Cooperative Partnerships Workshop

At a Cooperative Partnerships Workshop on March 1st the CCLLEN bought together key players to develop procedures for co-operatively working together to support young people.  Principals and key staff from all secondary schools in the CCLLEN region, Bendigo Regional Institute of TAFE (BRIT), Echuca Campus, Campaspe College of Adult Education (CCAE), Kyabram Community Learning Centre, (KCLC), Youth Connections and Centrelink attended.

The workshop arose from the CCLLEN’s December Transition & Pathways forum which raised the importance of agencies and schools working together to support young people.

There were clear requests for more information on how to manage –

• transitions,
• exits,
• referrals to agencies, and
• the documentation required.

The Compact for Young Australians (including the change to school leaving age) created the need to ensure young people under 17 and their parents are well informed. Notably there are government requirements and financial allowance implications for withdrawing from education or changing to a non-school setting.

Presentations were given by Centrelink, Youth Connections, BRIT on their Connect 2 Ed program, CCAE and KCLC. Loddon Mallee Region of the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) workshopped the school exit form and associated processes.

The session concluded with participants agreeing on the things that are important and required when guiding young people through school and into other education and training settings and/or to the workplace. Some ground rules for future partnerships were discussed and commitments were made to set up and participate in an ongoing Cooperative Partnership Working Group.

Some of the things that the workshop participants agreed that were important, and will be topics for the soon to be convened working group to cover, include-

• Keeping young people in education and/or training until the appropriate leaving age
• Knowledge of flexible models of education
• Awareness of services available to assist young people
• Clarification of referral services
• Shared enrolments
• Further development of partnerships and identification of other key services within each of the region’s communities
• Knowledge and understanding of stakeholder organisations’ protocols and modus operandi
• Building capacity of service provision in more isolated areas
• Networking and maintaining partnerships
• Keeping communication channels open between relevant parties
• Sharing of resources and information
• Obtaining resources