A path to re-engagement: evaluating the first year of a Community VCAL education program for young people

In Frankston, the Brotherhood of St. Laurence has developed a Community VCAL program tailored for young people aged 15 to 18 who have experienced barriers to mainstream education.

Students undertake the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning—a Years 11 and 12 course which combines classroom tuition with vocational training and work placements—in a community setting rather than in a school. The evaluation of the inaugural year found that, notwithstanding some challenges, the program made a significant difference to the educational opportunities of most of its students.