We know traditional schooling isn’t for everyone — so we offer our students flexible education options that puts them in charge of their learning.
Here are just some of the ways we’re choosing to do things differently.
Being a parent is one of the most rewarding things you will ever do in your life, but it doesn’t always make scheduling and study easy. Our Parent Friendly Classrooms make it easier for parents to remain engaged in study and work toward future employment. Parents can have their babies with them in class until 18 months
"We are a community. We help each other, support each other and sometimes even cry together but we are united in our desire to be great mums for our children and strive to make the best life that we can. We are strong."
Some students have had to overcome significant challenges in order to continue with their education. We want to support them in this journey as much as possible. As well as our innovative educators who make learning exciting, we also provide youth workers in every room to offer personalised support to each student. All of our staff are trained in trauma-informed practice, restorative practices, CPR and first aid.
We also keep our classes small to ensure personalised one-on-one attention and promote strong relationships between staff and students.
"If someone does have an issue, or is going through a hard time, the youth workers and teachers can support them. I was one of the students who had ups and downs, and they helped me through it a lot and they showed me learning could be fun."
Just as we have youth workers in every classroom to ensure wellbeing, we connect our students to an array of other services to get them the support they need. Frontyard Youth Services provide support for young people at risk or experiencing homelessness.
Springboard provides education and training for people currently in or leaving out of home care.
We can even help students to get their licence with L2P Learner Driver Mentor program.
"The patience and care that he had was eye-opening - I wouldn't want anybody else to teach me. When we drive he loves to not only advise me on where to turn left or right but also when it would be ideal to chuck a U-ey on the road that is life."
We know that everyone is in a different place on their learning pathway, and we’re ready for that. Engage Youth provides another level of support for young people who have experienced disruption in their education.
We offer outreach tutoring and case management support to help future students transition back into school, if this is what they need. The classroom runs two days each week and students take part in workshop-style learning, in a highly supported environment.
"I was at rock bottom before I came to Connect Youth and they gave me the right support. Now I can say I'm in a much better place and if it wasn't for them I wouldn't know where I would be."
The program is available to all students who enrol at Hester Hornbrook Academy, and referral is on a case-by-case basis.
Melbourne City Mission offers re-engagement programs outside Hester Hornbrook Academy.
Learn more on our Youth Re-engagement page.