life, learning and achievement implementing strategies to support education and employment...
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LIFE, LEARNING AND ACHIEVEMENT
Implementing Strategies to Support Education and Employment Achievements for Young People in
Out of Home Care
Centacare Broken Bay Resource Toolkit © Centacare
Broken Bay
Why is Education a Priority?
Success in school is one of the critical factors for quality of life for youth and adults
Young people in OOHC are disadvantaged by poor educational achievement
Academic failure is linked to adolescent crime, suicide ideation, early pregnancy, depression, unemployment, homelessness and ill health
Supporting Education
If education is a priority, young people are more likely to achieve their learning goals and make a successful transition to adult life
Supporting the education of looked-after children provides them with one of the most reliable means of escape from disadvantage
Educational achievement provides the “single most significant measure” of the effectiveness of the OOHC system
Supporting education is one of the most important aspects of OOHC service
Safe, stable place to live Nurturing and well resourced environment Physical and mental health
Social and emotional development Relationships Resilience Self awareness and control
Education and employment Life skills and interests Academic socialization
A key strategy in effective Out of Home Care
Learning
Education is more than school A wide range of learning activities support
development e.g.
Employment and volunteering
Leisure, hobbies and friends
Independent living programs
Incidental ‘life skills’ learning
Independent study and homework
Factors for Education Achievement
Placement Stability
Access to Education Programs
Accurate, transferrable Education Records
Monitoring of outcomes
Advocacy for individual young people
Collaboration between the agencies
involved in supporting learning
Model: Staff, carers, mentors and peer
leaders demonstrate desired behaviours
Resource: The living
environment is equipped with the resources
required to learn
Engage: Small scale activities matched to young people’s interests and skills are used to engage them in
learning
Support: The young person has access to
professional support and external services to meet their specific
needs
Building Educational Success
e.g. Staff are seen to read and frequently discuss things learned
from their reading
e.g. Books, quiet area for reading,
library card
e.g. Reading or vocabulary building games on the
computer
e.g. Remedial reading class
Learning Achievement
e.g. reading
• Education is talked about• Education is resourced• Service strategies support Education• Staff trained to support Education• Young people are engaged in Education• Outcomes are evaluated and acted on• Year 12 retention
• Average or above grades• Further education enrolment• Work experience• Independent living skills
• Employment• Financial independence• Social integration• Home ownership• Health and well being
If Education is a Priority then... It is acknowledged in policy and
procedure
Resourced as a key activity
Planned and evaluated
Included in job descriptions and training
Clearly documented
Observable in daily activities
Evidence Based Practice Standards
The Life, Learning and Achievement Toolkit is based on the available evidence
of ‘what works’ to help young people in OOHC
Practices are grouped into the following areas:
Access and Participation Learning Support Informal and Leisure Learning Opportunities Learning Culture Self Reliance
Access and Participation
Young people have access to and are able to
participate in appropriate education and
employment
Placement stability – and stability of educational
placement and leisure activities
Monitoring attendance
Shared information with education providers
Career counselling for young people in Year 9
and above
Activities that lead to recognised qualifications
Learning Support
Formal education is supported collaboratively through a range of activities and services
Collaboration with other education providers Appointing an education advocate Attending every possible event at school Resources for homework and independent
study Personal support and monitoring of
homework
Informal Learning Opportunities
Young people have an opportunity to develop their interests, social and life skills
in a diverse range of activities
Helping young people to develop and pursue leisure
Casual, part time and voluntary employment
Independent living skills training Holistic projects to develop life skills
Learning Culture
The young person’s living and leisure environment provides continuous learning
support
Getting adults involved and supporting learning Mentors Tutors Carers, youth workers, case workers Birth family
Encouragement and praise
Training for workers and carers
Self Reliance
Young people are supported to actively participate in and direct their education
A strengths approach, building resilience Individual learning plans Projects that build the experience of
achievement Attributing success to ability Communicating high expectations;
encouraging high aspirations
The ability to make choices, act on interests, determine goals, exert a level of control over outcomes
Ideas about the future self; career and education goals
Success in areas of learning reinforcing self-efficacy, interest and motivation
Getting Ready for Independent Living
Problem Solving Together
Talk about learning and careers regularly
Set new challenges in projects, leisure and daily
living
Break information into manageable blocks
Help the young person to distance themselves and
consider what is happening
Listen to the young person’s side of the story
Admit your own ignorance and ask “How could we
find out?”
Check Progress
• Annual Data Collection Tool
The Life, Learning and Achievement Toolkit
Selecting Tools for the Job: 1If you already have your own approach to
supporting Education or if you have not considered Education as a priority before try:
Reviewing your policy and procedures with the Evidence Based Standards for Service Delivery
Reviewing your program support activities with the Evidence Informed Standards for Service Management
Checking your client records with the Quick Records Audit Checklist
Selecting Tools for the Job: 2If you can see opportunities to improve
record keeping by introducing tools try: Education and Life Skills Profile will
ensure that young people have a full and transferrable record of their learning experience
Annual Data Collection Tool will ensure that the program or organisation has an overall picture of what is happening in education and learning
Selecting Tools for the Job: 3If you can see opportunities to improve daily practice
to emphasize the importance of learning try:
Education Learning Review will help you to have regular conversations with young people about their learning experience
Employment Learning Review does the same thing for young people who are in employment
Life Skills Assessment will help you to engage young people in thinking about independent living skills and identifying their strengths and needs
Life Skills Project Assessment will help you to record and discuss the work related strengths that young people demonstrate in projects and daily life
Embedding practice in policy The tools may be used individually but are
designed to be used together Once you have selected tools it is helpful
to apply them consistently and then review them after a set period of time
Tools are more likely to be used consistently if they are supported by policy and procedure
People using the tools for the first time will require training
Measuring Success
If you use one or more of the tools in this toolkit, measure the impact that this has on the young person and on yourself
Set some general standards to measure performance. Use the Annual Data Collection Tool
Monitor school reports: how is learning performance, attendance and general feedback changing over time
Provide feedback to Centacare Broken Bay – have the tools helped? Have you changed and improved the tools? What outcomes are you observing?
Next Steps
Questions or Feedback?Questions or Feedback?
Contact:Contact: Centacare Broken BayCentacare Broken Bay
stephen.mondy@dbb.org.austephen.mondy@dbb.org.au
What are the next steps to focus on education and learning for young people in out of home care?
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