Hands on Learning (Benalla College)

Source: www.handsonlearning.info

When were you born?

In January 2010.

Who funds you? 

I am jointly funded by the Tomorrow Today foundation - funding the tradesperson and Benalla College - funding the dedicated teacher. The Tomorrow Today foundation also provides some tool and resource funding for the program.

What kind of mentoring program are you?  

Group mentoring. Adult to young person – I will look into extending myself to include one to one mentoring during my evaluation.

What do you try to do for your young people?  

To reconnect them to school and their community.

Who are your young people? 

Young people in years 7-10 who are at risk of disengaging from the school system.

Where do you operate? 

Out of a shed built by the program participants as their first project on the Benalla College grounds.

How many young people and mentors do you support right now? 

Two groups of 10 young people attend the program with a dedicated teacher and a tradesperson as mentors.

What’s so exciting about you?  

The excellent partnership between the Benalla College and the Tomorrow Today foundation and the fact that the young people attending the program are actually “doing” while being mentored which enables them to learn and build on many skills.

Do you have any partnerships to help you out?  

I am a partnership between Benalla College and the Tomorrow Today foundation support. This partnership is working extremely well.

What have you learnt from the journey so far?  

That the Benalla college is keen to have the Tomorrow Today foundation involved. The College is open and sharing of information and support.

What’s your biggest challenge?  

The biggest challenge for the mentors and the Program Coordinator at this stage is maintaining the cohesiveness of the groups attending whilst ensuring the inclusion of newer members as they are referred.

What’s the best thing you've done so far?  

Those attending the program are not just kids acting out, but are young people who may be disengaging through absentee episodes. Although it is early days the attendance records have risen and the numbers of suspensions and absenteeism have reduced. The mentors were happy to announce that there has not been one absentee from the ‘Hands on Learning’ program since it started.

What is the one piece of advice you would give to other programs? 

Ensure that you have all the background work completed including a clear agreement on who is doing what and when. Work hard on ensuring the quality of staff running the program to ensure a good working model.