2015

ANNUAL REPORT

SMYL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

©2016 SMYL Community College

“Happiness and Usefulness”

I am pleased to see that Year 12 students graduating with WACE, including vocational qualifications, is becoming the norm at SMYL Community College. Of the 17 students to

graduate in 2015, all of them achieved a WACE and amongst them they amassed 21 vocational qualifications.

To see so many students graduating is immensely pleasing. The post-school destinations of the graduates are also encouraging. The Governing Council of SMYL Community College es-tablished the College to offer an alternative educational pathway to employment for young people who were at risk of falling through the cracks of mainstream education. Therefore, while WACE is important, it is where they end up that is the most important measure of our success. In 2015 seven graduates went straight into employment, including one apprentice-ship, and another four are going to university or TAFE. This is an improvement on last year. However, there are another seven graduates who are currently unemployed or whose whereabouts are unknown. As the Governing Council we should always be looking at how we can do more to ensure we achieve our mission. In 2016 we shall work with the Principal to try and find new ways to maximise our vocational and employment outcomes. We will re-view our mission, examine our strategies and, when we are all satisfied and in agreement, set realistic and measurable benchmarks or targets. Attendance is another measure of our success. It is important because if we can achieve high rates of attendance it means we are meeting the most fundamental and important aspect of running a CARE school—which is to re-engage students, offering them a safe educational environment and community that they will want to belong to. Before coming to SMYL Com-munity College many of our students had not been in regular attendance at school and some had not been for months. So in 2015 to have an attendance rate of 67.9% (84.8% including those with reasonable explanations for their absence) is a great success. This rate of atten-dance is the highest we have ever achieved and reflects a year on year upward trend. So on behalf of the members of the Governing Council I would like to thank and congratulate Jo and her staff for achieving a great result in 2015—the highest number of graduates with WACE, the highest number of graduates in employment and the highest rate of attendance. We look forward to working with you all in the new year—a year that will offer new chal-lenges and change as we open our second campus in Rockingham-Kwinana for new year groups and continue planning for new campuses in Kalgoorlie-Boulder and Mandurah. Phil Brooks Chair of Governing Council

REPORT FROM THE CHAIR

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REPORT FROM THE SCHOOL DIRECTOR

U nfortunately, there is great demand across Western Austra-lia for the type of educational experience offered by SMYL Community College. While it may bring us no joy to know

that our services are so widely needed, at the same time it is good to be taking action to do something about it. In 2015 we decided that the time was right to act. We believe the College now has the experience and financial stability to be able to expand and open new campuses. In particular we had been hearing for some time that more needed to be done in the regions for young people at-risk of disengaging from education, especially in Kal-goorlie-Boulder and Mandurah. This is a lengthy process involving submissions to government to amend our registration, lo-cal consultations with schools and investment in infrastructure and resources. We began the process in the last part of the year with a trip to Kalgoorlie-Boulder where it was confirmed that the city has a significant problem with truancy, and that the public high schools have high numbers of enrolled students who attend less than 60% of the time and are therefore educationally at-risk. Our proposed enrolment capacity of up to 45 students would be easily oversubscribed. It was recommended that the CARE school focus on enrolling Years 8 to 11 and work to reintegrate students back into the mainstream for Year 12 where possible. In Mandurah SMYLs proposed enrolment capacity of up to 45 would also be easily oversub-scribed. Mandurah has similar problems and it was recommended that the CARE school focus on enrolling Years 7 to 10 and work with the public schools to reintegrate students back into the mainstream for Years 11 and 12 where possible. We hope that both our Mandurah and Kalgoorlie-Boulder campuses will open in 2017. In Rockingham-Kwinana we began the process to change our registration so that we can teach Years 8 and 9 at a new campus. The new campus will offer 7 classrooms and a massive workshop area. Enrolling younger students is a departure for the College however we are doing so in response to the needs of the local public high schools. This will boost our Rocking-ham-Kwinana enrolments up towards 150 when the campus opens in Semester 2 of 2016. I am pleased that the College has been able to access a grant from the Commonwealth as well as a low interest loan from the State to purchase the original school building in Tesla Road. Even though the College did not own the building, it had invested heavily in infrastruc-ture to make it a modern and specialised facility with commercial kitchen and workshops. The College will now own both of the buildings it uses – at Tesla Road and Beale Way – mak-ing it more financially independent and helping to secure its future. So having finally achieved a state of stability over five years of ups and downs we now look forward to two years of expansion, new challenges and measured change. Sam Gowegati School Director

