Berry Street Web Docs Annual Report 2010 | Page 23

The right
to education
The right to education is fundamental and a
critical determinant of life opportunities.
While mainstream schools work well for most,
they often don’t successfully meet the needs
of our children and young people who need
higher staff to student ratios, greater flexibility
and a willingness to look beyond the students’
behaviours.
Our understanding of how to provide the best
education for these young people continues to
grow. The Youth Research Centre at the University
of Melbourne was contracted to document our
model of education.
Some of our work included:• 67 young people were enrolled in our
independent school, the BEST Centre, through
our campuses in Morwell and Noble Park.
• Our education support unit in the South Eastern
region helped 82 young people to remain
connected in school or access tutoring.
• We engaged 50 Indigenous young people
through our Wannik program in Gippsland.
• Through the new Youth Connections program,
we helped 202 young people reconnect to
education or access training or employment
opportunities.
• 580 young people participated in other education
programs, including the Victorian Certificate of
Applied Learning and Adult Community
Education program.
• 71 young people in residential care were helped
through tutoring, individual education plans and
advocacy with schools.

Barry dropped out of school when he was
in Year 8. Although a very capable student,
his chaotic home life made it difficult for
him to attend regularly. Rather than ‘fail’,
Barry withdrew and started using marijuana
regularly. Three years later, Barry was
referred to the BEST Centre in Morwell. He
was living with his two siblings in a rundown
house on the outskirts of town. When we
couldn’t contact him, we drove to his home
and eventually persuaded him to ‘give it a
go’. Our teachers were impressed by Barry’s
obvious desire to learn, despite the enormous
challenges of his living circumstances and
gaps in his education. Through one to one
contact and small groupwork, Barry started
to make up lost ground and his confidence
grew. He joined a local football club, found
part-time work and successfully completed
the Year 11 Victorian Certificate of Applied
Learning. Without our reaching out and
the skills of our education staff, Barry has
acknowledged that his life trajectory would
have been very different. He now looks
forward to a positive future.

Thirteen year old Maria’s schooling was
continually interrupted, as her family moved
often and her mother had a significant
mental illness. She was withdrawn, lacking
in confidence, assessed at Grade 2 level
and suffering from post traumatic stress
disorder. Our patient education staff worked
intensively with her and within 18 months, she
was able to enrol in a local secondary college.

• We also worked with 102 schools through our
School Focussed Youth Services in Hume and
the North & West.
• 17 families participated in our ‘Good Start’
primary school program in Shepparton.

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