The HHA Difference
The Hester Hornbrook Academy is a school focused on supporting young people who have experienced education and/or social challenges, disengaged from school and from some of the most disadvantaged areas of Victoria. We work in order to ensure that every young person has equal access to quality education and the best possible opportunity to reach their full potential.
Youth Workers in every class
Our Youth Workers also offer one-to-one wellbeing support through case management and/or co-ordination. We prioritise learning through our relational pedagogy with our students to ensure we know how they best learn and how we can support them in our classroom spaces. Our wrap around support for students can include:
- Individual in class student support to assist students learning and engagement
- Co-ordinating and being involved in Care team meetings
- Access to our school Educational Psychologist for support
- Providing individual social and emotional student assessments
- Support with travel to and from school (access to student Myki cards)
- Available food on offer throughout the day
- Supporting students and their family
- Making referrals to external agencies and supporting our students to engage with them
Along with the above student resources, at each of our campuses we also have a Wellbeing Team Leader (WTL). Our WTL’s provide our staff and students with onsite support and can respond and facilitate wellbeing interventions or referrals were appropriate. The WTL also can hold a case load for inactive students who have disengaged from the school and attempt to re-engage these students back into education. We attempt all re-engagement methods to facilitate reconnecting the student with a positive educational experience, no matter how disengaged the student may be.
Young Parents' Classroom
The Young Parents’(YP) Classrooms run out of our Prahran and Sunshine campuses. They are classrooms specifically for young people who are parents or expecting parents. As earlier parenthood can often be a barrier to accessing and staying engaged in education, these classrooms are spaces where young parents are welcomed and supported.
Just like our other classrooms, the Young Parents is a highly flexible and supported environment. Enrolment numbers are smaller in these classrooms and support is tailored to their unique lives. All three levels of VCAL are delivered within these classrooms. Due to having smaller class sizes, the work can be specifically tailored to the interests and aspirations of the students.
Our students are welcome to bring their children into the classroom space. As a school, we believe that access to early childhood education is crucial in the development of child’s life. After a child of a student turns 1 year of age, we encourage and support them to find child care arrangements. If a student that enrols in our school, has a child that is over the age of 1 year, they are still welcome to bring their child to school for the first 6 months as we encourage and support them to find appropriate childcare arrangements.
Our staff in the Young Parents classroom are dedicated professionals who aim to support young parents to develop the necessary skills to thrive in their next phase of life. There is a strong entrepreneurship culture within the classrooms that empower the young parent to take control of their lives. There is also a strong focus on empowering our students to become strong leaders in their communities.
Click here to learn more about Young Parents Classroom.
Basic Key Skill Builder (BKSB)
The BKSB tool is used as an assessment and learning tool to help determine strengths, assess gaps in Literacy and Numeracy, and to let students be as independent as possible in working on gaining greater skills and confidence in learning. Ths is conducted by our Learning Specialist-Education Assessment, Sue and her team.
Click here for more details.
Wellbeing Program
Wellbeing at the Hester Hornbrook Academy is an essential part in the way we deliver education. Our school emphasizes being Safe, Productive and Respectiful, and we believe this builds a strong foundation for a healthy community.
To learn more about the work Elise (Head of Wellbeing) and her team is doing at Hester Hornbrook Academy, click the link below.
Click here to learn more.
Psychological Services
The HHA Psychological Services aim to cultivate a safe and inclusive environment for students to respond to their learning and wellbeing needs.
Our inhouse psychologist, Boon and her team works collaboratively with the educators, youth workers and wellbeing team leaders toi respond to the individual needs of our students'. We ensure that students feel supported and empowered to learn and thrive in their learning environment.
Click here to learn more.
Trauma informed Healing Oriented Program
The Hester Hornbrook Academy provides a Trauma Informed Healing Oriented education to the young people in our care.
Click here for more details.
Tutorial Support
At HHA we understand the importance of developing our students’ skills and confidence with skills in Literacy and Numeracy and offer support through Tutorial Program, available for all students.
Our tutors provide specialised Literacy and Numeracy support, focusing on the achievement of specific educational outcomes for students. These tutorials occur through collaborative partnership between the Educator, Youth Worker and HHAs Learning Specialist.
We then develop an individualised learning process for students, informed through data obtained from our BKSB assessment and learning resource.
