpetuate intergenerational cycles of disadvantage. Aboriginal Australians may
be more likely than other Australians to face barriers to participating in higher education and
41
A Harvey et al., Op. Cit., p. viii.
The term ‘Aboriginal’ will be used to represent Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander s
43
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, The health and welfare of Australia’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, 2015,
Cat. no. IHW 147, Canberra, AIHW, 2015.
44
T Dreise and S Thomson, Unfinished business: PISA shows Indigenous youth are being left behind, ACER, Victoria, 2014.
http://research.acer.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1037&context=indigenous_education
45
ABS, Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Health Survey: Updated Results, 2012–13, cat. no. 4727.0.55.001, ABS,
Canberra 2014.
42
17
training, including financial barriers, family responsibilities, and living in areas without access to
suitable educational institutions.
Some key strategies shown to be effective in increasing educational attainment and school
completion among Aboriginal children and young people include:

Developing a supportive school culture and strong leadership: this includes
developing a shared vision across the school community, having high expectations of staff
and student success, being responsive to individual needs and having the Aboriginal
community’s involvement in planning and providing education.

School-wide strategies: where strategies that help improve student engagement and
reduce early leaving rates are adopted across the school for all students, including
providing a broad and flexible curriculum that can accommodate a wide range of student
interests and skills including VET options.

Student-focused strategies: such as programs that meet the individual or group needs of
at-risk students, with strong links to community agencies and youth workers to support
students’ wellbeing. Examples include investment in early intervention literacy and
numeracy programs, mentoring, school engagement programs and intensive case
management.46
All of this needs to be underpinned by genuine collaboration and engagement with the local
Aboriginal community to ensure programs and services are responsive to need and maintain
cultural awareness and sensitivity when working with Aboriginal, young people and their families.47
Learners from CALD or refugee backgrounds
Children and young people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds are a
diverse group with a range of language abilities. The specific challenges they face may also vary
based on the cultural group with which they identify; the lengths of time they have been in
Australia; their reasons for coming to Australia, and the level of support they receive from their
families and community.48 Refugees are likely to have very different needs from other migrants.
While these groups face a range of challenges, they also possess unique strengths. Research
suggests that bilingualism is associated with a range of cognitive advantages that can assist in
academic performance, including increased attention skills, improved early reading skills, social
and emotional development.49 However, CALD children who are not fully proficient in English when
46
S Helme and S Lamb, Closing the school completion gap for Indigenous students: Resource sheet no. 6 for the Closing the Gap
Clearinghouse, AIHW, 2011, http://www.aihw.gov.au/uploadedFiles/ClosingTheGap/Content/Publications/2011/ctgc-rs06.pdf
47
G LeBon and J Boddy, ‘Working with vulnerable primary school aged children and their families: a review of the Australian literature
on key principles, issues, and community level approaches’, Journal of Social Inclusion, 1:1, 53-73, 2010, p. 59.
48
G Hugo, K McDougall, G Tan, H Feist, The CALD Youth Census Report 2014, Australian Population and Migration Research Centre
(APMRC), University of Adelaide on behalf of the Multicultural Youth Advocacy Network (MYAN) Australia, 2014, p.16,
http://cmy.net.au/sites/default/files/publication-documents/CALD%20Census%20Report_Digital.pdf.
49
S Goldfeld, J Mithen, L Barber, M O’Connor, M Sayers and S Brinkman, The AEDI Language Diversity Study Report, Centre for
Community Child Health, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute, Melbourne, 2011, p.6.
18
they start school may face challenges. This is confirmed by the Gonski report, which found that
among CALD school students, the stronger predictor of poor performance was a lack of English
language proficiency.50 The most disadvantaged group was refugee students with limited English
language skills.51
While low levels of English language skills is a key barrier to educational attainment, refugee and
CALD children and young people may also face a number of other barriers including:





Having limited, disrupted or no previous formal education experience: those with limited or
no previous formal education may be illiterate in their own language, creating greater
difficulties in learning English.
Needing greater support to understand appropriate school behaviour, expectations and
requirements
Being placed at a level that is age-appropriate but not appropriate for their abilities or
educational needs, due to rigid education system structures
Having unrealistic family expectations placed on them about their educational progress.
This could lead to young people entering secondary school before they are ready, or
pursuing tertiary education or training courses beyond their academic level or language
abilities.
Suffering from mental or physical health issues as a result of experiencing trauma or the
effects of long durations displacement situations.52
The Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia highlights some ways the education
system can help to address these issues, including:





Increasing the cultural competency and sensitivity of teachers to enable staff to identify,
and cater for the needs of young people, including refugees who may have experienced a
disrupted education as well as significant trauma
Implementing mentoring and peer mentoring programs
Providing tailored support for young CALD people who have literacy or learning problems
Using flexible teaching methods based on the educational needs of the students and their
level of educational attainment, as opposed to age alone
Providing a range of extra-curricular activities to help students from new and emerging
community backgrounds better engage with their school peers.53
Same-sex attracted, intersex and gender diverse (SSAIGD) learners
A 2015 Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) report found that young SSAIGD people
face unique challenges in the education environment, related directly to their sense of difference
50
D Gonski et al., Op. Cit., p.118
Ibid., p.118
Federation of Ethnic Communities’ Councils of Australia (FECCA), Better beginnings. Better futures. Improving Outcomes for New
and Emerging Communities, FECCA, 2014, pp. 2-4.
53
Ibid., pp. 5-6.
51
52
19
and the attitudes of their peers and families.54 This report highlighted a number of issues, including
concerns about the safety of young SSAIGD people identifying in schools, a lack of inclusive
school policies around SSAIGD representation, a lack of understanding of the distinct needs of
young SSAIGD people, and discrimination affecting access to education. The AHRC report builds
on a longitudinal survey, which found school was the most common place for young people to
experience physical or verbal abuse, with 80 per cent of incidents occurring at school.55
These findings suggest more needs to be done to support the safety and wellbeing of young
SSAIGD people and to create supportive environments within all areas of education. One program
having a positive impact is the Safe Schools Coalition.56 This is a national coalition dedicated to
helping schools become safer and more inclusive for SSAIGD students, teachers and families.
Membership is free and available to Australian schools across all sectors. Joining the coalition
represents a commitment from the school to making their school community safe and free from
homophobic and transphobic bullying and discrimination. The coalition provides schools with
professional development, staff and student audits, resources, tailored support and guidance
around specific issues. Membership has now grown to 190 schools in Victoria and the coalition has
received strong support from the broader community.57
Learners experiencing chronic illness
A growing number of children and young people are surviving and managing chronic and complex
health conditions as a result of advances in medicine. While there is a lack of data about the
educational outcomes of these students, a 2015 report by The Victoria Institute found that chronic
health conditions were causing young people to miss significant amounts of schooling. For
example, 63 per cent of students had missed school over a combined period of up to one year and
over 10 per cent had missed periods equating to more than three years of schooling.58 These
absences are highly detrimental to learning, but at times can go unnoticed, particularly for students
who have frequent or intermittent absences, rather than long periods of time away from school.59
Even when these students are at school, they may be experiencing pain, fatigue or depression,
which further impacts on their ability to learn in the classroom.
The Victoria Institute report also revealed that in general these young people are not being
adequately supported in the education system.60 Some of the key issues identified included a lack
54
Australian Human Rights Commission, Resilient Individuals: Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity & Intersex Rights: National
Consultation Report, AHRC, 2015.
55
L Hillier, T Jones, M Monagle, N Overton, L Gahan, J Blackman and A Mitchell, Writing Themselves In 3: The third national study on
the sexual health and wellbeing of same sex attracted and gender questioning young people, Australian Research Centre in Sex, Health
and Society, La Trobe University , Melbourne, 2010.
56
Safe schools coalition Victoria, http://safeschoolscoalitionvictoria.org.au/ ; Safe Schools Coalition Australia,
http://www.safeschoolscoalition.org.au/who-we-are
57
Safe schools coalition Victoria, Op. Cit.; Australian Human Rights Commission, Op. Cit., p. 43.
58
White J and Rosauer K, Young Australians, illness and education: Report on the national database project, The Victoria Institute,
Melbourne, 2015, p.43.
59
Ibid.
60
White J and Rosauer K, Op. Cit.
20
of effective communication between the education system and the health system; a lack of
understanding by some teachers about the challenges these students are facing; low educational
expectations of the students themselves; and the lack of educational policy around managing
young people with chronic health issues. These factors can result in inequities and exclusion for
students experiencing chronic illness. The study also found many of these students were
frequently bullied.
Given the importance of education to children’s future social, wellbeing and economic outcomes,
changes are required to increase support and better meet the needs of these students. Some key
themes identified in the research included the importance of increasing the connection and
communication between students and their schools, during periods of absence from school, as
well as increasing collaboration between teachers, parents, students, health professionals, school
nurses and school counsellors.61 Communicating directly with individual students is also vital,
given that health conditions affecting students are highly individualised. School systems need to
account for schools’ obligations to actively support students who are recuperating at home, or
attending school while managing challenging health conditions.
Key recommendations from the 2015 Victoria Institute report included:

Establishing guidelines and procedures for schools regarding how to support students with
health conditions, including providing reasonable adjustment, as well as helping schools to
understand their legal obligations to support these students

Systematically identifying and monitoring students who have health conditions to ensure
better support for both individuals and the cohort as a whole

Developing a comprehensive checklist for use by families, teachers and health
professionals that supports clear communication and monitoring for students

