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?