DECS / Futures Connect

Background

In January 2005 the Premier made the commitment to have all young South Australians (15-19 years of age) learning or earning with a guarantee to help them to achieve their potential, whichever path they choose. In February 2005, the Minister for Education and Children's Services expanded on this commitment in Parliament noting that at its heart was the intention to see each person realise their ambitions and dreams either through being at school or in work or in training, and to improve each person's work and life prospects.

The South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy (SAYES) is a strategic response to the commitment outlined by the Premier and the Minister, and Futures Connect and the Youth Engagement Team (YET) have key roles in implementing it.

The following key principles underpin the response of Futures Connect to the implementation of SAYES and the 'learning or earning' commitment:

Each young person is assisted to successfully plan and engage in learning that:

Teachers and schools will work in partnership with other agencies, community and business/industry groups to create a learning system that is broader in its conception and operation than a stand-alone school.

A student's pathway within the learning system - that is, the sequence and setting of learning opportunities - will be planned and personalised to respond to their needs, interests and aptitudes. Students will be able to move seamlessly between programs (including employment) provided by a range of providers.

It is acknowledged that each student will need assistance to some extent in order to progress through the learning system. Some will require greater support than others, including assistance with issues such as health and other social services.

South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy (SAYES)

The South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy (SAYES) is a comprehensive strategy for the provision of education, training and employment services for 15-19 year olds in South Australia.

The South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy complements the Government's existing School Retention Action Plan for young people aged 15 - 19 who are at risk of not completing Year 12 or its equivalent.

It expands the concept of student engagement and retention to include those young people studying full time at school and those engaged in combinations of learning, training and employment; or in the Premier's words "learning or earning".

The Strategy refocuses attention on the significance of longer term engagement of young people as they move from learning in the senior secondary years to ongoing learning through further education and/or training.

The aims of the South Australian Youth Engagement Strategy (SAYES) are to:

The Strategy aims to bring together existing initiatives, monitors effectiveness, addresses gaps in provision and improves policy.

It is a collaborative program between DECS and DFEEST in partnership with SSABSA and other relevant government agencies involved in the Youth Engagement Strategy.

Key strategic objective 1: Building Engaging Curriculum

All year 8-12 students should expect to be provided with relevant curriculum that responds to their individual needs identified through their Individual Learning Plans (ILPs). Some learning opportunities will be delivered by schools, and others by external providers and agencies which will be brokered by the school.

All students can expect:

Key strategic objective 2: Community Partnerships (including governance and resourcing of the seamless learning system)

Broader and deeper youth engagement is a shared responsibility between schools and their wider communities - schools cannot and should not 'do it alone'. Schools need to share the responsibility with other education and training providers, employers, business and industry, other agencies, and community based organisations.

This will involve:

Key strategic objective 3: Individual Learning Plan (including Transition Portfolio and Transition Plan)

All year 8-12 students will be assisted to develop ILPs that identify the learning and activites they need to undertake in pursuit of their career aspirations. The plan is not fixed - it must be regularly revised in response to changing insights, interests and circumstances. The Futures Connect ILP is the appropriate planning and recording tool.

Students should use their ILP to plan and document their intended pathway within and beyond school, including the first steps that need to be taken and the supports that are available to them. Students should also generate documents from their ILP (eg resumé). These can be stored and organised in their Futures Connect Transition Portfolio along with evidence of their skills, knowledge and experience acquired in school, community and work settings. This evidence can be used by students to market themselves, such as in interviews or preparing job applications.

All students can expect:

Key strategic objective 4: Career Development

Career development in its contemporary form is the process of managing life, learning and work over a person's lifetime. It encompasses the provision of diverse services to assist people to gain knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviours that help them to manage their career (ie life, learning and work roles) more effectively.

Planning for personalised learning through the ILP is underpinned by effective career development. All year 8-12 students will be engaged in structured learning opportunities that assist them to develop career development skills and to become competent self-managers of their futures.

All students can expect ready access to:

Key strategic objective 5: Monitoring and Tracking for Targeted Intervention

Monitoring and tracking processes will help ensure that each student is cared for throughout his or her education and into a successful initial transition. These processes will ensure that students do not fall through the cracks because action has not been taken. They will also ensure that those who have disengaged are assisted to re-engage through targeted intervention measures, including information about the range of support available and help to access them.

All students can expect: