The Blackwood program provides a unique, dynamic and positive small school environment for students with complex learning needs to re-engage with their education. Enrolment is available to Year 7-10 students from the Gippsland area who are at risk of (dropping out of school) disengagement in their learning.
Blackwood cultivates and maintains a safe place to build young people’s skills and confidence. Our school strives to close gaps in student learning to improve self-regulation, wellbeing, and academic achievement. Blackwood gives young people the skills and sense of belonging, to be successful, connected members of society with an achievable pathway back to further education, training or employment.
Program Outline
Blackwood is a twelve-month engagement program based in Hallora. Students selected for this program will be in a group of 20 peers, offering scope of smaller class sizes and differentiated learning. The program is designed to develop student capability to regulate a range of feelings, thoughts and behaviours through identifying and addressing needs and allowing individual students to expand their capacity and ability to learn.
Throughout the duration of this twelve-months, all students will remain enrolled in their home school. This will ensure each student will be better equipped on completion of the program to cope with the various environments of school, home, work and the larger community. Working with each participant, staff will continually liaise with schools, parents/caregivers and other support agencies, to ensure integration and transition.
Student outcomes
- Relationship skills and personal confidence
- Gaps in students’ learning closed
- Improved students’:
- Self-regulation
- Wellbeing
- Academic achievement
- A sense of belonging, pride and connection to community
- An achievable pathway back to further education, training or employment.
A primary focus of the Blackwood program is the implementation of the Berry Street Education Model (BSEM) that encompasses a trauma informed approach to education. The philosophy of integrating wellbeing principles within our teaching and learning practices, is to allow each student to learn to value their individual strengths, interests, skills, abilities and knowledge for extending their learning. Blackwood focusses on nurturing growth and supporting students to build their sense of relatedness and belonging to school, employment and everyday life.
For the duration of the program, students are provided an opportunity to widen their window of tolerance to cope with a range of experiences through a toolbox of strategies ranging from positive primers, brain breaks, self and group reflection, Ready to Learn Plans, mindfulness and consistent language allowing students to be present, centered and ready to learn. This is achieved through:
- Addressing students’ capacity to regulate in stressful situations
- Increasing stamina, nurturing resilience, emotional intelligence and growth mindset to develop a culture of academic persistence
- Harnessing students’ individual strengths to strive towards personal success and growth
- Increasing students’ willingness to learn and promoting student voice and agency.
- Developing students’ ability to connect with others and their learning environment in a positive manner.
In alignment with the BSEM, our wellbeing approach is proactive rather than reactive.
We have embedded personal development, social emotional skills, mindfulness and regulation lessons in the program. We work with students to identify their emotions and to develop strategies to assist with managing challenging situations. Students are allocated to a mentor group, where they will have daily check ins and team goals.
At Blackwood, we value student voice and agency across all curriculum areas. Students work within their particular interest areas on project-based tasks. Some examples may include: Blackwood’s vegetable garden, fundraising, connecting with primary schools and aged care facilities.
Expectations
Clear standards and expectations are established at the beginning of each group intake, and these are consistently reinforced. Standards of behaviour are modelled by staff and therefore communication with students, at any level, of reinforces skill development and behavioural requirements. Expectations are in alignment with The Department of Education and Training policies.
Camps and excursions
Blackwood offers a variety of camps, excursions and experiences used in a multitude of ways, to allow students the ability to grow without the confines of a traditional classroom.
Our camping experiences at Blackwood allow students to replace digital screens with firelight and their ear buds replaced with the sounds of nature. Our camps are set in beautiful places around Gippsland, exposing students and teachers to the peace and serenity of nature, refreshing minds while being able to build stronger bonds between teachers and students.
Facilities
Blackwood is located 15 kms south of Drouin on the former Hallora Primary School site. It is set in a secluded and peaceful rural environment.
The facilities include several comfortable classrooms, staffroom, fully equipped kitchen (where breakfast is supplied daily) and fitness centre, art room, outdoor learning, recreation spaces and kitchen garden. We are situated on a 4-acre block comprised of a mixture of thick bush land with walking tracks and landscaped areas. An oval and play equipment are also available.
Due to our location students have the option of being transported to and from the Drouin Train Station each day or by parent/carers transportation.
Curriculum
Blackwood’s structure, curriculum and purpose has been designed to focus first on building each students capacity to engage and then nurture their willingness to learn. The program has a strong educational focus, aligned with the Victorian Curriculum outcomes, taking into consideration the different learning needs of each student through real life application. The program is structured around personal growth and developing students’ capacity to be key contributors in their own learning, meeting the needs of each individual while promoting positive development and future success.
Through a “Positive Psychology” framework the curriculum at Blackwood embeds visible wellbeing.
We work with students to recognise their window of tolerance and further develop their learning stamina. This enables students to better receive, process and integrate information into everyday life. As research has shown, adolescents with stronger connections to learning have higher levels of zest, hope, and leadership leading to lower levels of anxiety and depression in comparison to their peers (Gillham, et al, 2011).