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T he year at the College has been a mixture of activity and learning, highs and lows. In term four we celebrated the 17 students who completed Year 12, each one of them

with WACE and many with clear plans for their futures. Their suc-cess is a testimony to the hard work and skill of their teachers and education assistants, particularly Louise Attley who is the just the second teacher at the College to have achieved the mile-stone of taking a group of students from Year 10 to 12.

The two classes in year 11 have settled into their WACE studies and we are looking forward to seeing their further growth and development in Year 12. The program for the two Year 10 classes has been guided by the design principles of Big Picture Education. It has been excit-ing to see the students explore their interests and slowly become involved in work place-ments and internships. Electives and excursions have continued to be a feature of each school week with an in-creased emphasis on service becoming a feature of our approach. In the middle of the year a canteen service was introduced with healthy food options now being available for recess and lunch in addition to breakfast. The infrastructure of the College has slowly developed during the year. The fit out of the stu-dent café space was upgraded over the summer and it has become increasingly well used as the year has progressed. During third term a group of students worked with an urban artist, Drew Straker, to add to colour to the walls outside of the classrooms. The major mural has transformed a large section of the wall upstairs into a painted aquarium. It is a wonderful piece of work and is helping to create a warm, welcoming environment. Early in term four we farewelled Pat Fenton who has been receptionist and registrar at the College since it opened five years ago and prior to that worked for SMYL Community Ser-vices. Pat’s knowledge of SMYL and of the College have been much missed since she has left, however, leaving an even bigger hole, is her care, wisdom and hard work. The College is continuing to provide a unique opportunity for our students to re-engage with their education and to create choices for their futures. During the year, staff developed a clear statement of the College’s identity: We exist because we believe all young people are capable of becoming happy and useful members of society.

We will succeed by using Big Picture Design to enable our students to become strongly connected to the school, to demonstrate mastery, to take responsibility and to demonstrate generosity.

We look forward to the College flourishing into the future. Jo Bednall Principal

REPORT FROM THE PRINCIPAL

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ABOUT SMYL COMMUNITY COLLEGE

S MYL Community College was established in 2011 as a CARE (Curriculum and Re-engagement to Education) school for Year 10-12 students in the Rockingham and Kwinana

area who are at risk of, or are, disengaged from mainstream schooling. For this reason SMYL Community College provides an alternative education program that caters for both the edu-cational and welfare needs of each student. The focus of the program is the development of literacy and numeracy, social skills, practical skills and workplace experience, while providing counselling and social-work support where required.

Vision To alleviate distress and build capacity within people and communities.

Mission To provide an inclusive and supportive learning community that offers an alternative ap-proach to education and training for young people aged 15 to 17 years of age who are at risk of missing out on opportunities due to their home life, health and other issues. Young people will be provided with the opportunity to progress, with all the support they need, along a pathway to employment.

Ethos SMYL Community College believes that all young people: are individuals, with their own circumstances, abilities and aspirations in life; have the right to receive an appropriate education; deserve the opportunity to participate in the workforce.

Goals To create a supportive team approach to learning that includes students, parents,

teachers, mentors, youth workers and counselors. To deliver project-based hands-on education and training in an enterprise/workshop

based setting. To foster the self-confidence and motivation, and develop the skills, in young people

that will enable them to move on to further education, training or employment. To provide a clear pathway to further education, training and employment. To provide direct opportunities for employment. To develop responsibility and respect in individuals.

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GOVERNANCE AND STAFFING

* Workforce Composition as of 31 December 2015: The workforce of SMYL Community College consists of 17 people, of which five are male and twelve are female. One member of staff is Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander.