Undertaking further research to better inform future policy practice. 62
Learners with disability or additional healthcare needs
About one fifth of children start school with a developmental or health problem, which if not
adequately supported in the early stages can lead to poor academic achievement, poor school
adjustment and potentially, disengagement from school.63 These children and young people need
additional support to help them stay on track, particularly those who face multiple forms of
disadvantage.64
While a small percentage of these children (4 per cent) have a formally diagnosed condition (such
as learning and behavioural difficulties) a much a larger proportion (18 percent) have emerging
61
White J and Rosauer K, Op. Cit., pp. 77-78.
White J and Rosauer K, Op. Cit., pp. 83.
M O’Connor, S Howell-Meurs, A Kvalsvig and S Goldfeld, ‘Understanding the impact of special health care needs on early school
functioning, a conceptual model’, Child: Care, Health and Development, May 2014.
64
D Gonski et al., Op. Cit.
62
63
21
concerns, (such as speech difficulties, problems at home and emotional problems).65 As a result
these young people are not eligible for support under the current diagnosis-based model used
within the Victorian Program for Students with Disabilities. It is therefore recommend this model be
expanded to consider a broader range of factors influencing a child’s functioning, including risk and
protective factors, and school progress. This will help ensure a broader range of children with
significant support needs can access additional services and will help to better target the support
available to children most at risk.
The conceptual model outlined in Figure 1 provides a useful alternative framework to help
understand the impact of special healthcare needs on early school functioning.66 This model
suggests a child’s needs can be better understood and addressed by considering the full range of
factors that affect their learning, including family and community supports, as well as risk and
protective factors. It considers four interrelated domains of children’s functioning: body functions
and structures, activities of daily living, social participation and education participation. These
domains can be affected by a range of risk and protective factors such as socioeconomic status,
the quality of interactions between the family and school system, and parental engagement in the
child’s learning and development.
65
S Goldfeld, M O’Connor, M Sayers, T Moore and F Oberklaid, ‘Prevalence and Correlates of Special Health Care Needs in a
Population Cohort of Australian Children at School Entry’, Journal of Developmental Behavioural Paediatrics, 2012, 33:319–327.
66
M O’Connor, et al., Op. Cit.
22
Figure 1: Conceptual model of the relationship between special healthcare needs and children’s
school progress
Learners in rural and regional Victoria
There is a significant gap in education outcomes between rural and metropolitan students in
regards to school attendance, engagement and performance.67 Children and young people living in
rural areas often face additional risk factors such as having less access to health and social
services than their urban counterparts, a lack of accessible alternative education models (both
within and outside of mainstream education) and being more likely to have lower educational
aspirations.68 They may also need to travel considerable distances to access services and
education facilities. Limited public transport options can create further barriers, particularly for
families that don’t own a private vehicle. Often students need to move away from home to attend
further education and training, creating further financial difficulties.
For children and families who already experience disadvantage, this combination of factors can be
very challenging. Almost a quarter of families living in rural Victoria experience a high level of
socioeconomic disadvantage and more than half of Victorian’s Aboriginal population live in rural
67
68
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Access to education for rural students, Victoria, 2014
Ibid.
23
areas.69 Anecdotal evidence suggests many families experiencing poverty and disadvantage,
particularly single parent families, are moving to rural areas due to the lower cost of living in those
areas. However they are then faced with poorer access to education and services, which
compounds their disadvantage. Providing access to local, accessible and high quality education,
along with targeted support, is critical to improving rural students’ wellbeing and educational
outcomes.
69
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Access to education for rural students, 2014.
24
Creating an inclusive and accessible
education system
Recommendation: That DET supports all aspects of the education system to be
inclusive and accessible for all Victorian learners.
Early childhood
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government fully funds universal access to
three-year-old kindergarten and aims to improve vulnerable children’s rate of
participation.
Recommendation: That DET aims to increase participation rates in four-year-old
kindergarten, particularly for vulnerable children.
Recommendation: That DET fund the continuum of playgroups in Victoria to help
increase participation rates of children aged 0-4 in playgroup, and to support and
enhance the delivery of these playgroups.
School years
Recommendation: That DET provide schools with more dedicated resources to
support vulnerable students.
Recommendation: That more ‘joined-up’ services are provided to better support
students through a stronger interface between schools and the community sector and
through enabling schools to work more closely together to support students moving
between schools.
Recommendation: That schools are supported and encouraged to retain students at
risk of disengaging from the universal school system, and in managing students who
misbehave, to reduce the reliance on suspensions and expulsions.
Vocational Education and Training
Recommendation: That DET revises VET funding models to reflect the additional
costs of providing education to vulnerable students and the higher costs associated with
operating in rural and regional areas.
Recommendation: That DET delivers targeted initiatives to improve the enrolment and
engagement of vulnerable learners in the VET system.
Recommendation: That DET considers options for better matching training
opportunities to job opportunities and high growth industries.
25
Recommendation: That the quality control and auditing process of the VET system
and its providers is strengthened, to better protect vulnerable learners.
Universal services including early childhood services and schools are uniquely placed to identify
signs of early vulnerability and to implement strategies that improve young people’s wellbeing and
life outcomes. Similarly, Vocational Education and Training (VET) providers play an important role
in supporting vulnerable learners to overcome to workforce participation barriers, and provide an
important pathway to employment. To adequately support vulnerable learners of all ages to access
and fully participate in the full range of educational opportunities available, early childhood
services, schools and VET institutions need to be inclusive and accessible to all members of the
community. This includes being culturally sensitive, located near the communities they are
servicing, having adequate transport options, being physically accessible, particularly for people
with disabilities, and being welcoming to all members of the community.70
While education providers are of course crucial in supporting the wellbeing of children, young
people and adult learners, they can’t do it alone. Education providers need to be well connected to
a range of community and health services to be able to link vulnerable learners and their families
with the additional, targeted supports they need. Vulnerable learners and their families need a
strong system to support them with a broad range of services and interventions to meet their
specific and often complex needs.71 Together, universal services, education providers and targeted
services can help support Victoria’s vulnerable children, young people and adult learners to access
the support they need to fulfill their potential.
Early childhood
There is strong evidence that a child’s pre-school years lay the foundations for their optimal
development, and for later success at school. Many problems presenting in school-aged children,
such as physical and mental health issues, low academic outcomes and difficulties with social
adjustment, can be traced back to early childhood.72 A high quality, accessible early childhood
education system, and early family interventions, can help prevent these issues from developing
by supporting children’s learning and development and setting them on a positive trajectory.
Longitudinal studies have shown quality early childhood education for vulnerable children can bring
significant benefits, including higher levels of school performance, reduced need for special
education and higher school completion rates.73 A recent study by the University of Adelaide also
found high quality childcare, which includes warm relationships and activities that foster early
70
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.
Ibid.
72
Ibid., p. 4.
73
J Currie, ‘Early childhood education programs’ Journal of Economic Perspectives, 15(2), 2001, p. 213.
71
26
learning, can help address developmental gaps in children from low socioeconomic backgrounds.74
Despite these benefits, too many children experiencing disadvantage are either not participating in
the early childhood education and care programs or accessing the additional support they need
once they are participating.
Investing in high quality, accessible early childhood education and care services, such as maternal
and child health, playgroups, and universal access to kindergarten, delivers significant benefits to
children, their families and the broader community, as well as delivering economic returns.
Playgroups, which are are a highly effective way of developing children’s learning in the years
before kindergarten i.e. 0-2, as well as complementing kindergarten attendance for three-year-old
and four-year-old children.
VCOSS members highlight the importance of integrating early childhood education programs,
including playgroups, with other community services and schools to better support vulnerable
families and improve children’s transitions to school. Evidence suggests that integrated service
models that incorporate early childhood learning and care with parental support programs and
other family health and community support services, can result in significant benefits to children.75
Further recommendations about the integration of services to support vulnerable families are
discussed under ‘Integrated service models’.
Universal access to kindergarten
One of the strengths identified in the current education system is the provision of universal access
to four-year-old kindergarten. This has led to Victoria’s enrolment rate rising from 91.4 per cent in
2006 to 97.9 per cent in 2012.76 Children who participate in at least one year of kindergarten have
on average, higher overall development, learning and cognitive, and social-emotional outcomes,
than children who have not participated.77 It is vital that continued investment in 15 hours of fouryear-old kindergarten at both the state and federal levels of government is secured.
VCOSS believes it is essential to capitalise on this investment by DET fully funding universal
access to three-year-old kindergarten. This is particularly important for children from low-income
families, where costs pose a significant barrier to participation. In recent years, many OECD
countries have expanded their publicly funded pre-primary education programs, particularly among
European countries.78 A 2014 OECD report indicates the concept of universal access to education
for children between the ages of three and six years is generally accepted in Europe:
74
A Gialamas, M.N Mittinty, M G Sawyer, S.R Zubrick, J Lynch, ‘Social inequalities in childcare quality and their effects on children's
development at school entry: findings from the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children’, Journal Epidemiology and Community Health ,
2015.
75
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit., p. 1.
76
DEECD, State of Victoria’s Children 2012: Early childhood: A report on how Victoria’s young children are faring, Melbourne, 2012, p.
68.
77
C Gong et. al., Op. Cit.
78
OECD, Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD, 2014, p. 323, http://www.oecd.org/edu/Education-at-a-Glance2014.pdf
27
“Most countries in this region [Europe] provide all children with at least two years of free, publicly
funded pre-primary education in schools before they begin primary education. With the exception
of Ireland and the Netherlands, such access is generally a statutory right from the age of 3, and in
some countries, even before then.”79
These policies are reflected in the high participation rates of three-year-olds in early childhood
education among many European countries. In the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, France,
Germany, Iceland, Italy, Norway, Spain and Sweden, participation rates of three-year-olds in early
childhood education are over 90 per cent.80 In comparison, Australia performs poorly, with only 18
percent of three-year-olds participating in early childhood education, well below these European
countries and the OECD average of 70 per cent.81 Australia’s investment in pre-primary education,
0.1 per cent of GDP, is also well below the OECD average of 0.6 per cent of GDP.82
Figure 2: Enrolment rates of three-year-old children in early childhood education (2005 and 2012)
Source: OECD, Education at a Glance 2014: OECD Indicators, OECD, 2014
Engaging in learning and development opportunities earlier and spending more hours at
kindergarten can significantly improve school success and bring long-lasting benefits, particularly
for vulnerable children. Investing in universal access to three-year-old kindergarten will help to
buffer the adverse effects of the Australian Government’s proposed Child Care Assistance
package.83 Australian Council of Social Service (ACOSS) and VCOSS members have raised
concerns about changes to activity test requirements under the new package, which will result in
79
OECD, Education at a Glance 2014, Op. Cit., p. 324
Ibid.
81
OECD, ‘PF3.2: Enrolment in childcare and pre-schools’, OECD Family Database, OECD, Paris, 2015, p.3.
(www.oecd.org/social/family/database.htm
82
OECD, Education at a Glance 2014, Op. Cit.
83
Regulation Impact Statement Child Care Assistance Package, June 2015, http://www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2015/06/RIS-for-the-Child-Care-Assistance-Package.pdf
80
28
many children from low-income families missing out on 12 hours of early childhood education and
care per week.84
While significant progress has been made to raise the participation rates in four-year-old
kindergarten, some vulnerable children are still missing out. Evidence suggests that vulnerable
children benefit the most from quality early childhood education and care and bring the highest
returns on investment.85 Children from low-income families who have not had the benefits of early
childhood education are more likely to enter primary school behind their peers. These initial
educational difficulties are associated with a range of long-term adverse effects, including early
school leaving.86 Further work is required to ensure all children are able to access 15 hours per
week of high quality kindergarten.
A program achieving positive results with vulnerable children is the Early Start Kindergarten
program.87 The Early Start Kindergarten program provides 15 hours of free or low-cost three-yearold kindergarten to Aboriginal children and children known to Child Protection. However there are
significant numbers of children who may be eligible for Early Start Kindergarten but are not
accessing the program. It is recommended action be taken to improve vulnerable children’s access
to and participation in this program.
Playgroups
Playgroups are a simple, low-cost and highly effective way of engaging parents in their children’s
education in the early years before school. Playgroups actively involve parents and children
together in learning and are often the first experience parents have of being their child’s educator.
Research indicates children who consistently attend playgroups are better prepared for
kindergarten and school, especially children experiencing disadvantage.88 Playgroups are an ideal
way to engage parents early and prepare them for ongoing involvement in their child’s education,
as well as setting children on a positive education trajectory.
There are two main forms of playgroups in Victoria:

Community playgroups: run by parents

Supported playgroups: run by professionals for families experiencing disadvantage.
84
ACOSS, New child care investment welcome, but overall package is unbalanced and unfair, 2015.
http://www.acoss.org.au/media_release/new_child_care_investment_welcome_but_overall_package_is_unbalanced_and_unf/
85
Committee for Economic Development, Op. Cit.
86
T Vinson T and M Rawsthorne, Dropping off the Edge: Persistent communal disadvantage in Australia, Jesuit Social Services and
Catholic Social Services Australia, 2015.
87
Early Start Kindergarten, Department of Education and Training, 2015, accessed 24 July 2015,
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/childhood/parents/kindergarten/pages/earlystart.aspx
88
Hancock K, Lawrence D, Mitrou F, Zarb D, Berthelsen D Nicholson J, Zubrick S, ‘The association between playgroup participation,
learning competence and social-emotional wellbeing for children aged four–five years in Australia’, Australasian Journal of Early
Childhood, Volume 37, Number 2, 2012.
29
Community playgroups operate across most of Victoria and support about 30,000 families and
40,000 children.89 They support families of all socioeconomic levels within their local communities
and are an effective way of reaching many families who would otherwise not receive support.
Supported playgroups operate across a spectrum of need, from families with less complex
developmental and parenting issues who have strengths that over time may enable them to
transition into community playgroups, through to families who experience significant vulnerability
and risk and require ongoing participation in supported playgroups until their child transitions to
school.90 Supported playgroups increase opportunities for vulnerable children to learn and develop
through play, and for parents to expand social networks. They also provide a valuable link to other
health and community services.
Research has found continued attendance at playgroups results in positive learning and social
outcomes, particularly for children from disadvantaged backgrounds.91 Playgroups are also an
effective way of connecting vulnerable families to other more targeted supports as they provide a
‘soft’ entry point into community services. Despite the enormous benefits playgroups bring, there is
currently no program in Victoria funding supported playgroups for highly vulnerable families who
require ongoing and intensive support, such as families involved in the child protection and out-ofhome care sectors.
Community playgroups also do not receive any financial government assistance. It is therefore
recommended that the Victorian Government provide resources to support and enhance the full
continuum of playgroups, from the universal base of community playgroups, through to higher end
supported playgroups. If DET were to also aim to increase the participation rates of children aged
0-4 in playgroups, this would further help support the early development of children across Victoria.
Schools
A number of themes emerged during consultations for this submission regarding improvements to
the school system. These included providing greater support to schools to assist students with
additional needs, facilitating stronger links between schools and community services, and
improving the ways schools respond to students who misbehave. Another strong theme to emerge
was the need for the system to better support early school leavers or students who are at risk of
disengaging. These are discussed in the ‘Supporting at-risk and disengaged young people’ section
of this submission.
89
Playgroup Victoria Inc, About Playgroup, 2014, http://www.playgroup.org.au/Home/About-playgroup
Playgroup Victoria Inc, Policy Brief 4: Transition Playgroups, Playgroup Victoria Inc 2014.
91
Hancock K et al., Op. Cit.
90
30
More support to assist students with additional needs
There is broad acknowledgement from VCOSS members that most schools do their best to
support all their students. However, many schools are inadequately resourced to support students
with additional needs, such as those with mental health issues, newly arrived and refugee young
people, and students who are disengaging from school. Some of the key reasons for this include a
lack of funding and a lack of support and guidance from DET, particularly following DET’s January
2013 restructure. This feedback is supported by a recent review of educational attainment and
collaboration in Australia, which found that in general, schools are “not serving the needs of all
students” and the consequence is “a widening gap in inequality”.92
There is strong feedback that schools need more dedicated resources, both within the school
environment and within the community sector, to help support vulnerable students. The current
ratio of Student Support Services Offices (SSSOs) to schools is inadequate to meet growing need
from students. This is particularly the case in growth corridors, which have seen huge increases in
student numbers not matched with additional resources from DET. One primary school in the
Epping North growth corridor of Whittlesea has grown from having about 200 students in 2008 to
1,400 students in 2015, and is set to increase by another 200 students by 2016. This sort of
increase is occurring across the education and community sector in these growth corridors, and
needs to be recognised, adequately resourced and adequately supported.
To help address this issue, some VCOSS members suggested providing greater resources
towards regional approaches of sharing support workers, but other members felt that the current
regional arrangements are not effective, adding considerable administrative costs and travel times.
It is therefore recommended that flexibility is built into any regional model to enable schools to
decide how best to cluster and share resources, rather than having a regional model of support
workers imposed on schools. Other members also highlighted the importance of schools having
flexibility to choose the nature of the services that best meets the needs of their school community.
For example, in schools with a high refugee population, it would be beneficial to engage a social
worker who has experience working with refugee families.
Integration with community services and other schools
The lack of integration between schools and health and community services was identified as an
area to improve on in creating the Education State. VCOSS members suggested a stronger
interface between schools and the community sector is needed to help provide more ‘joined-up’
services that better support students. Some members highlighted the need to facilitate community
and school partnerships at the regional level. However, it was also suggested that a dedicated
resource both within and outside of schools may help to facilitate links between schools, other
92
T Bentley and C Cazaly, Op. Cit., p. 1.
31
education providers and community services, such as ChildFIRST and Integrated Family Services.
As well as needing better links with the community sector, there was a strong sense that schools
need to be better supported to work with one another. This is particularly important for students
moving between schools, either voluntarily or as result of expulsions, to help continue their
education seamlessly.
Changes to the way schools address misbehavior
Another area for improvement identified by VCOSS members relates to how the system manages
students who misbehave at school. The adverse effects of punishing students by taking them out
of class or in more extreme cases, suspending students for misbehaviour, was highlighted by
members, particularly the effects on highly vulnerable groups, such as children in out-of-home
care.
There are often complex issues leading to students misbehaving in class, which may often be
associated with poor academic performance. As a result, missing individual classes or days of
schooling puts these students further behind academically, as they may miss important
components of the curriculum. It also does not address the underlying causes of the behavior. In
working to become the Education State, other means of disciplining children and young people
while also addressing the underlying causes of behaviour need to be considered. Teachers also
need to be trained and resourced in how to best manage these situations.
The adverse effects that flow from expelling students was also a common concern raised by
VCOSS members, and was highlighted as an area of significant stress for schools. While schools
generally try to do the right thing by students, anecdotal evidence suggests that in a number of
cases there is limited follow-up provided to students who are expelled. It is therefore left up to
individual families to negotiate with a new school to take on the expelled student. For young people
without strong family support this is particularly problematic. It can result in significant delays in a
young person enrolling in a new school, leading to them falling behind in the curriculum and in a
small number of cases, resulting in early school leaving.93 It also fails to address the core issues
underlying the behaviour.
In some parts of Victoria, particularly in rural areas, there may only be one school, which means a
student may have to travel a considerable distance to attend a new school, compounding the
disadvantage for vulnerable students.
It is recommended that a more robust process is developed for managing school expulsions, to
ensure young people who have been expelled from one school are assisted to quickly enroll with
another. One possibility put forward by members was that a regional approach to supporting
93
Department of Education and Training, The On Track Survey 2014: The Destination of School Leavers in Victoria, Melbourne, 2014,
p. 33.
32
students be taken. Consideration also needs to be given to how best to manage school expulsions
in areas with only one local school.
Empowering students and supporting their wellbeing
It is well established that a student’s health and wellbeing can affect their learning and academic
performance at school.94 Schools can support students’ educational outcomes, as well as their
overall wellbeing, by providing a supportive learning environment that promotes good physical and
mental health, and by fostering student’s social and emotional development.95 This can be
achieved through targeted programs, as well as through incorporating a focus on wellbeing into the
school curriculum.
There has been growing awareness of the importance of building resilience in children and young
people, with evidence suggesting resilience can be a protective factor against social or
psychological health problems.96 The Building Resilience in School Communities Program is a
positive initiative aimed at supporting Victorian government schools to build the resilience and
wellbeing of their students.97 Grants have been awarded to 117 Victorian government schools to
implement this program and the findings from it could be used to inform the expansion of this
program across the state.
Similarly, VCOSS’ submission to the Royal Commission into Family Violence highlighted the
important role schools can play in fostering positive attitudes and promoting healthy relationships.
By incorporating the promotion of equal and healthy relationships between men and women into
broader school policies and approaches, schools can help young people form viewpoints and
understandings that help prevent family violence. This includes promoting equal gender
opportunities for leadership roles and representative groups, encouraging equal participation in
sports and activities, and a range of other measures to promote gender equity within the school
context.
Feedback from VCOSS members also focused on ways schools could help empower students and
build leadership qualities through the curriculum. Empowering students may better equip children
and young people to break cycles of poverty and disadvantage. One suggestion was to introduce
the teaching of ethics in schools, to help create harmony and cohesion, as well as teaching
students how to think and reason. Another model suggested was the teaching of restorative
practice to help reduce bullying and to encourage children to work together to solve issues and
problems for themselves.
94
Public Health England, Op. Cit.; T Bentley and C Cazaly, Op. Cit., p. 50.
Public Health England, Op. Cit.
96
H Cahill, S Beadle, A Farrelly, R Forster and K Smith, Building resilience in children and young people: A literature review for the
Department of Early Childhood Development (DEECD), Youth Research Centre, Melbourne Graduate School of Education, University
of Melbourne, Melbourne, 2014, p.14 http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/department/resiliencelitreview.pdf
97
DET, Building Resilience: A Model to Support Children and Young People, DET, 2015,
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/department/Pages/resilienceframework.aspx?Redirect=1, accessed 27 July 2015.
95
33
Vocational Education and Training (VET)
The 2015 VCOSS submission to the VET Funding Review highlights the important role of VET in
providing a pathway to employment and tackling a range of barriers to workforce participation,
including long-term unemployment, early school leaving, low literacy or numeracy skills, and the
need to retrain or upskill. VET also provides a very important education pathway for Aboriginal
students, students from rural and regional areas, and students from culturally diverse
backgrounds. However, recent funding changes, cuts and inadequate quality control of VET
providers, have negatively affected the ability of this sector to support young people and adult
learners experiencing disadvantage. Recent data shows a considerable drop in enrolments for a
number of vulnerable student groups, including a 12 per cent drop in enrolments of students in
regional areas, compared with a seven per cent drop in metropolitan Melbourne,98 and a 10 per
cent drop in enrolments for Aboriginal students.99 There has also been a drop in course enrolments
for other vulnerable groups, including students from CALD backgrounds and students with
disability, particularly in relation to Certificate I and II levels, which are important pathways into
higher level courses.100
VCOSS recommends VET funding models be modified to reflect the additional costs of providing
education to higher-needs students, including young people disengaged from education, young
people who are not employed, students with disability, Aboriginal students, students from CALD
backgrounds and workers with a low skills base who have been retrenched. Adequate resourcing
is also needed to enable rural and regional students to access local education institutions,
including TAFEs, so that distance is not barrier to their continued education and training. These
changes could be supported by targeted initiatives to improve enrolments and engagement of
people who face barriers to accessing vocational education.
There have been concerns raised about the provision of quality training from some for-profit
Registered Training Organisations (RTOs), including subcontracting delivery, providing 100 per
cent online delivery, and allowing students to complete qualifications in less than a quarter of the
nominal duration.101 There have also been reports of providers engaging in unscrupulous
enrolment practices, including signing up students to VET FEE Help loans102 they have little
realistic prospect of repaying.
To better protect the needs of young people and adult learners facing disadvantage, it is
recommended the quality control and auditing process of the VET system is strengthened by
placing a strong emphasis on all providers’ accountability to stakeholders. Other options to
98
Department of Education and Training Victoria, Victorian Training Market Report 2014. Melbourne, 2015, p.29.
Ibid., p. 75.
100
Ibid.
101
S Yu & D Oliver, The capture of Public Wealth by the for-profit VET sector: A report prepared for the Australian Education Union, The
University of Sydney, Sydney, 2015, pp. 4-5.
102
VET FEE-HELP is an Australian Government loan scheme that assists eligible students to pay their tuition fees for higher-level VET
courses (at the diploma-level and above) undertaken at approved VET FEE-HELP providers (approved VET providers).
99
34
strengthen the system include controlling the use of subcontracting, restricting the role of
‘enrolment brokers’ and requiring RTOs to attract students to their courses through transparent
provision of information. This could be supported by a complaints mechanism to help report and
deal with poor provider performance in the VET system. The system also needs to provide
students with access to adequate information and advice to make informed decisions about
appropriate courses and providers.
The VCOSS submission to the VET Funding Review provides further details of the
recommendations aimed to ensure the VET system is accessible to those in our community who
may face barriers to accessing vocational education, and for the VET system to provide a pathway
to meaningful employment. VCOSS is also preparing a submission to phase two of the VET
Funding Review in response to the recently released issues paper.103
103
M Mackenzie and N Coulson, Vocational Education and Training Funding Review Issues Paper, July 2015, Victorian Government,
Melbourne, http://vetfundingreview.vic.gov.au/docs/vetissuespaper_WEB.pdf
35
Supporting at-risk and disengaged
young people
