The Victorian Government is funding Aboriginal Community Controlled Organisations and community service organisations to deliver the Education Supports for Children in Care program.
The program offers one-on-one tutoring support to children and young people who are not engaged, or are showing signs of not being engaged, in school.
Teaching will be trauma-informed and culturally safe. The aim is to address the learning gap between children and young people in care, and those that are not in care.
Pilot areas
The program will run in 4 areas in regional Victoria and metropolitan Melbourne.
- North East Melbourne, North Division
- Inner Gippsland, South Division
- Outer Eastern Melbourne, East Division
- Central Highlands, West Division.
Service providers
The service providers are:
- Anglicare Victoria and Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (North East Melbourne)
- Junction Support Services and Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (Inner Gippsland)
- MacKillop Family Services and Victorian Aboriginal Child and Community Agency (Outer Eastern Melbourne)
- Anglicare Victoria and Ballarat and District Aboriginal Cooperative (Central Highlands)
Who is the program for
The program is for a child or young person who is:
- aged between 5 and 18 years of age
- in kinship, foster or residential care or lead tenant programs
- disengaged from education, or at risk of becoming disengaged.
Priority will be given to children and young people who are in:
- residential care
- kinship or foster care and at risk of placement breakdown due to the impact of disengagement from school.
Child or young person not enrolled in school
A child or young person does not need to be enrolled in a school to be referred to the program. However, the child or young person will need to be eligible to attend school.
As part of the re-engagement plan, the program teacher will help with enrolment to a suitable school, or depending on age, another education or training provider (e.g., TAFE).
Support for Aboriginal children and young people in care
ACCOs and Community Service Organisations will deliver the program to Aboriginal children and young people.
The program teacher will support the child or young person in line with their cultural plan, education and re-engagement plans.
Re-engagement plan
The program teacher will create a re-engagement plan to sit alongside other plans (like education plan, cultural support plan).
The re-engagement plan will be based on an understanding of the child or young person’s goals and support needs.
The program teacher will work with the child or young person’s carer, school provider, Student Support Group, LOOKOUT adviser and care team to identify and address other barriers.
To support a young person’s goals, the program teacher will also look at other opportunities like:
- further education
- training or vocational pathways
- access to career planning resources
- exploring further training
- volunteering
- supporting work experience, attending career expos etc.
Service providers can download the re-engagement plan under ‘Resources’ below.
Referral process
For information about how to refer a child to this program, visit Referral process webpage.
Tutoring sessions
For more information about tutoring and other education supports, please visit the Information about tutoring and education support webpage.
Resources
- Education Supports for Children in Care - education re-engagement plan template (Word)
- Education Supports for Children in Care - Referral form (Word)
- Education Supports for Children in Care - Interim Program Requirements (Word)
Contact
For more information about the Education Supports for Children in Care program, please email careservices@dffh.vic.gov.au.