Strong demand: New Ballarat flexible learning school already full

Frantic finishing touches are being made to a quick-turnaround renovation of the 1874 building to create a modern and flexible learning environment for young people needing an alternative to mainstream schools.

Even before St Joseph's Special Assistance School opens it has a full enrolment of 120 and there is a waiting list, such is the demand for this type of education.

Campus principal Troy Strybosch said the young people enrolled at St Joseph's came from a range of backgrounds who were disengaged from school, who faced barriers to education, or who mainstream schools had not been able to cater for.

While there has been a spotlight on students struggling at mainstream schools during and since the COVID pandemic, the need for this type of flexible secondary school learning has existed far longer.

Mr Strybosch said local government secondary school principals recognised the need for more flexible education options in Ballarat and wrote to Edmund Rice Education Australia (which operates the St Joseph's Special Assistance Schools) five years ago inviting them to explore Ballarat as a potential site for a new school and offering to assist.

"Research shows that once a young person is disengaged from education, they are less likely to make a good transition to employment or further education," he said.

The City of Ballarat council also wrote a letter of invitation.

"They wanted this and got the ball rolling," he said. "There's been a long journey, and we've been through half a dozen different sites, and look at the one we are now in ... what a turnaround of an asset and what it's going to do."

While classes will begin on February 12, the week from February 5 will be filled with family meetings, introductions and tours for its new students.

The old school building has been transformed in to a bright, welcoming space which will house seven classes, each with a core teacher and youth worker.

Class sizes are small, the school is fully-funded so there are no fees, there's no compulsory uniform though students can wear school clothes if they choose, books are provided as are breakfast, morning tea and lunch are as well as take-home food if needed.

The St Joseph's Special Assistance School education model offers flexible, supported learning through a trauma-informed approach for students from year seven to 12 offering VCE, vocational education and training, and elective and excursion programs.

"In Ballarat, there is a significant need for alternative educational options, with the City of Ballarat 2022 Youth Profile showing there were 1343 young people in Ballarat aged 15-24 who were disengaged from work or education," Mr Strybosch said.

The difference is that education is offered in a flexible, negotiated way with "common ground" a focus between staff and learners.

A focus is on building relationships and a safe place for the young people, some of whom have been traumatised by past school experience.

"First and foremost is building relationships and connection," he said.

The school day starts at 9am with breakfast before classes begin at 9.30am, but unlike mainstream secondary schools, each class will have one core teacher and youth worker, though the school will also offer specialist subjects including art, music and technology.

Alison Wilson, program director of wellbeing and engagement, said the school would also offer opportunities for its young people to go out each week to take part in different activities and build strong links with the community.

"It will depend on the group of young people and their interests. We want them to have as much voice and agency as we can and really listen to them."

And while the school is offering a modern education style, it will not forget the past of the old building that has been transformed in less than six months to house it.

Two murals on upstairs walls from the old primary school, which closed in 1992, have been retained and old photographs and memorabilia will be displayed.