Recommendation: That schools be supported to retain students at risk of disengaging.
Recommendation: That alternative education settings and programs are viewed as a
legitimate pathway for young people and accordingly resourced to increase their
coverage across the entire state.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government invests in an education reengagement program that provides intensive, case-managed support targeting students
who are at risk of disengaging, or have already disengaged, from school.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government provides greater resources to
programs that promote partnerships between schools and community organisations,
and provides practical support to schools to assist young people at risk of disengaging.
Early school leavers
Despite the legal requirement in Victoria for students to remain at school until they are 17 years
old, more than 10,000 Victorian students disengage from school every year.104 Evidence suggests
educational disengagement is also starting younger, with patterns of irregular attendance often
commencing early in primary school years.105 The under-16 projects by the Hume, Whittlesea and
Moreland Local Learning and Employment Networks (LLENs)106 found that late arrival to school
and non-attendance starts as early as Grade 1 and continues through to secondary school. These
projects found the number of students disengaging steadily increases from the age of 13 to 15,
with cases of young people who had disengaged as early as 11 and 12 years old.
The adverse effects of early school leaving both for the individuals and for broader society are well
documented. Early school leavers are vulnerable to financial hardship, increased risk of physical
and mental health issues, greater susceptibility to drug and alcohol misuse and homelessness and
have higher probabilities of being involved in the justice system.107 The Brotherhood of St
Laurence’s Social Exclusion Monitor found early school leavers are more than two-and-a-half
104
Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Op. Cit.
Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, Op. Cit., p.6,
106
Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, Op. Cit.; Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, The Whittlesea Under
16 Project, 2012, http://www.melbournepolytechnic.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/Whittlesea-Under-16-ProjectReport.pdf?redirect=true ; Inner Northern Local Learning and Employment Network Inc, U16: Invisible & Ineligible: The Moreland Under
16 Project, 2012, http://inllen.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Moreland-Under-16-Report-Final-1.pdf.
107
Deloitte Access Economics, Op. Cit.
105
36
times more likely to experience deep social exclusion than those who complete Year 12.108 This
means that these young people “experience at least four different sorts of disadvantage in their
lives, such as being on a low income, having little work experience, not being involved in
community clubs or associations and not being socially active.” 109
Figure 3: Deep Exclusion in Australia by Education, 2003-12
Source: The Brotherhood of St Laurence and the Melbourne Institute, 2014
There are multiple and often interrelated factors that lead to young people disengaging from
school, including both systemic barriers to completing their schooling as well as individual factors
operating within and outside of school. Some of the well documented factors that lead to early
school leaving include financial barriers, homelessness, academic difficulties and mental and
108
Brotherhood of St Laurance, Social Exclusion Monitor: Data tables: Social exclusion in Australia by education, %, 2003–12: BSL,
2014, http://www.bsl.org.au/research-and-publications/social-exclusion-monitor/data-tables/#c1078
109
Brotherhood of St Laurance, Social Exclusion Monitor, BSL, 2015, accessed 23 July 2-15, http://www.bsl.org.au/research-andpublications/social-exclusion-monitor/, accessed 16 July 2015.
37
physical health problems.110 However, other cited factors include expulsion from school, poor
transitions from primary to secondary school, high mobility resulting in frequent changing of
schools, young people with disability who are ineligible for additional support or special school
education, family dysfunction, lack of parental engagement or aspirations for their children, caring
responsibilities and online bullying.111 For early school leavers below the age of 15, the limited
availably of education and training options was found to be a major reason for not re-engaging with
the education system.112
Regardless of the specific factors, the key theme that emerges is that causes of early school
leaving often relate to ‘push’ factors such as, students not liking school or teachers, having poor
academic performance, being expelled, being bullied or having difficulties with peers, which drive
young people away from the school environment, rather than ‘pull’ factors that attract young people
away from school and into a more attractive pathway, such as an apprenticeship, traineeship or
employment.113 This suggests that our current education system is failing these vulnerable young
people.
In working to become the Education State, a range of strategies are required to address early
school leaving. As well as having a more inclusive education system that better supports children
and young people’s wellbeing, the system needs to provide alternative education options that
recognise the different learning styles of students. This could be combined with strategies to
prevent young people from initially disengaging from school and strategies to help support young
people who have already disengaged to reconnect quickly with education and training through
intensive, case-managed support.
Increase retention of students in mainstream education
A key theme emerging from consultations with VCOSS members was that improvements could be
made to the schooling system to prevent young people disengaging from school. Vulnerable
students often need additional assistance and support in school, however DET provides schools
with limited resources to provide this, in regards to both equity funding and guidance. Further,
there is no financial incentive for schools to retain disadvantaged students after the census dates
in February and August.
VCOSS members suggested reviewing the funding arrangements for schools in relation to school
enrolments and considering building incentives into the system to encourage and support schools
110
D Brown, G Myconos and S Bond, An analysis of the social and economic costs of early school exit, prepared for the Need to
Succeed Symposium, Brotherhood of St Laurence, 2015.
111
Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, Op. Cit.; Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, The Whittlesea Under
16 Project, 2012; Inner Northern Local Learning and Employment Network Inc, Op. Cit.
112
Umemoto A, ‘Early school leavers’ motivations and challenges in engaging in education and training’, in 2014 postgraduate research
papers: a compendium, National Centre for Vocational Education Research, 2014.
113
Brown D, et al., Op. Cit.; ACER, The On Track Survey 2010: The destination of early school leavers in Victoria, prepared for the
Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, Victoria, p.114.
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/research/destination2010ch8.pdf
38
to retain disadvantaged students. Another way to help students remain in education is to
encourage schools to offer alternative education such as VET in Schools (VETiS) or to link
students into an alternative provider such as the Community Victorian Certificate of Applied
Learning (VCAL). Young people facing disadvantage have diverse learning needs that may not be
met through the mainstream schooling system. Providing an incentive to schools to utilise
alternative education options may be an effective way of retaining more students in education.
In cases where student do start to disengage from school, there needs to be rapid intervention to
minimise the time they are not participating in education or training. One suggestion from VCOSS
members is that that a subsidy or loading be given to schools and alternative education providers
that reengage students after they have been out of the education system. All students have a
unique student number, so this provides a mechanism to help identify students not attending
school. From there students can be contacted and supported to reconnect back into education and
training, either through the school, or an alternative education provider. In a number of cases,
students may require additional supports such as intensive case management provided by
community sector organisations to help them to address the barriers they face to participating in
education.
Alternative education programs
Alternative education programs play a key role in enabling young people to remain engaged in
education, particularly those who experience disadvantage. Evidence suggests one-in-five young
people do not complete Year 12 in a linear process from the start to the end of secondary
school.114 Flexible learning programs help fill this gap and provide an alternative setting for these
young people for whom mainstream approaches to school may not work well.
While the design of alternative education programs can vary considerably, an extensive review of
flexible learning programs in Australia by the Victoria Institute at Victoria University 115 found there
are three broad categories, as outlined in Table 1 below.
114
K te Riele, Putting the Jigsaw Together: Flexible Learning programs in Australia: Final Report, The Victoria Institute, 2014, p.18,
http://dusseldorp.org.au/priorities/alternative-learning/jigsaw/
115
Ibid., p. 15.
39
Table 1: Alternative Education Settings
Type of Alternative Education
Description
Programs embedded within
mainstream schools
These programs generally provide students with electives,
extracurricular activities or replacement of regular classes
for part of the school week. These programs may not
directly lead to the attainment of educational credentials,
but work to enable young people to learn and remain
engaged in their school.
Programs delivered within TAFEs
and community colleges
These programs generally offer certificates in general
education, ranging from a Certificate I in Access to Work
and Training through to the Year 12 equivalent Tertiary
Preparation Certificate. Many of these courses were initially
designed for adults, but they increasingly cater for young
people.
Separate alternative programs for
students in Years 9 to 12 who need
more targeted options
These programs usually offer Year 9, 10, 11 and/or 12
education. They can include separate schools that are
independently registered/accredited as well as separate
programs that are governed by a mainstream school or a
TAFE or community college.
Source: Victoria Institute at Victoria University, 2014
Regardless of the design, the key strength of all flexible learning programs is the support they can
provide vulnerable young people to help address the complex issues they may face, such as
around housing, transport, legal issues, health, and childcare issues, while also providing a
supportive learning environment and enabling students to remain engaged in the education
system.116
Alternative education programs that keep vulnerable school-age students engaged in the school
system are highly preferable to situations where a young person is fully transferred to the VET
system and exits school. Training providers do not have the same duty of care responsibilities that
schools have and may lack the capacity to support the wellbeing and learning needs of young
people experiencing disadvantage. Many young people who enrol in standard VET courses end up
dropping out shortly after. Feedback from members suggests that approximately 7,000 Year 9 -11
students exit school each year to enrol in the VET system, however about 6,000 of these young
people have exited entirely from education within 12 months. Transferring entirely to the VET
system may also impact on the young person’s training entitlement under the Victorian Training
Guarantee, limiting their future training options.
116
K te Riele, Op. Cit., p. 30.
40
Despite the clear benefits that quality alternative education programs offer many young people,
lack of access to them remains an issue. The availability of alternative education programs is
uneven across Victoria, and is particularly limited for young people living in rural Victoria.117
Alternative education is often not well promoted to students, which may be partly due to a lack of
knowledge from educators about the available options, as well as the continued stigma associated,
with alternative education being viewed as ‘inferior’. There is also a lack of incentive for schools to
offer alternative education to students, thus limiting access for many students who would benefit
from these programs.
Feedback from VCOSS members also suggests that alternative education models, including both
VETiS and Community VCAL are underfunded. While the Student Resource Guide states that
“VETiS programs are considered standard curriculum, therefore government schools must provide
VETiS tuition free of charge”118 the reality is quite different. The experience of VCOSS members
supporting vulnerable families and young people indicates the VETiS subsidy for students is
substantially lower than the typical costs being charged by VET providers, resulting in a significant
gap in fees, which is pushed on to students and their parents/carers. This ‘vocational loading on
parents’ can provide a significant barrier to young people from low-income families, with some
unable to meet these additional costs. Similarly, feedback indicates that students engaged in
Community VCAL attract only a portion of the funding that their peers in government schools would
attract under the Student Resource Package. In addition, Community VCAL providers do not have
access to the system supports available to schools, such as Student Support Services Officers
(SSSOs). As a result, the most vulnerable young people in the system are further disadvantaged.
In working to become the Education State, we need to recognise that young people learn
differently and have different needs and that not all young people will succeed in mainstream
education settings. Alternative education needs to be valued and seen as a legitimate pathway for
all young people, not considered ‘second best’ or only be available to some students. It is
recommended alternative education programs are properly resourced to increase their coverage
across the entire state and to deliver high quality programs that enable young people to gain
meaningful qualifications, as well as providing wraparound services that help address the complex
barriers that may impact on their learning.
While alternative education programs need to maintain their flexibility to design programs that suit
the particular circumstances of the young people and locations they are operating in, their
expansion should be informed by evidence and best practice principles. For example, Kitty te Riele
at Victoria University has developed a Framework of Quality Flexible Learning Programs, based on
extensive research of Australian flexible learning programs.119 This model highlights attributes
across four dimensions that support successful flexible learning provision, Valued Outcomes,
Actions, Principles and Condition. There are also a number of successful models across both
117
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Access to education for rural students, 2014, p.4.
Department of Education and Training, the Student Resource Package 2015 Guide (confirmed), DET, 2015, p.70.
119
K te Riele, Op. Cit.
118
41
Victoria and Australia that could inform future programs. Two examples include the Melbourne
Academy and the Brotherhood of St Laurence Community VCAL Program.
The Melbourne Academy120
The Melbourne Academy is a flexible learning program run by Melbourne City Mission,
aimed at supporting young people experiencing severe disadvantage to help reconnect
them with education. Many of the students have a two to three year gap in their education
history and face various, and often multiple forms of disadvantage, including:
homelessness, family breakdown, economic hardship, Aboriginal background, refugee
and/or CALD background, disability or illness or are young women who are pregnant or
parenting.
Initially started as a pilot program, it has now grown to be one of the largest community
providers of VCAL in Victoria, with 250 enrolments in 2015 across seven sites. The
Melbourne Academy offers students foundation, intermediate and senior level Victorian
Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) as well as VET Certificates in a number of areas
including community services, music and multimedia. However, it is equally focused on
supporting student wellbeing.
An evaluation of the model was undertaken in 2014 by the Victoria Institute, which found the
vast majority of students experienced significantly better educational and wellbeing
outcomes as a result of attending the Melbourne Academy.121 Improvements were found in
relation to academic achievement, attendance and participation, aspiration and motivation,
connections with peers and community and social and personal wellbeing.
The key characteristics of the model found to contribute to positive outcomes for students
include:

