ENGAGING YOUNG PEOPLE WITH COMPLEXEDUCATIONAL SUPPORT NEEDS IN DISTANCE EDUCATION – Framework summary
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With the 2009 amendment of the NSW Education Act (1990) and the subsequent raising of the school leaving age to 17 years there is an increase in the number of young people that are disengaged from mainstream school. Many of these young people have complex educational needs to support their engagement with learning and achieve their educational potential.
Increasingly these young people are referred to Distance Education (DE) programs across NSW where individual learning can be accommodated; where possible, social and emotional needs are recognised and addressed in conjunction with academics skills. Alternative education programs are emerging across NSW DE in a variety of formats. It is important that the alternative education programs maintain the school integrity as this is a deliberate response to a community issue.
Who Disengages from School?
As stated by the NSW Education Act (1990) every child has the right to receive an education, this includes young people with complex support needs who have the potential to disengage from school.
There are four well identified groups of young people that disengage from school;
- Young people in trouble with the police or have experienced relatively short term family issues
- Young people with or from families with disabilities, health, mental health, social and/or emotional issues that prevent attendance at school
- Young people that have transitioned into adulthood prematurely
- Young people that are substantially delayed educationally and having significant difficulties.
The disengagement can emerge at any time, and is becoming increasingly prevalent in the early stages of education.
The early indicators for students with the potential to disengage from school are
- Early childhood experiences that lay the foundation in cognitive and language skills, and personal characteristics on which academic success is built are limited.
- Milestones in schooling are not achieved.
- Family socio-economic situation influences the opportunity for high quality, supported, consistent education.
- Students ‘pushed out’ of school through single focus educational experiences and pedagogy, high stake testing and rigid discipline.
What Do Alternative Educational Programs Look Like?
For this framework ‘Alternative Educational Programs’ are programs that address the needs of young people requiring significant (individual) support to engage in education. These programs aim to change the provision of education for students requiring individualisation; providing flexibility in curriculum with a social and emotional emphasis, flexible environment and pedagogical approaches (single or in group situation)that enhance learning to achieve positive educational outcomes.
Programs are characterised by:
- the individual young person, transitioning to responsible adulthood.
- flexible, hands-on educational content and pedagogy connecting with the young person’s interests and needs
- a caring, nurturing and flexible learning environment,
accommodating all levels of learning
- access to individualised credential attainment and jobs
- flexible duration, attendance and access points
- building positive staff/student/family (carer) relationships
- stability in funding, staffing and student contact
- partnershipwork with the community and support agencies, including transitioning to employers.
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Nathan was excluded from school due continually violent behaviours toward others at school. He attended the Support Class (Behavioural Difficulties) in Primary School and support was provided in both Primary and Secondary school by the School Counsellors with anger control strategies, and provided with support and case management from the Support Counsellor Behaviour, Home School Liaison Officer, Educational Assistants, police and family when in Secondary school.
Nathanwas enrolled in Distance Education (DE) and commenced the alternative education program with modified English and Maths courses, and progressed to include Food Technology and Computing Studies. He continued to attend to his studies while participating in work experience at the local pre-school two fulldays/week.
Nathan was supervised with his studies by a community tutor for 4 hours /week, in the office of a local non-government organisation and by his grandmother at home.
Key to his success was the individual, flexible work load offered by DE in a venue outside the school, complementedwith individual tutoring,counselling from a community provider, andthe capturing of his interests in the work experience.
This program culminated in Nathan setting his own goals, returning to his home school and completing a Statement of Attainment.
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Alternative Education programs in Distance Education
Key components for both the DE and home school to support an alternative education program include:
- maintaining high level, innovative and committed teaching practice
- commitment to self- directed, inquiry-based learning, with flexibility to cater for a range of learning styles
- promotion of a ‘sense of self’ and student ‘responsibility for their learning’ in their program
- learning team structure where student/staff relationships are recognised, mentoring and shared learning are encouraged
- recognition that learning and emotional development are inextricable
- provision of student health and wellbeing programs
- engagement with family/carers
- partnerships with community agencies
Developing an Alternative Education Program
To commit DE to the delivery of an alternative education programfor students with complexeducational needsnecessitates that the key principles of DE are satisfied;
That distance education
- provides for students living in NSW who are isolated or whose special circumstances prevent them from attending school
- provides for those students unable to access an appropriate curriculum in their local school
- provides for students whose special circumstances prevent them from attending a school or other appropriate local provision on a regular basis with equitable access to education
In addition, careful planning is required to identify the
- characteristics of the program, including the program aim, design and location
- resource allocation; funding source/s and census, staffing, teaching and learning materials
- governance structure; roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder
- enrolment process, selection criteria to attend the program
- individual learning plans and resources required to support that individualisation
- risk assessments and necessary modification in each location and activity
- ongoing monitoring and review processes
To provide a comprehensive program that addresses the social and emotional issues associated with school disengagement and the development of life and employment skills, the commitment of community partners in the program is essential.In the local community other services may have identified or be in contact with young people at risk of school disengagement and will offersupport to the alternative education program.
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Alternative Education in Distance Education
The Distance Education(DE) school partners with local schools across the area to provide an alternative education program for young people with complex educational needs. The Outreach Centreis sponsored by, and the under the governance of a partnership group involving the DE school, the local school and local community partners. The Outreach Centre is ideally located in a community venue with 1 to 17 students attending.
The rationale for the establishment of the Centre, the enrolment processes, venue and community partners are identified by the DE and local schools. The DE school is responsible for the curriculum content and the provision of appropriate subject teachers, while the local school is responsible for the employment of the teacher and support staff at the Centre, provision of teaching materials and learning resources including appropriate internet access. The local school remains the census school and attendance at the Centre is recorded on the ‘home school’ system.Young people who wish to enrol in the Outreach Centreare required to fulfil the DE enrolment procedures, under a ‘shared enrolment’ with the local school.
Potential students are identified and engaged by the local school through a formal agreement between the young person, their family/carer, the DE school and the local school teacher. This Agreement outlines the school’s behaviour, attendance and educational expectations in accordance with the Individual Learning Plan, student goals and curriculum adjustments, pedagogy and learning strategies to accommodate the student’s learning needs. Each student’s Learning Plan is reviewed every six months and where necessary modified to maximise their learning potential and outcomes.
While attainment of recognised educational credentials such as Higher School Certificate, ROSA and Vocational certificates is the aim for each student attending the Outreach Centre, these expectations are modified for the individual student.
Services provided by community partners vary according to need; including Centre venue, vocational education and workplacetraining/experience , healthy living education, and where necessary financial assistance for food/ clothing and family support services. All other student support is provided by the ‘home school’ student support services or community service partners such as community mental health or youth services.
The sustainability of the Outreach Centre is reliant on the funding provided by the local home school, the DE school, and the level of support and sponsorship generated in the local community.
For further information please contact:
Rural and Distance Education
NSW Department of Education and Communities
Phone: 6334 8060
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