Key Skills
The Blackwood program provides a balance of academic subjects and experiential learning covering all key learning areas with a strong emphasis on literacy and numeracy skills. In addition, the program promotes social competence through four Key skills:
- Self-management,
- Decision making and problem solving,
- Communication,
- Resisting negative and limiting social influences.
Social competence requires an ability to adapt and integrate feelings (emotions), thinking (cognitive) and actions (behaviour) in order to achieve specific goals.
Literacy at Blackwood
Literacy is a fundamental focus and deeply embedded into the Blackwood program. This is because we know that literacy is key to the social and personal development of young people. It enhances their ability to become successful, active and responsible members of the community.
We aspire to build students’ self-confidence and personal growth in a number of areas by ensuring they have the literacy skills needed for everyday life.
We understand that students come from a wide range of backgrounds and enter schools with different abilities and experiences. This is why we have tailored a literacy intervention program that builds on the individuals’ current knowledge while using student voice and agency to enhance their engagement. We use flexible learning progressions to monitor student improvement and celebrate their achievements with them.
We use collaborative spaces to explicitly teach critical-thinking and evaluative skills to develop minds that question, learn and appreciate not only literacy but the world around them.
Our literacy program aims to bridge any gaps between students’ current skills and the skills required for learning, working and everyday success. This is closely aligned with the Victorian Curriculum outcomes, focusing on core skills to support the student’s transition back into mainstream programs or the ability to move them into an applied pathway.
Numeracy at Blackwood
Numeracy is essential to allow us to maximise our potential and make a positive contribution to society.
It allows individuals to develop logical thinking and reasoning strategies to complete daily activities like telling the time, cook, reading receipts, understanding mobile phone plans or even planning a trip.
At Blackwood the focus is to increase understanding of mathematical concepts and fluency with processes. It also aims to develop skills in posing and solving problems to assist them in other areas of the curriculum, everyday life and to further their mathematical knowledge.
Key areas covered include mental computation, measurement, data, financial and number sense. We consolidate students’ proficiency with the four arithmetic operations through investigative approaches allowing students to not only understand the solution but the process of mathematical thinking.
We work closely with students in an array of situations from theory-based approach, the integration of technology, to practical individual or group applications. This allows students to apply their mathematical knowledge and understanding to different situations and gain a broader understanding of the importance of numeracy skills.
The numeracy program is closely aligned with the Victorian Curriculum outcomes integrated with a practical component designed to develop confident, creative users and communicators of mathematics, who can investigate, represent and interpret situations in their personal/work lives and as active citizens.
Health and Physical Education at Blackwood
Blackwood HPE program aims to give students’ knowledge, understanding and skills to help them achieve successful outcomes in classroom, leisure, social, movement and online situations. Students will learn how to take positive action to enhance their own and others’ health, safety and wellbeing. They do this as they examine the nature of their relationships and other factors that influence beliefs, attitudes, opportunities, decisions, behaviours and actions. Blackwood HPE will support students in refining and applying strategies to maintain a positive outlook and evaluate behavioural expectations.
Students in HPE will be able to demonstrate a range of help-seeking strategies that support them to access and evaluate health and physical activity information and services.
Students learn to apply health and physical activity information to devise and implement personalised plans for maintaining healthy and active habits. The HPE program at Blackwood will also allow students to experience different roles that contribute to successful participation in physical activity and propose strategies to support the development of preventive health practices that build and optimise community health and wellbeing.
Students will reflect on and refine personal and social skills as they participate in a range of physical activities.
The focus areas to be addressed in HPE at Blackwood will include, but are not limited to:
- alcohol and other drugs
- food and nutrition
- health benefits of physical activity
- mental health and wellbeing
- relationships and sexuality
- safety
- challenge and adventure activities
- games and sports
- lifelong physical activities
Respectful Relationships
Respectful Relationship at Blackwood is about educating students about respect and equality within the classroom, towards staff, in everyday life and social situations. Throughout the year students will be exposed to real life scenarios, non-judgmental discussions, conflict resolution and skills to ensure healthy, happy relationships. With the focus on developing students’ skills, attitudes and understanding of gender inequality and respectful, equal relationships we provide students with the positive influences. This improves student’s academic outcomes, mental health, classroom behaviour and strengthen relationships with school and home.
Electives
Electives are embedded into the timetable to offer choice and variety to students’ learning experience. Each elective will run for approximately 5 weeks (two electives per term). They will cover areas of learning such as Humanities, Science and Technology domain, providing students with opportunities to refine their direction and learning pathway.
Art
Art – no matter whether you choose to create it yourself or simply observe and enjoy it – is a relaxing and inspiring activity for many people. The Blackwood Art program strives towards successfully re-engaging and connecting students through a journey of self discovery. Students are encouraged to explore their imagination and enhance their problem solving skills as they work through the different processes in order to complete a project and experience a sense of self-accomplishment. The program incorporates different aspects of art, including drawing, painting, sculpture, air brushing and many more. It aims to develop creativity and self-expression, increasing student’s motivation to engage with school.