The pairing of a dedicated teacher and youth worker for each site, working together to
provide holistic support to each young person

Providing small classes to help build strong student-to-staff relationships (with a
maximum student-to-staff ratio of 14:1)

Co-location with a range of other youth and community services to extend the range of
professional expertise and supports available to young people.

Having high expectation of students while also providing flexible, individualised support
to help them achieve success

The longer timeframe offered by the academy to provide students with greater stability
and sufficient time to achieve credentials
120
Melbourne City Mission, Melbourne Academy, http://www.melbournecitymission.org.au/services/program-detail/melbourne-academy,
accessed on 17 June 2015.
121
K te Riele, M Davies, A Baker, Passport to a Positive Future: Evaluation of the Melbourne Academy, The Victoria Institute for
Education, Diversity and Lifelong Learning, Melbourne, 2015, http://www.melbournecitymission.org.au/docs/default-source/researchdocuments/passport-to-a-positive-future_evaluation-of-the-melbourne-academy-2015_web.pdf?sfvrsn=2
42

Providing a welcoming environment to all students regardless of their circumstances or
formal enrolment status. Importantly, new students are able to join a classroom
immediately, without waiting for all the paperwork to be processed for the formal
enrolment.
Brotherhood of St Laurence Community VCAL Program122
The Brotherhood of St Laurence Community VCAL Program operates in Melbourne’s southeast and provides a tailored education program for young people aged 15-19 who have left
mainstream schooling, through either mutual agreement or as a result of expulsion. The
program delivers the Foundation, Intermediate and Senior Levels of the Victoria Certificate
of Applied Learning (VCAL) (Years 11 and 12). It combines classroom learning with
vocational training and work placements, as well as access to School Based
Apprenticeships and Traineeships (SBATs), and stand-alone apprenticeships. A key focus
is supporting the wellbeing of all students, many of who have complex needs including:
carer responsibilities, alcohol and drug abuse, homelessness, mental health issues and low
levels of literacy and numeracy.
While the program operates in a community setting, it maintains formal partnerships with
mainstream schools to ensure students remain linked to a government school and are
enrolled concurrently in both educational sectors. The program also maintains partnerships
with vocational training organisations, government agencies and a wide range of youth
support services, to provide more integrated support. Students can be referred to the
program by local schools, community services and the youth justice system.
More support for targeted programs
Intensive case-management program
The loss of the federally funded Youth Connections program in 2014 has resulted in a huge
service gap for at-risk and disengaged young people. Youth Connections supported around 4,600
vulnerable young people in Victoria each year and was highly successful in preventing and
addressing disengagement from school. There is currently no equivalent program in Victoria to
support these vulnerable young people, and other community services are being left to try to fill
122
G Myconos, Lessons from a flexible learning program: The Brotherhood of St Laurence Community VCAL education program for
young people 2010–2013, Brotherhood of St Laurence, Melbourne, 2014; The Victoria Institute for Education, Diversity and Lifelong
Learning, Brotherhood of St Laurence Frankston High Street Centre CVCAL, 2013, http://dusseldorp.org.au/wpcontent/uploads/2014/06/BSL-Frankston-CVCAL-v6.pdf.
43
this service gap. While the Federal Government has announced a Youth Transition to Work
Program as part of its Youth Employment Strategy123 it is currently not clear what the coverage of
this program will be, nor whether it will pick up the strengths of the Youth Connection program,
including its flexibility, capacity to provide intensive support to help address complex barriers and
outreach services to help reach the most disengaged young people in the community.
To support vulnerable young people, it is recommended the Victorian Government invests in an
education reengagement program that provides intensive, case-managed support targeting
students who have disengaged, or are at risk of disengaging from school. This could complement
any federally run program. The program should be based on the following principles:

Case management: individualised support that takes into account the needs of the young
person, their circumstances and the barriers to education their experience

Flexibility: the ability to develop a case plan according to the needs of the young person,
without a strict time limit of prescribed activities

Outcomes-focused: the primary aim is for young people to complete year 12 or an
equivalent and to transition to further study or employment. Progressive outcomes such as
connection to family and improvement in health and wellbeing would also be monitored.

Open referral: referrals can be received from a range of sources, including schools,
families, police, youth justice, employment services and other community agencies

Partnership-based: funded agencies work in partnership with a broad range of local
agencies, including school, policy, local councils and community organisations

Outreach capacity: workers need outreach capacity to support hard-to-reach young
people.
Greater support for existing programs
Consultations with VCOSS members also revealed strong support for programs that provide
tangible supports to schools to support vulnerable students, and services that help build links
between the education, training, community and business sectors, such as School Focused Youth
Services (SFYS) and LLENs.
LLENs play a critical role in supporting young people to remain engaged in education and
successfully transition into meaningful employment.124 LLENs take a place-based approach to
addressing the complex issues faced by young people in the community. They identify and
respond to local services gaps and develop collaborative locally-based responses. The unique
value of LLENs is their role as an independent arbitrator and their ability to work strategically
123
Australian Government, Budget 2015: Youth Employment Strategy, http://budget.gov.au/201516/content/glossy/sml_bus/html/sml_bus-14.htm, accessed 24 June 2015.
124
Department of Education and Training, Local Learning and Employment Networks,
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/programs/pathways/Pages/llens.aspx?Redirect=1.; The Allen Consulting Group, Review of the
Local Learning and Employment Network (LLEN) Model of Network and Partnership Support: Summary Report, Department of
Education and Early Childhood Development, 2012,
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/Documents/about/programs/pathways/llenmodelreviewrpt.pdf.
44
across a region. Their coordination role also helps to provide ‘joined-up’ approaches to respond to
community needs.
LLENs have developed very productive relationships with key stakeholders across the education,
training, community and business sectors, and are well-placed to help drive and support placebased initiatives. They are a strong community resource and play a key role in helping to link
schools with other education providers, health and community services, industry, local government
and state government. DET can utilise the key strategic, coordinating and supporting role of LLENs
to help develop and deliver its policies and planning. DET can further support the needs of young
people, particularly those experiencing disadvantage, by funding LLENs beyond the $32 million
already committed, to become more in line with 2014 funding levels.
While outcomes from the School Focused Youth Services (SFYS) review have not yet been
released, VCOSS members have identified an ongoing need for a program that provides tangible
supports to schools to help young people at risk of disengaging, and promotes partnerships
between schools and community services. Some of the key strengths of the SFYS program that
should be retained include:

Flexibility to respond to local needs, including access to flexible brokerage funding

Ability to coordinate a broad range of stakeholders and gain whole-of-community
commitment to the engagement in learning and retention of young people facing multiple
forms of disadvantage

Community development role, helping to build and support community service
organisations and schools

Supporting pilots of innovative, best-practice models and helping to roll-out effective
models more broadly where appropriate

Conducting research and using data to help inform stakeholders of the issues and effective
responses to youth-based issues

Providing tangible support to schools and other service organisations, such as supporting
schools to navigate services available in the community, developing resources, organising
forums to bring together community service organisations to collaborate on local issues.
45
Improving education funding
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government should allocate a greater proportion
of school funding to the equity-based component, to better support disadvantaged
students and schools.
Recommendation: That the Victorian Government provide greater support to
disadvantaged families to ensure no student is disadvantaged due to the cost of
education.
Recommendation: That the proposed model for determining needs-based funding in
schools be amended to better reflect the full range of factors that indicate disadvantage.
Recommendation: That the education system be ‘developmentally loaded’ in line with
evidence showing the crucial brain development periods that occur in early childhood
and when children are entering adolescence.
Equity-based funding
There was broad support from VCOSS members that any changes to the education system need
to be underpinned by a needs-based funding model, in line with the recommendations from the
Gonski review.125 All Victorian children and young people, regardless of any forms of disadvantage
they may face, have a right to access quality basic education and early childhood development
services.
Feedback from VCOSS members confirmed that equity funding needs to recognise both the
individual circumstances of the student and their family, as well as levels of disadvantage within
school. The issue of hidden poverty was raised; recognising that disadvantaged students exists
across the entire system, not just in certain postcodes or schools. Concentrated disadvantaged
within some schools was also identified as a key issue. These schools are considered to be doubly
disadvantaged, as they have a greater proportion of students who need additional support to
achieve their best possible educational outcomes, but they also have limited ability to locally raise
additional funds through fundraising efforts or parent payments. With limited resources, these
schools can have trouble attracting experienced teachers, maintaining vital facilities, upgrading
information technology and providing the additional supports needed to assist vulnerable students.
It was strongly felt that greater resourcing needs to be provided to the schools most in need of
support.
Related to this, was concern about the rising costs of education and the barrier this creates for
vulnerable children and young people to fully participate in education. Families are being asked to
125
D Gonski et al., Op. Cit.
46
spend increasing amounts on their children’s education, both through direct costs such as school
uniforms, elective subjects, camps and excursions, and through indirect costs, such as travelling to
and from school, purchasing a computer and providing internet access at home.
Further details on the feedback from consultations and recommendations around school funding
are provided in VCOSS’ submission to the Schools Funding Review.
Schools funding models
VCOSS’ consultation on the proposed equity funding model for schools proposed in the Education
State consultation paper126 revealed mixed support for the changes. There was general support for
the inclusion of parental education level as a factor in determining need, however, VCOSS
members felt this should apply to both primary and secondary school students, given the strong
correlation between parental education level and student educational attainment. Similarly, there
was general support for the inclusion of additional funding based on performance levels in primary
school, however, concern was raised about relying solely on NAPLAN results, as this is a blunt
measure and not all students take this test. Other measures including AEDC data could be
considered to provide a more holistic account of the student’s performance. VCOSS members also
suggested it is important to provide additional assistance to students at the time performance
issues are first identified, rather than waiting until secondary school.
A broad concern was that both the current and proposed funding models do not account for the full
range of factors that indicate disadvantage, resulting in some highly vulnerable children and young
people missing out on equity funding. It is recommended the indicators used to determine equity
are expanded to take into account broader family circumstances, such as parental involvement in
the justice system, parental mental health and parental substance abuse (drug and alcohol). There
are also specific cohorts of students known to need greater support, such as children in out-ofhome care. The funding model could consider making children and young people in out-of-home
care a priority group for equity funding. The proposed model did not provide any detail about the
role of the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) in the school system and how this would
relate to equity funding. This requires further consideration.
Questions were also raised about the robustness of the Student Family Occupation (SFO) as one
of the primary measures of disadvantage. This measure is problematic because it relies on
parents’ self-assessment. Some families may feel a stigma associated with informing their
children’s school about their lower occupation level, which may discourage them from accurately
reporting. The validity of the use of occupation levels as a measure of income was also
questioned, with some jobs classified as ‘low’ on the scale potentially associated with high incomes
and vice versa. It is suggested that further consideration is given to the best way to measure
families from low socioeconomic backgrounds, such as the use of Centrelink Health Care Cards.
126
Department of Education and Training, The Education State – Schools Consultation Paper, 2015, pp.16-17.
47
Finally, a number of stakeholders felt they were not in a position to comment on the proposed
model, as there was insufficient detail provided in the Education State consultation paper. It is
recommended further consultation with stakeholders be undertaken regarding any proposed
changes, preferably with a number of potential options outlined in greater detail.
A number of other related concerns about the level of equity funding and assistance to students
who have disengaged or are at risk of disengaging were also raised. A full outline of VCOSS
members’ views on the school funding model, including a number of other recommendations
related to this, are outlined in VCOSS’ submission to the School Funding Review.
‘Developmentally load’ the system
The Victorian education system currently spends the greatest proportion of its resources in
secondary education, followed by primary school and early childhood. The system is therefore not
‘developmentally loaded’ to support the critical periods known to occur in brain development in
early childhood and early adolescence.
There is strong evidence demonstrating the importance of strong early childhood development in
supporting positive lifelong outcomes. Neuroscience research shows the first five years of a child’s
life are critical to brain development and learning, and can have a long-term effect on wellbeing.127
The period of birth to age 4 are when the brain’s major neural networks are created128 and when
children develop fundamental skills that facilitate later learning and development. Policies and
program that target children’s development prior to school are likely to have long lasting positive
educational outcomes.129 While all children benefit from a high-quality early childhood education,
children from families facing disadvantage benefit the most from this support.
One third of children living in disadvantaged communities are behind their peers on one or more
key developmental areas when the start school.130 Access to a high quality early childhood
education system can help prevent these issues. Evidence also suggests children who are
developmentally vulnerable when they start school can benefit from additional support within the
first few years of schooling.131
Early adolescence is also a critical time for physical, emotional and social developmental changes,
including brain development. It is a time during which young people can be particularly vulnerable
and may require additional support to enable them to fulfil their potential.
127
P Winter, Engaging Families in the Early Childhood Development Story: Neuroscience and early childhood development: Summary
of selected literature and key messages for parenting, Early Childhood Services, Department of Education and Children’s Services,
South Australia, 2010,
http://www.scseec.edu.au/site/DefaultSite/filesystem/documents/Reports%20and%20publications/Publications/Early%20childhood%20e
ducation/Engaging%20Families%20in%20the%20ECD%20Story-Neuroscience%20and%20ECD.pdf
128
B Perry and A Jackson, ‘Long and winding road: From neuroscience to policy, program, practice’, Insight – Vulnerable Children:
Better start, Better lives, Victorian Council of Social Service, Melbourne, January 2014.
129
Australian Early Development Census, Op. Cit.
130
Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Op. Cit.
131
Australian Early Development Census, Op. Cit.
48
It is recommended Victoria’s education system be ‘developmentally loaded’ to provide greater
resources in early childhood to optimise their development in this critical period. This could be
accompanied by recovery programs in the first few years of primary school to address any
developmental issues early, before skill deficits become entrenched. It is also recommended
greater investment be targeted to the middle years, between grades 5 to 8, to assist all young
people to successfully transition to secondary school and help prevent student disengagement.
49
Supporting students across the
education continuum
Recommendation: That DET support lifelong learning by ensuring there are strong
pathways between education institutions, and by valuing the contribution of all parts of
the education system, including community providers such as Learn Locals and
neighbourhood houses.
Recommendation: That the government support vulnerable children and young people
by investing in programs that support the development of core literacy and numeracy
skills.
Recommendation: That DET invests in a range of strategies that facilitate successful
transitions through the key educational stages, particularly for vulnerable families.
Lifelong learning
VCOSS members raised the importance of providing support throughout the education and training
continuum from birth through to adulthood and beyond. This include supporting learners at every
stage of their education, as well as supporting children and young people to successfully transition
from early childhood to primary school, secondary school and on to further education and training.
Integrated learning models, which strengthen links between early childhood, schools, alternative
education and further education and training are one way of achieving this.
The importance of lifelong learning was also raised, including supporting early school leavers,
retrenched workers, mothers returning to work and vulnerable workers needing to upskill or reskill.
The education and training system should build strong pathways between education institutions to
enable learners to continue their education journey. The value of Learn Locals and neighbourhood
houses in supporting lifelong learning should also be recognised.
Building a strong foundation
Proficiency in literacy, numeracy and problem solving (foundation skills) are not only strong
predictors of someone’s educational attainment, but are also positively associated with their
probability of participating in the labour market, being employed, and receiving higher wages.132
Conversely, poor literacy and numeracy skills are associated with poorer educational outcomes,
132
OECD, OECD Skills Outlook 2013: First Results from the Survey of Adult Skills, OECD Publishing, 2013,
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264204256-en, pp. 24 and 32.
50
placing adults at far greater risk of being unemployed or earning low wages, as well as of poorer
health. Many vulnerable children and young people are behind their peers in these core skills.133
It is important that vulnerable children are provided with strong foundations in early childhood to
set them up on positive trajectories. Research suggests investing in high-quality early childhood
education and early school years, particularly for children from socioeconomically disadvantaged
backgrounds, is an effective strategy to help children to become effective learners throughout their
education.134 While both literacy and numeracy are vital to building a strong foundation, research
suggests that many parents spend less time engaging with their children on numeracy activities
compared with literacy.135 This may be a result of numerous factors, including parents being less
confident in their own abilities to teach mathematics, having negative attitudes towards numeracy,
placing less value on mathematics than literacy, or believing their children are less interested in
maths.136 The government can support vulnerable children and young people by investing in core
literacy and numeracy skills development programs. An example of a successful program that
supports vulnerable pre-school children to build their numeracy skills is The Smith Family’s Let’s
Count Program.
The Let’s Count Program137
Let’s Count is an early mathematics program developed primarily to support vulnerable
children, aged three to five years, to develop appropriate maths knowledge and skills to help
in their preparation for school. It also seeks to develop positive attitudes towards maths to
help set children up for success in later schooling.
Designed by The Smith Family, Professor Bob Perry and Associate Professor Ann
Gervasoni, the program develops parents’ and early childhood educators’ skills and
confidence to help the children in their care develop these maths skills. Early childhood
educators undertake professional development to increase their knowledge, skills and
confidence to work with and support parents. Parents are then provided with ongoing
guidance and instruction by the educators, as well as receiving a take-away resource pack
that includes ideas, tips, games and books to use with their children.
The program is based on the following principles:

Strong partnerships between early childhood educators and families

Recognition that all children, parents/carers and educators can develop strong
mathematical skills
133
The Smith Family, Strengthening early numeracy learning: the Let’s Count program, The Smith Family, Sydney, 2015; OECD, OECD
Skills Outlook 2013, Op. Cit., p. 112.
134
OECD, Skilled for Life? key findings from the survey of adult skills, 2013, p.13
http://www.oecd.org/site/piaac/SkillsOutlook_2013_ebook.pdf.
135
The Smith Family, Strengthening early numeracy learning: the Let’s Count program, The Smith Family, Sydney, 2015.
136
Ibid.
137
The Smith Family, Let’s Count, https://www.thesmithfamily.com.au/what-we-do/our-work/at-school/early-years-and-primary/lets-count
accessed 25 June 2015; The Smith Family, Strengthening early numeracy learning, Op. Cit.
51

The use of play, discussion and investigation as its key pedagogical approach

A realisation that mathematical learning can be enjoyable for all, when it is undertaken
in a relevant and meaningful context
A three-year evaluation of the program found children who participated had stronger skills
across a broad range of mathematical areas compared with children who did not
participate.138 Students displayed improvement in counting and ordering numerals,
arranging patterns, and measurement. The program also had a positive effect on children’s
disposition towards maths, increasing their confidence and enjoyment of it. Similarly,
educators and parents reported having strong confidence and interest in maths.
Transitions
Children and young people need support to successfully transition between key education stages,
as this can be a challenging time, particularly for vulnerable children. There are three key transition
points, from early childhood education to primary school, from primary school to secondary school
and from secondary school to further education, training or the workforce. While most children and
young people transition successfully through these stages, their outcomes are influenced by a
broad range of factors, including socioeconomic and cultural background, disability and learning
difficulties, gender and prior learning. Research shows some children, such as Aboriginal children,
boys, children with disabilities, and children from low socioeconomic families, are at a higher risk of
poor transition and therefore require greater support.139 Poor transitions can result in low
educational attainment and can place students at risk of disengaging from school.140
Transition to primary school
Starting school is a significant time for all children and evidence suggests that how well children
transition to primary school can affect their long-term educational outcomes.141 Several factors can
either help or impede a child’s school readiness, including their own individual characteristics, their
family’s characteristics, the quality and accessibility of early childhood services and schools, and
the broader community’s characteristics.142 Evidence suggests learning is most effective when
both children and school are ‘ready’ for each other.143 To give children the best start to their
education it is important they are ‘school ready’ when they commence primary school, but equally
that schools are ‘family ready’ for children.
138
The Smith Family, Strengthening early numeracy learning, Op. Cit., pp.15-17.
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Education Transitions, Victoria, 2015.
140
Ibid.
141
Centre for Community Child Health, The Royal Children’s Hospital, Rethinking School Readiness: Policy Brief: Translating early
childhood research evidence to inform policy and practice, No 10 2008,p.1 www.rch.org.au/ccch/policybriefs.cfm.
142
Ibid.
143
L Connors and J McMorrow, Australian Education Review, Imperatives in School Funding: equity, sustainability and achievement,
ACER, Victoria, 2015, p.12
139
52
In practice schools are ‘family ready’ when they can provide a supportive learning environment for
children and can welcome and engage parents and carers.144 Other ways schools can be ‘family
ready’ include building links with local early childhood services, developing effective transition
support programs for children, providing additional supports to children with high or diverse needs
and ensuring teachers understand early childhood development.145 ‘School ready families’ refers to
the children’s family context and home environment, including how conducive this is to learning.146
For vulnerable families, it is important that support is provided to help them provide appropriate
learning experiences for their children and support their child’s wellbeing.
The Centre for Community Child Health has identified a number of strategies that can help create
supportive environments for children transitioning to school. These include:

Providing all children with high quality early educational experiences, this is particularly
important for vulnerable children

Supporting parents by creating family friendly early childhood environments and
opportunities for families to meet other families

Helping families provide learning resources and experiences for their young children.

Building opportunities for family involvement in early childhood programs

Building strong links and relationships between schools and early childhood services to
ensure continuity of care and joint planning of transition support activities

Building strong links between families and schools before, during and after transition.

Providing a variety of supports to help ease children’s transition to school

Establishing integrated service networks, linking early childhood programs with other
general and specialist child and family services147
Given the importance of early education to a child’s long-term educational outcomes, it is
recommended DET invest in a range of strategies that facilitate a child’s readiness for school and
a school’s readiness for children. This is particularly important for children from families facing
disadvantage, as evidence suggests the transitions to school can be particularly problematic for
vulnerable children.148
Transition to secondary school
The transition from primary school to secondary school represents a weak link in the transition
process for vulnerable and partially disengaged young people. While Victoria has developed a
framework for early years transitions for students moving from kindergarten to primary school, a
144
L Connors and J McMorrow, Op. Cit., p. 12.
Centre for Community Child Health The Royal Children’s Hospital , Op. Cit.
Ibid.
147
Ibid.
148
Ibid.
145
146
53
similar strategy does not exist for managing the transition for children moving from primary to
secondary school. Some students start to completely disengage within a matter of weeks or
months of starting secondary school, before they have a chance to form any solid relationship with
staff or other students.149
This transition occurs during the ‘middle years’, between Grade 5 and Year 8, when children are
entering adolescence.150 It is a time of significant physical, emotional and developmental change
and therefore increases the likelihood of children experiencing difficulties adjusting to this
transition.151 Research by VCOSS and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria identified significant
gaps in policies and services for children during the middle years, which means they often go
unsupported at this critical time.152 Evidence suggests many children experience a drop in
educational achievement and school engagement in the years following their transition to
secondary school.153 If not addressed, the effect of this can be cumulative, leading to poor
educational attainment and possible disengagement from secondary school. Developing ‘middle
years’ transition plans for all students moving from primary to secondary school, would better
support young people and help identify and respond to any early warning signs of disengagement.
Transition to education, training and the workforce
The transition from secondary education to further education, training or the workforce also
requires support. Young people who complete school and attain their Year 12 certificate (or
equivalent vocational qualification) are more likely to complete further study or training or gain
employment. Research suggests individuals without formal educational or vocational qualifications
are more than twice as likely to be unemployed.154 Strategies that support young people to remain
engaged in education, such as those discussed in the ‘Supporting at-risk and disengaged young
people’ section of this submission, are essential.
However beyond this, there are also a range of strategies that can support young people to
successfully transition from school to further education and training or employment. An important
feature to retain is having multiple education and training pathways available for young people, as
this provides options that best suit individual students, as well as providing alternative routes to
employment if one option is not successful.155
The VET sector, including apprenticeships and traineeships, Community VCAL and VETiS, offers
a range of pathways to meaningful employment, particularly for vulnerable students. Given the
important role of VET in providing a pathway to employment, it is recommended DET considers
149
Hume Whittlesea Youth Connections Consortium, Op. Cit.
Victorian Council of Social Service and Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Building the Scaffolding: strengthening support for young
people in Victoria, Melbourne,2013.
151
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Education Transitions, Victoria, 2015.
152
Victorian Council of Social Service and Youth Affairs Council of Victoria, Op. Cit., pp. 68-70.
153
Victorian Auditor-General’s Office, Education Transitions, Victoria, 2015.
154
Vinson T and M Rawsthorne, Op. Cit.
155
T Karmel, Youth transitions in Australia: lessons for other countries?, NCVER, 2012.
150
54
options for better matching training opportunities to job opportunities and high growth industries.
Consideration should be given to the needs of learners in regional and rural areas, where there
may not be critical mass to offer financially viable training, however, there is a local demand for
skilled employees in that area. This is particularly important given that unemployment and
underemployment are growing issues for the Victorian community. The unemployment rate in
Victoria increased from 4.9 per cent in June 2011 to 6.3 per cent in February 2015.156 Young
people in Victoria are particularly affected, and at June 2014 the youth unemployment rate was at
13.9 per cent, up from 9.1 per cent in 2011.157
There are also several actions schools can take to support vulnerable young people to
successfully transition to university, VET or employment, such as implementing mentoring
programs that support student engagement and increase students’ study and career aspirations. A
recent NCVER study found a university mentoring program delivered to rural and low
socioeconomic status secondary students effectively raised student aspirations to attend
university, thus helping reduce one of the key barrier to university participation.158 The study also
suggests similar mentoring projects in vocational education and training may help raise students’
aspirations for VET. Mentoring projects in both sectors could work together to provide further
education pathways for all young people, in both vocational and academic career paths.
LLENs also play a key role supporting young people to successfully transition to further education,
training or work. LLENs create and develop partnerships across local education providers, industry
and community to address barriers and facilitate transitions across the sectors. Anecdotal
evidence also suggests that state government funding cuts of about $12 million for Victorian
Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL) Coordinators in 2012 is impacting on young people’s
capacity to successfully transition from VCAL to VET. VCAL coordinators helped develop links
between young people, employers and other education institutions, and tailored VCAL programs
to individual needs.
Finally, there are specific cohorts of students known to need greater support to transition
successfully, such as children and young people in out-of-home care. Targeted initiatives may be
needed to support these highly vulnerable students.
156
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Australia, Cat. No. 6202.0, February 2015.
Australian Bureau of Statistics, Labour Force Australia, Cat. No. 6202.0, October 2014.
158
Curtis D, et al., Op. Cit., p. 25.
157
55
Creating stronger links between the
education, community and business
sectors
Recommendation: That DET helps facilitate greater collaboration between the
education sector and the community sector.
Recommendation: That DET facilitates the development of integrated service models
that provide children, young people and their families with better access to a range of
education, community and health services.
Recommendation: That DET facilitate the expansion of place-based responses across
Victoria through place-based loadings for disadvantaged communities to help them
address the complex issues they face.
A key theme arising from VCOSS consultations was the need to facilitate strong links and referral
pathways between the education and community sectors to better support the wellbeing of
children, young people and adult learners. While education institutions have an obligation to
ensure they are accessible and inclusive to all children and young people, a significant proportion
of young people have complex social, health and emotional needs that cannot be met by education
providers alone. It also needs to be recognised that no individual health or community service will
possess all the resources or expertise needed to support all vulnerable children and young
people.159 Instead, education providers and health and community services need to work together
to better support learners’ holistic needs. Equally, the importance of education providers working
together to better support learners to successfully transition through education stages was
highlighted as an issue.
Collaboration
Collaboration between the education sector, the community sector and families has been shown to
be highly effective in supporting students, particularly vulnerable students who may face many
challenges to their education.160 While there are several good examples of collaboration between
education providers, community services and families, such as Anglicare Victoria’s TEACHaR
program, it does not occur consistently across the state. Anecdotal evidence suggests the quality
159
160
Committee for Economic Development of Australia, Op. Cit.
T Bentley and C Cazaly, Op. Cit.
56
of the relationship between schools and other sectors is highly dependent on the leadership team
at the school. The productivity of these relationships is also reliant on the skill levels of key staff
within education institutions. It is recommended that DET provide more support to schools and
other education providers to collaborate with other sectors and each other. This could include:

Targeted training for schools, and other education providers, around how to effectively engage
with parents and the community sector;

Funding for schools and other education providers to help them form partnerships and
collaborate with relevant stakeholders. This could be used to support regional clusters to work
together to address place-based issues and areas of common need.

Requiring departmental regional offices to facilitate high level partnerships that support local
arrangements.
Another option suggested by VCOSS members was for DET to build in an expectation that schools
work collaboratively with other organisations, but provide schools the flexibility to decide how this
could best work in their local community.
Transforming Educational Achievement for Children in Home-based and Residential
Care (TEACHaR) program161
Anglicare Victoria’s TEACHaR is an innovative program targeted at improving educational
outcomes for children in out-of-home care. It was developed in response to findings that
children and young people in care generally experience poorer educational outcomes than
their peers and are at risk of disengaging from school.162 The program employs specialist
teachers to provide one-on-one support to children, such as tutoring, mentoring,
assessment and advocacy. It is flexible and tailored to match the needs and strengths of the
individual student. TEACHaR staff work collaboratively with carers, case managers,
residential care staff, DET, DHHS and TAFEs. Initially started as a two-year pilot program, it
has now been extended to a third year, to build on its early success. The pilot has resulted
in significant improvement for young people across a range of key measures, including
literacy and numeracy skills, school engagement and attitudes, confidence and overall
academic performance.
Partnership at the local or regional level can also be enhanced by collaboration at higher levels
such between as DET and the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), and between
all levels of government in areas of shared responsibility. These approaches are complementary to
one another, and together help provide the best possible support for all children and young people.
161
Anglicare Victoria, Learning with TEACHaR, February 2013, http://www.anglicarevic.org.au/blogs/learning-with-teachar; L David,
Anglicare Victoria’s ‘TEACHaR’ program: Closing the ‘education gap’ for children and young people in care and the value of researchinformed innovation, Anglicare Victoria, http://www.cfecfw.asn.au/sites/default/files/TEACHaR%20Program%20-%20Anglicare.pdf
162
S Wise, et al., Op. Cit.
57
Integrated service models
Evidence suggests vulnerable children and families have difficulty finding out about and accessing
the services they need. This may be because they lack the skills to negotiate the service system,
the confidence to seek help, have cultural or language barriers, or lack networks to put them in
touch with the services they need.163 As a result, many vulnerable children and young people do
not receive the help they need and risk ‘falling through the cracks’, or only getting support once a
problem has escalated.164
Integrated service models provide children, young people and their families, as well as the broader
community, with better access to a range of services and activities. They are an effective way to
reach vulnerable people and link them into community services. Integrated service models have
been shown to result in a range of positive educational outcomes, including improved school
readiness, increased engagement in learning, and enhanced education and employment pathways
for young people.165 Integrated service models also facilitate prevention and early intervention of
issues, as they help children and families access appropriate support when they first need it rather
than later when the problem has escalated or become entrenched. These models also help to
create more efficient and effective systems of support, by reducing service gaps and potential
duplication.
There are several innovative and effective models of integrated service delivery being developed
across the state, such as Doveton College, to improve children’s and families’ wellbeing and
education in areas of entrenched social disadvantage. A review of the literature by the Royal
Children’s Hospital Centre for Community Child Health and the Murdoch Childrens Research
Institute provides a summary of the key models that have gained support in Australia and
overseas.166 Some of the models which may be useful to consider in this context include:

Schools as community hubs – where health and community services collaborate with
schools to help support children who face disadvantage or are at risk of disengaging

Extended school models – which work in partnership with a range of different
stakeholders, including government and community services, to provide a range of
services to students and families, as well as the broader community

Full services community schools – community schools that are open to all members of
the community, before, during and after school and all weekend, and provide a range of
community services.
163
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit., p.6.
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.
Ibid.
166
S Sanjeevan, M McDonald and T Moore, Primary schools as community hubs: A review of the literature, The Royal Children’s
Hospital Centre for Community Child Health and the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Melbourne, 2012.
164
165
58
Doveton College167
Doveton College is the outcome of a unique partnership between the Victorian state
government, the federal government and a non-profit philanthropic organisation. It is a birthto-Year 9 government school, located in an area of high disadvantage in Melbourne’s outer
east. It provides ‘whole-life’ opportunities for children and young people through early
intervention, family support and community integration. Mainstream services such as
kindergarten, structured playgroups, childcare and traditional schooling are integrated with a
wide range of services that ‘wrap around’ children and their families, including Maternal and
Child Health services, and specialist services such as mental health and Aboriginal
services. The college also uses outreach services, such as parenting programs, to help
reach vulnerable families. The key to Doveton College’s success is that it is based on strong
partnerships and a shared vision. It also represents a local response to community need,
and was underpinned by two years of intensive consultation with the community.
Integrated service models may involve elements of both co-location and virtual integration,
depending on what will best meet community needs.168 While each model will vary based on the
unique characteristics, strengths and needs of the community it is serving, some common
elements for success include:

Embedding targeted services into mainstream services to help reach vulnerable children
and families who may otherwise not engage with these services

Facilitating local level partnerships that ensure integrated models meet local needs (ideally
there would be an identified person or agency funded to facilitate or coordinate the project)

Appropriate governance, resources and funding put in place to enable sustainable
partnerships to be developed.169
DET can build on these successful models and expand integrated service models across Victoria.
It could provide greater support in the form of expertise, training, tools and resourcing, to help
communities develop effective partnerships. DET could also recognise and enhance the role of
LLENs, which help facilitate communities to develop regional partnerships. Collaboration and
integration take time to develop, making sustained DET commitment and support essential for their
success.
167
Doveton College, http://dovetoncollege.vic.edu.au/about-doveton/principals-welcome/; Victorian Council of Social Service, ‘Doveton
College Opening Doors out of disadvantage’, Insight, Issue 9, Melbourne, 2014, http://insight.vcoss.org.au/doveton-college-openingdoors-out-of-disadvantage/.
168
T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.
169
Ibid.
59
Place-based approaches
A key theme emerging from research and stakeholders is that a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach is not
appropriate in addressing the complex needs of communities. There is growing evidence of the
benefit that place-based approaches bring to preventing and responding to vulnerability and
disadvantage for children, young people and families.170 Place-based approaches (also known as
area-based, comprehensive community initiative and collective impact initiatives), aim to address
complex issues experienced by communities within a defined geographic area, largely through
stakeholder collaboration and partnerships.171 Given that place-based models are responsive to
community strengths and needs, they vary significantly in their design, including in their focus,
rationale, geographic scale and target populations.172 However, each of the models share common
goals to empower the community to work together to improve outcomes, service delivery and
coordination, and to address specific issues such as poverty, as well as driving positive outcomes
more generally for the community.173 They are particularly useful when trying to address complex
social problems and entrenched social disadvantage.174 The Go Goldfields Alliance initiative is an
example of an effective place-based initiative driven by the community to respond to entrenched
social disadvantage.
The Go Goldfields Alliance175
The Go Goldfields Alliance is a partnership of service providers in Victoria’s Central
Goldfields Shire, created to deliver locally relevant responses to complex and
entrenched social issues. The place-based approach was initiated and implemented
entirely by the community and therefore has strong community ownership. The
alliance has developed a suite of integrated strategies to improve social, education
and health outcomes for children, young people and families, with a strong focus on
prevention and early intervention.
Place-based approaches enable the delivery of an integrated and holistic suite of services and
supports.176 A recent review of Australian place-based Initiatives has outlined four design features
common to all approaches.177 These include:

Flexible delivery – in both program design and funding

Local autonomy – including meaningful community consultation and active participation in
delivery and decision-making
170
T.G Moore et al., Op. Cit.
T.G Moore, et al., Op. Cit.; S Wilks et al., Op. Cit.
S Wilks et al., Op. Cit.
173
T.G Moore et al., Op. Cit.
174
S Wilks et al., Op. Cit.
175
Go Goldfields Shire Council, Go Goldfields: aspiring and achieving, http://www.centralgoldfields.com.au.
176
I Byron, ‘Placed-based approaches to addressing disadvantage: Linking science and policy’. Family Matters, Issue 84, 2010, p. 2017.
177
S Wilks et al., Op. Cit.
171
172
60

Joined-up services – integrated service delivery and/or the development of partnerships
between organisations within a local area

