Providing Education and Training for At Risk ... - Victoria University

schools so students get to know them. For example, some of their time is spent staffing arecreation room in one school so they can work with students who would not otherwise accessthe service – they can start talking to them then and there. Student welfare coordinators in theparticipating schools also refer students quickly and either drive them to the service or theproject workers pick them up.Amongst its activities, the Program runs a free tutoring program staffed by fourth year universitystudents or graduates on a sessional basis. This is an important aspect of the Program becauseit builds confidence especially in those who might be embarrassed about their low levels ofliteracy and numeracy. The sessional staff are thoroughly briefed about the characteristics ofthose they tutor (eg. be prepared for a “no show” and to arrive earlier or leave later) and thekinds of approaches that work and avoid perpetuating “patterns of failure”.Another strategy for building confidence is to assist participants to gain practical experiencein work. Casual work is easier to find than full time work and provides some money, whichhelps to raise self-esteem. Work experience occurs in conjunction with training provided byWestern Melbourne Institute of TAFE who have “fantastic trainers and links to work”.A further strategy is to work with families long term, especially in cases of school refusal. Theimmediate aim is to build enough trust so that even though a young person’s contact with theprogram may be intermittent, they know that the door is always open. The Program Managerbelieves that they will “decide in their own time with someone who provides assistance”.Usually they decide to seek assistance either because they are “heavily into strife”, “havefallen out with a peer” or are sick of their current state of affairs.In summary, the Program manager believes the factors that make this Program work are:• the commitment of the Advisory Group• the coordinated approach• flexibility of the model to be “really responsive to needs”• inter-departmental cooperation• organisational learning through action research• the value systems of the project workers (“they want to affect change”)• the added value provided by the participating agencies and the collective wisdom andexpertise of the staff who represent them (this provides more than the $80,000 grant forthe two project staff and the sessional staff for the tutoring program).53