Positive
Futures

Positive Futures re-engages young people who have already, or are at risk of, disengaging from their education, family and the broader community. The program is designed to complement school initiatives.

Positive Futures embeds trained youth workers in schools to deliver a personal development program to a broad range of students, while also providing intensive case management to students who need it most. The youth workers are employees of the Les Twentyman Foundation.

Our Positive Futures programs in Pakenham, Cheltenham and Noble Park are funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services. Our Positive Futures Program in Taylors Lakes is co-funded by the school and our community donors.

Early intervention strategies are used in a one-on-one, group workshop and outreach capacity to strengthen young people’s confidence, resilience and improve their emotional regulation:

1. One on one support
   Tailored one on one support is strengths focussed, where youth workers and young people work together to achieve goals and problem solve. Youth workers also offer support, guidance and advocacy within the schools to staff, providing insights into young people’s lives and specific needs for learning.
2. Group work
   Group work provides an experiential learning platform, where social skills are taught in non-intimidating environment. Tasks are often hands on, so young people can focus on something other than their social anxieties, building confidence and resilience along the way which is transferred into the classroom over time. In addition to the ‘soft skills’, young people are equipped with workplace skills, ensuring they have the tools to gain meaningful employment.
3. Outreach
   Outreach provides a unique access point that schools often can’t provide. Our Youth Workers meet young people on their ‘turf’, where they feel comfortable, fostering stronger engagement. Family support is also provided in the home, removing the ‘authoritative’ notion of meeting on school grounds.

The Positive Futures program is currently delivered in the following schools:

• Edenbrook Secondary College
• Cheltenham Secondary College
• Pakenham Secondary College
• Noble Park Secondary College

Students are usually referred to the program by the school’s wellbeing team.

This ground-breaking pilot program commenced in 2018, with a mid-term evaluation conducted by leading social impact agency, ThinkImpact. In the three secondary schools and one primary school where Positive Futures has been operating, students report an improvement of immediate crisis, increased knowledge and access to information, improved aspirations for employment and education, improved personal and family safety and increased school attendance. Students also tell us that their behaviour has improved and without the program they would have left school or been expelled.

Specifically, the evaluation reports that:

• 90% of students say they have someone they can turn to for help
• 90% of students feel more confident that they can reach their goals in life
• 100% of students believe that they are more likely to finish school
• 60% decrease in absenteeism among students participating

During 2019-20, there were more than 1400 sessions recorded to a total of 136 clients. In addition, during the period our youth workers engaged on an ad hoc basis with approximately 60 additional students.

We are actively seeking government and philanthropic funding to expand this program as the need continues to grow. We are also working closely with several schools to develop co-funding arrangements.

We welcome inquiries from schools about the Positive Futures program and whether it could be of value to your school community. Please contact our office at 03 9689 4800 or email [email protected]