Good governance – from both government and communities.
Other reviews have also identified a number of factors to help strengthen the outcomes of placebased initiatives.178 These include:

building on community strengths

adapting the response to local circumstances and needs

using evidence-based practices

developing integrated service systems, based on a strong and inclusive universal service

co-design approaches that involve input from consumers in the design of services

allowing sufficient time to achieve outcomes.
DET could help facilitate a progressive expansion of place-based responses across Victoria be
providing greater support and guidance to all communities about how to implement place-based
approaches, drawing on evidence of best practice. This could be supported by the provision of
place-based loadings to disadvantaged communities to enable them to work together to address
the complex issues faced by their region. This resourcing would need to be flexible, to enable local
communities to retain their autonomy and respond to community need. Support also needs to be
sustained, to allow sufficient time for projects to develop.
Lessons from previous place-based approaches
It is vital that any attempt by DET to support place-based approaches be driven by the needs of
the community and build on the strengths and networks that already exist. Feedback from VCOSS
members provided examples of previous place-based approaches that were unsuccessful due to
government departments imposing models on communities that failed to recognise the work
communities were already doing. For example, to help address the issue of early school leavers in
Shepparton, DET attempted to introduce an alternative education setting for young people.
However there was no acknowledgment of the five existing alternative education providers who
were already working collaboratively to support young people in the region. The approach would
have been much more successful if consultation had occurred with all of the existing alternative
education providers and other key stakeholders supporting young people, to decide how to
enhance the current system, rather than simply introducing another alternative education provider.
178
T.G Moore et al., Op. Cit.
61
Other issues cited with previous approaches to place-based models include situations where
communities were provided with a list of approved ‘evidence-based practices’ from which to
choose, rather than allowing the community to identify the underlying causes of the issue and
develop the most appropriate solution in response to the unique needs identified.
Similar concerns were also raised in relation to the eight trial sites of the Children and Youth Area
Partnerships (Area Partnerships). This initiative is aimed at facilitating greater coordination
between several Victorian government departments, local government and the community sector,
to improve outcomes for vulnerable children and young people.179 While the intentions of the Area
Partnerships are strongly supported, initial feedback from VCOSS members suggests there is a
lack of community consultation at some of the trial sites, which is undermining these projects’
potential for success. Feedback from members indicates the partnerships are too directed by
government, rather than being community sector led and have not involved the community sector
in the design of the project. In some areas, significant work has already been undertaken by the
community sector to build partnerships and collaboration in the region, such as through
ChildFIRST. Therefore, the Area Partnerships would be enhanced by working with the community
to recognise and build on these existing strengths.
179
Victorian Government, Victoria’s Vulnerable Children Strategy - Our Shared Responsibility 2013-2022, Victoria, 2013; Department of
Health and Human Services, Children and Youth Area Partnerships http://www.dhs.vic.gov.au/about-the-department/plans,-programsand-projects/projects-and-initiatives/children,-youth-and-family-services/children-and-youth-area-partnerships.
62
Strengthening parental engagement
Recommendation: That strategies be developed to support effective parental
engagement throughout the education continuum, from early childhood through to
primary and secondary school years.
Parental engagement in child’s learning and development has been shown to have positive effects
on children’s educational attainment and wellbeing. There is strong evidence that parental
engagement has a significant effect on children’s educational achievement, even when controlling
for other factors such as socioeconomic status and parent education levels.180 A literature review
by ARACY found parental engagement can result in several positive effects on a young person’s
educational outcomes, including higher grades, reduced drop-out rates and greater likelihood of
transitioning to post-secondary education. Increased parental engagement was also found to result
in a broad range of positive indicators of student development, including increased school
attendance, better social skills and improved behavior at school.181
Children facing disadvantage are more likely to be at risk of adverse early childhood development.
Their parents also often have the least resources available and capacity to compensate for these
risks. They often have lower levels of education themselves and may not have developed strong
parenting skills.182 This further highlights the importance of targeted interventions to engage
parents early in their children’s education. Engaging parents in learning outcomes outside of
school has been shown to have the greatest positive effects on children and young people’s
education attainment.183
Parental engagement appears to have benefits across all age groups; however different strategies
are required at different stages, such as early childhood, primary school and secondary school.184
It is recommended that DET provide a range of strategies to improve parental engagement
throughout the various stages of the education system, with a particular focus on supporting
disadvantaged students. The strategies should also build on the evidence of effective practice.185
For example, Good Shepherd Australia and New Zealand released an action research report on
Uplift, a new empowerment model for parent engagement, which has been found to be effective for
parental engagement for primary school aged children.
180
C Desforges and A Abouchaar, Op. Cit., p. 86.; T Moore and A Skinner, Op. Cit.
L Emerson et al., Op. Cit., pp. 8-9.
182
Australian Early Development Census, Op. Cit.
183
L Emerson et al., Op. Cit., p. 8.
184
L Emerson et al., Op. Cit., pp. 12, 44-47.
185
S Maury, Uplift: An Empowerment Approach to Parent Engagement in Schools, Good Shepherd Youth & Family Services,
Melbourne, 2014.
181
63
Uplift: An empowerment approach to parent engagement in schools186
Uplift is an action research project with a focus on increasing parent engagement in a
disadvantaged primary school community in Hastings, with the aim of improving their
children’s education outcomes. The pilot looked at ways to increase parent engagement
through an empowerment methodology focused on the parents’ voice and viewpoint.
The research process ran three workshops in which the parents created a vision for their
children’s school years, then identified actions that families, schools, and the broader
community could each take to better support their child’s development. The method also
enabled parents to monitor progress on the indicators they developed.
The workshops were highly successful in their goal of empowering parents. Since the
project’s completion, measurable progress has been made on almost every component of
their group’s action plan, resulting in steady and sustained community change. Importantly,
the project has also led to more school parents becoming actively engaged with the school
to support their children’s education.
The model is a relatively simple and low-cost method of increasing parental engagement
and provides an easily replicable intervention. The report details how this process could be
expanded across others schools to encourage broader parental engagement.
186
Ibid.
64
Improving data collection for better
policy development
Recommendation: That DET improve its current data collection methods to enable
tracking of educational outcomes for disadvantaged students over time.
Recommendation: That DET facilitates the sharing of relevant data between
education providers and other sectors, and between government departments to better
support vulnerable learners.
Recommendation: That vulnerable learners, including children, young people and
adult learners, be directly involved in devising changes to the education system that
affect them.
Performance data
The importance of obtaining quality and holistic data to better understand how children and young
people are performing in the education system was another area highlighted by VCOSS members
during consultations for this submission. While there are some very useful data tools, such as the
Australian Early Development Census187, The Middle Years Development Instrument188 and the
Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System,189 these various measures are not well linked
to each other or to other data sources such as On Track Destination Data, NAPLAN and PISA, at
the community, state, national and international levels.
To better inform policy and evidence-based practice it was suggested relevant data sources be
better connected to help track the outcomes for vulnerable students over time. This would include
capturing data on where vulnerable students are learning, including the percentage and number:
o
o
o
o
studying in schools
studying in alternative settings connected to mainstream schools, such as VET in
Schools, and community VCAL providers
studying in the VET system where students are learning completely outside of the
school system
disengaged from education and training.
187
Commonwealth of Australia, Australian Early Development Census, 2014, https://www.aedc.gov.au/communities, accessed 24 June
2015.
188
Middle Years Development Instrument Australia, Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI), 2015,
http://www.mdi.sa.edu.au/pages/default/MDISurvey/?reFlag=1, accessed 24 June 2015.
189
Department of Education and Training, Victorian Child and Adolescent Monitoring System (VCAMS), 2015,
http://www.education.vic.gov.au/about/research/pages/vcams.aspx, accessed 24 June 2015.
65
Further attention could also be given to tracking the educational performance of specific cohorts of
vulnerable students, including children in out-of-home care and children with chronic illness and
disability. Currently there is a lack of data on these and other vulnerable groups. The development
of a national education and training data standards strategy and implementation plan by the
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare190 is a positive initiative that could be expanded to
address the gaps identified.
Data sharing
It was also suggested by VCOSS members that outcomes for children, young people and adult
learners could be improved by sharing relevant data and reducing silos between education
providers and other sectors. While privacy concerns would need to be considered, there are
considerable benefits to sharing data and information between early, primary, secondary and
tertiary education providers, to support successful transitions of children and young people.
Greater information sharing between education providers and the community sector would also
facilitate more integrated and holistic approaches to supporting vulnerable learners.
This would be enhanced by greater data sharing between the relevant government departments
including DET and DHHS. A positive initiative is the Out-of-Home Care Education Commitment
between DHHS, DET, Catholic Education Commission of Victoria and Independent Schools
Victoria, to improve educational outcomes for children and young people in out-of-home care.
Some of the key requirements identified under the commitment include that all students in out-ofhome care should have the following:

Access to a student support group

Development of an individual education plan

Access to a learning mentor

An education assessment

Priority access to student services

Enrolment without delay
Feedback from VCOSS members are that these strategies are effective in supporting students in
out-of-home care, however, anecdotal evidence suggests that these requirements are not
universally complied with and could be improved. For example, feedback suggests that many
students in out-of-home care were not linked with a learning mentor or given an educational
assessment. While the majority of young people were provided with an individual education plan
and access to a student support group, a significant proportion missed out. Given the high level of
disadvantage and trauma that children and young people in out-of-home care experience, it is
important these requirements are applied consistently. VCOSS members also recommended
190
Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Development of a national education and training data standards strategy and
implementation plan, AIHW, 2015, http://www.aihw.gov.au/publication-detail/?id=60129551063.
66
extending DET’s oversight to all school-aged children and young people in out-of-home care, not
only those that are currently attending schools.
Student voice
It is important that any reforms to the education system are informed by learners in the system.
Children, young people and adult learners need to have a say in decisions that directly affect them.
This view is supported by students themselves, with students voting strongly in support of student
voice being represented in decision-making processes on school-based issues at the May 2015
Victorian Student Representative Council (VicSRC). Further, the concept of co-design is becoming
increasingly popular, due to growing recognition that people experiencing disadvantage should be
involved in the design of program and interventions that affect them. Co-design involves working
alongside people who experience disadvantage, to create interventions, services and programs
that will work in the context of their lives, and will reflect their own values and goals.191
An example of a useful tool for capturing feedback on how children think and feel about their
experiences inside and outside of school is the Middle Years Development Instrument (MDI).192
The Middle Years Development Instrument is a population-level measure of children aged 8-14,
which covers non-academic factors relevant to learning and participation. The MDI is a self-report
survey covering five areas of development, including social and emotional development,
connectedness, school experiences, physical health and wellbeing and constructive use of afterschool time. MDI results are reported at school, community and state level. It provides valuable
data to inform communities planning integrated service models and place-based initiatives. It is
also a useful tool for capturing meaningful data on the progress of these initiatives, to inform their
ongoing development and provide feedback to DET. The MDI tool was developed in Canada, but
has since been adapted for use in Australia. It has been trialled in regional and metropolitan South
Australia and in two areas of Victoria; Whittlesea and North Frankston.
Middle Years Development Instrument Pilot in Whittlesea193
The Local Government Area of Whittlesea, with support from the Whittlesea Youth
Commitment (WYC) trialled the MDI with 936 Grade 5 students in 2013 and with 628 Year 8
students in 2014. For participating schools, the survey results provided valuable insight into
students’ wellbeing, highlighting areas of both strength and weakness.
A unique benefit of the survey is that it captures the ideas of the children and young people
themselves, and therefore helps schools and communities to tailor the services and
supported offered, to best meet the needs of their students. For example, one school found
191
192
VCOSS, Co-Designing Social Initiatives with People Experiencing Vulnerabilities, VCOSS, 2015.
Middle Years Development Instrument Australia, Op. Cit.
67
its low attendance in a range of extracurricular activities was not due to a lack of interest,
but because of transport issues and clashing timetables. As a result of this feedback, the
school realigned its services to enable greater numbers of students to attend.
The MDI is a very useful tool to inform school and community planning, including resource
allocation and the mix of programs and services. As a result of the survey findings, schools
in Whittlesea undertook several actions to support its students including:

setting up a breakfast club to support disadvantaged students

providing greater support to parents through developing parent workshops and a parent
skills register

introducing ‘Pos-ed’ a positive education program for students based on positive
psychology

running focus groups to further explore some of the results.
Whittlesea was also able to compare the results from the Year 5 Report194 and the Year 8
Report195 which revealed some key differences. Most notably, Year 8 students had poorer
outcomes than the Grade 5 students across a range of areas, including self-esteem, school
belonging and academic self-concept. These findings further highlight the difficulties
experienced by many young people when entering adolescence, and following the transition
from primary to secondary school.
193
Middle Years Development Instrument Australia, Op. Cit.
South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD) , Whittlesea MDI Year 5 Report: LGA Community Data,
Oct 2013, http://www.hwllen.com.au/images/files/whittlesea%20mdi%205%20year%20report.pdf
195
South Australian Department for Education and Child Development (DECD), Students’ Wellbeing: Results from the Middle Years
Development Instrument: Whittlesea cohort: Year 8, 2014.
194
68
69