Governing Council Philip Brooks Chair Rohan Lewis Deputy Chair Michael Keep Secretary/Treasurer Jan Sonder-Sorensen Member Len Collard Member Maureen Thomson Member Ian Linn Member Sam Gowegati School Director (ex officio)

Teaching Staff* (6 FTE) Jo Bednall Principal Louise Attley Teacher Ian Mitchell Teacher Emily Brook Teacher

Emily Godfrey Teacher Jane Loncar Teacher

Non-Teaching Staff* (7.8 FTE) Kirsty Low Education Assistant Mavis Tahere Education Assistant Rom Mauri Education Assistant Anthony Vickers Youth Worker Anne Thompson VET Coordinator Leena Mishra IT Support Thea Phillips Administrator Danielle Rickard Registrar Stephen Dodd Maintenance Sinead Poumako-Hoskin Canteen

Other Staff in 2015 Djana Visekruna Education Assistant Nathalie Lester Counsellor

Patricia Fenton Administrator Nathalie Ward Student Welfare

Teacher standards and qualifications The school employs six registered teachers including the Principal. To be registered the Teacher’s Registration Board requires teachers to have: an appropriate teaching qualifica-tion, a current working with children check and a police clearance. Teachers have been involved in professional development activities and programmes throughout the year, including, but not limited to: Youth Mental Health First Aid, Celebrate Reading National Conference, Scaffolding Adolescent Literacy, Soundway Literacy program, Suicide and Non-suicide self injury, SEQTA Database training, NCCD, Big Picture design, CARE Schools Conference, Schools of the Future, Mobile Device Photography, Art on the Move, Working with complicated Grief, Mental Health Super Summit, Food safety, SMART Mental Health, Anxious Kids: effective teaching, Mandatory Reporting, Certificate IV in Training and Assessment and Community Lifesaving Certificate.

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STUDENT ATTENDANCE AND OUTCOMES

The rate of attendance* for the school in 2015 was: Based on ‘number of days enrolled’ and ‘number of days attended’: 67.9% Including ‘number of days absent with explanatory evidence’: 84.8%

If a student is absent the staff of the College contact the student’s parents/guardians immedi-ately by phone or text. If no response is received the staff of the College contact any agencies with which the student is registered or engaged. If a student is absent without reasonable explanation for a period of more than five days the parent/guardian is notified of the ab-sences in writing and a reasonable explanation is requested from the parent/guardian. If all attempts to locate a student fail after 20 College days and the College has not received advice that the student has enrolled at another school, the Principal will contact the Student Tracking System at Education District Office. Extended and/or regular non-attendance will result in counselling and the development of a re-engagement plan.

Number of students who completed Year 12 : 17 Number of students who attained Year 12 (WACE) certificate: 17 Number of vocational qualifications attained by Year 12 students: 21

The post-school destinations of the 17 students in Year 12 in 2015 were: Apprenticeships 1 Employment 6 TAFE/RTO 1 University 3 Unemployment 3 Unknown 4

Post-School Destinations

Management of Non-attendance

* Based on the attendance data samples recorded for Department of Education Services in each Term of 2015.

Educational Outcomes

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PARENT AND STUDENT SATISFACTION

In June 2015, the College surveyed the students. They were given a list of 15 possible out-comes of schooling and asked to choose the five that were most important for them. The top three were: 1. The student knows what he/she wants to do in the future 2. The student gains his/her WACE 3. The student develops responsibility for his/her own actions In the second part of the survey, students were asked to respond to four statements about the school by indicating on a four point scale how effectively each statement was being imple-mented at the College. The top response with a rating of 3.3 was students are given opportu-nities at school to take responsibility for their actions. The final part of the survey asked the students to make statements about what they value at the College. A small sample of their responses included: The work isn’t like mainstream schools The opportunities that we are given and the trust and belief that is put into the students I come to school more often than I used to. They are like family to me . During 2015, the College did not formally survey parents, however, nearly all parents were contacted at the end of the year to talk about the learning of their son/daughter and to talk about plans for 2016. Teachers report very high levels of parent satisfaction with the oppor-tunities being provided to the students, with the level of care of the students and with the attendance and achievement of the students.

BREAKDOWN OF INCOME

School Fees1%

Recurrent Grant85%

Special Education

Grant

12%

Private Income2%

SMYL Community College 32 Tesla Road

Rockingham WA 6168 Tel: 9550 9400 Fax: 9528 2183

smylcommunitycollege.weebly.com/ ABN: 80 974 093 441

“Happiness and Usefulness”