Life skills
Life skills are the building blocks to learning that allow students to apply their knowledge to everyday problems and situations.
Learning life skills is an essential component to help students identify who they are and understand what they want out of life.
Blackwood provides students with the opportunity to develop skills within a supportive environment with the emphasis on work readiness and employability. These skills also address key areas needed for engagement and stamina within the classroom. They include:
- Communication
- Conflict Resolution
- Teamwork
- Leadership
- Time management and organisation
- Work-Life balance/Wellbeing
- Prepare for the workforce
- Engage with others
- Self-awareness
- Use software applications
Students are also provided with guest speakers, workshop and trade days to experience future pathway options that enable them to develop a sense of direction when returning to school, work or alternative pathway upon completion of the program.
Frequently Asked Questions
Students that are nominated for the program generally are those who have been identified as benefiting from the unique, personalised Blackwood experience. Students at risk of disengagement or are already experiencing disengagement from education should be considered, in particular where in-school strategies are unsuitable or have proven to be ineffective.
Once deciding that Blackwood would be of benefit, home schools are required to initiate an expression of interest by submitting a referral form. All parties are then invited to an open day and information session, where students can meet staff and have a tour of the facilities. This is beneficial as it allows the students to gain a sense of awareness of the objectives around the program and its location. For those unable to attend, they will be provided with a virtual tour of Blackwood.
If, after the visit, students along with their families or carers are interested, then an interview will be conducted. During this interview, staff will gain a deeper understanding of the student and their past experiences at school. Information from the interview forms the foundation of the Student Profile.
The number of students selected, the mix presenting behaviours and the balance of the genders are all designed to draw the most out of the group dynamics to ensure success for all individuals. The selection process will look at information gathered from the interview and data provided from schools. With this in mind the best judgment will be made on the group, ensuring every individual’s best interest is taken into consideration. A letter of offer will be sent outlining Orientation and the next steps for students begin their journey at Blackwood.
Upon enrolment at Blackwood, students will have individual sessions before commencement to establish a student profile and discuss the expectations of the program. The profiles will highlight student’s strengths, areas for development, interests and aspirations, and look at strategies students can identify to support their learning.
This will provide the foundation to the student’s goals for the twelve-month program and link in with the Individual Education Plans and Positive Behaviour Support Plans
(established at home school). Home schools will remain informed of progress within these plans as students show growth and success.
Orientation is a two-day process, whereby students will attend Blackwood to experience the program and become familiar with transport, expectations and timetable. It also allows for staff to work with students who may be apprehensive or anxious about new routines and expectations.
Please note: for students to be accepted into the program, they must want to attend and they must have the support of their parents or carers.
This will be an individual process. If a student has shown progress with the program at Blackwood and has expressed interest in returning to school before the end of the year, staff with the support of the home school and parents/carers will make a Return to School Plan. This will outline short term and long-term goals, including IEP, strategies and support processes – Blackwood staff visits.
There are many steps to the conclusion process of Blackwood. However, before the program finishes, students will partake in a transition program back to their home school or if arranged and supported by home school, an alternative option. This will be an individual process, with most students transitioning back one to two days a week in Term 4 to allow for Blackwood staff to monitor their progress and put in place support strategies.
This process will be determined in an exit meeting with home school, student and parent/carers. It is essential that every student leaves Blackwood with both short term and, where possible, long-term goals included in their Return to School Plan. These goals are linked into the IEPs which are sent to the home school.
When the program concludes, students will be required to do an exit interview with staff displaying a portfolio of their achievements over the year. Blackwood will also hold a graduation to celebrate the success of each student. All supporting parties will be invited to this special occasion.
Schools will receive significant and detailed reports on student progress. These include weekly newsletters, progress reports, and semester reports. Home schools and parents/carers will be provided with access to student’s Compass to see regular updates.
The focus of this communication is to show student’s achievements with respect to their goals and IEPs, as well as achievements within the team and demonstrated social competencies. We also encourage home schools to visit to check in with students whilst they attend Blackwood.
Students who return to their home school or move into an alternative program will have a staff member follow up their progress and offer support for them to achieve the final set of goals that are established before Blackwood concludes. This follow-up is essential to assist students in avoiding taking a few steps backwards and to draw on the skills learnt during their time at Blackwood to overcome challenging and unfamiliar changes.
Staff will remain in contact with the student and their support network for as long as needed.
Blackwood provides a flexible, holistic, student-centered approach integrated with the five domains (Relationship, Stamina, Character, Engagement and Body) of the Berry Street Education Model. This therapeutic approach to trauma informed education alongside our peaceful location, offers students a chance to develop strategies to widen their window of tolerance and find a path to successful outcomes.
Smaller class sizes and highly trained staff, allows each individual an opportunity to develop goals and with support, achieve personal growth.