Part 2

Needs Assessment
and Planning

This project has been supported by the Australian Government

through Tasmania Medicare Local
Research undertaken on behalf of St Helens Neighbourhood House by
Fiona Watts Consultant, St Helens 2015
Email: bfwatts@bigpond.com
Phone: 0459 795 297

Table of Contents
Executive summary ....................................................................................................................... 1
1.

Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1

2.

Justification ........................................................................................................................... 2
2.1

Prevalence ..................................................................................................................... 2

2.2

Importance/Cost ........................................................................................................... 2

2.3

Preventability/Interventions ......................................................................................... 3

2.4

Feasability/Resources.................................................................................................... 6

2.5

Community Support ...................................................................................................... 7

3.

Timelines/Evaluation............................................................................................................. 7

4.

People.................................................................................................................................... 8
4.1

Target Group ................................................................................................................. 8

4.2

Stakeholders .................................................................................................................. 8

5.

Framework for Action ......................................................................................................... 10

6.

Justification for framework ................................................................................................. 18

8.

Conclusion ........................................................................................................................... 21

9.

References ........................................................................................................................... 23

Executive summary

When exploring the issues around successful year 12 achievement the research
identifies a range of complex issues that can be identified as wicked social
problems. There is a need for a whole of government, whole of community
approach to addressing the issues. The research clearly shows that improving
successful year 12 attainment is not just a job for the education system, it will rely
heavily on commitment across a broad range of stakeholders and government to
address the issues identified. The evidence is unequivocal social determinants of
health lead to health inequality and the St Helens data correlates with this. The
report identifies opportunities for further collaboration between the partners to
address the issues however they cannot do this alone, they will rely on significant
support from a range of government agencies and the community. The St Helens
community offers an excellent opportunity to pilot a place based initiative to address
successful year 12 outcomes, which if successful could be delivered in other similar
communities.

1. Introduction

The risk factors for unsuccessful year 12 outcomes are consistent across the
literature:

young people

low socio-economic status

generational poverty and joblessness

English as a second language

Indigenous background (1-6,8)

There are a range of risk factors identified that impact on students remaining in
education which include; severe home and welfare problems, low self-esteem, lack
of belief in self-efficacy and lower academic achievement. Australian research shows
that during middle school there is a decline in students willingness to engage in
learning compared to earlier years. (3, 5-9)
1

The purpose of this report is to develop a framework for action to improve successful
year 12 outcomes.

The plan will set goals and objectives to address the issues and

justification for this framework for action. The conclusion will summarise how the
report can assist in improving the social determinants of health in St Helens.

2. Justification

2.1

Prevalence

Currently two in five students in Tasmania are successfully completing year 12.
Leaving school early is common among: young men; low socio economic
background; non-English speaking background; low achieving students and students
from government and non-metropolitan schools. In 2011 54% of the St Helens
population had year 10 qualifications or below.

2.2

Importance/Cost

Whilst there are examples of a broad range of programs to support students both
socially and academically to achieve successful year 12 outcomes no cost/benefit
analysis could be found. It is hypothesised that any successful intervention aimed at
improving/enhancing year 12 outcomes will have a significant financial and social
impact as early school leavers are more likely to have low incomes, births outside
marriage and be involved in the justice system.(1) Research by the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) shows that higher education is
beneficial for individuals and countries and increasing literacy by 1% improves
productivity.(2) Tasmanias productivity is low compared to the rest of Australia.(2)
There is a significant risk that unless addressed this low productivity will lead to
reduced real income and poorer living standards.(2)

2.3

Preventability/Interventions

Both the primary and secondary research identified that young people did not
achieve successful year 12 outcomes for a variety of reasons:

work and employment opportunities,

negative and unfulfilling school experiences and

severe home and welfare problems. (1-6)

Research undertaken by Voelkel in 1997 identified that for those students who did
stay in high school common themes were a sense of belonging and valuing of school
and related outcomes and trust relationships within the school.(1) Interviews with St
Helens people who had left school early identified that the people who were either at
high risk of not successfully completing year 12 or who had left school at year 10 or
earlier had a range of complex social issues that impacted on their successful
outcomes. There was also a common theme of disengagement in the early years,
almost all participants could identify significant emotional events in the very early
years of school where an adults actions or words had resulted in feelings of social
isolation and exclusion. Adults who identified as having poor literacy skills talked
about struggling in the classroom environment and subsequently mucking around in
order to be excluded from the class because it was too hard. Issues raised in the
focus groups confirmed some of the impacts of this with students highlighting that it
was hard to learn when other people were noisy and behaving badly in the
classroom. The focus groups also provided evidence that the student who is
mucking around in the classroom and the school yard begins to become excluded
from social groups.
Payne DeVol and Smith, Bridges out of Poverty (2010) discuss the importance of
relationships and language when supporting people who have suffered from
generational poverty. They identify that registers of language, discourse patterns
and story structure are different for people who are in poverty compared to people
who are middle-class. They also highlight that schools and services operate largely
in a middle-class environment and this creates challenges for teachers, students and
support workers.(7)
3

Parents who were interviewed identified a willingness to support their children but
also identified issues such as previous negative experiences within the educational
system, lack of knowledge of social support services, lack of confidence in accessing
support and frustration when aiming to negotiate with professional teachers and staff
as barriers. One participant said it could have been different had they had an
independent mediator to support parent/teacher meetings. Another participant who
has successfully engaged with the school to support their children highlighted
support from a service operating with volunteers as giving them the courage to
enter back into the school environment. The evidence is identifying that for families
who are trying to support childrens learning there are often barriers. They
highlighted issues of having to tell personal stories involving abuse and trauma over
and over again to services whom had not yet developed a trusted relationship and
the embarrassment that comes with this when operating in a small community. One
adult identified a plethora of social issues (poor literacy, abuse, bullying and
absenteeism) as impacting on their ability to keep their child in school. Whilst trying
to support their child to remain in school they were constantly juggling issues such
as dealing with other services and Job Search Agencies whilst struggling to make
ends meet financially. It was identified that connecting with support services is
difficult when individuals are geographically isolated, have no licence and are
required to keep appointments, which often means hitchhiking to and there is a risk
of losing Centrelink payments if they dont attend.
Mission Australias report on the impact of family joblessness on the school to work
transition highlights the need for service delivery to be collaborative in aiming to
support jobless families Collaboration across organisations that includes teachers,
employment services and social workers should improve the outcomes for these
young people.(8) Uniting Care in their policy briefing note on three significant reports
published by the Australian Social Inclusion Board aiming to address disadvantage
identify a need to work in different ways. They identify that currently intervention is
focussed mainly on young people who are already disengaged from education and
families are mostly supported when there is a crisis and then they are broadly left to
operate and navigate services alone.

There is a need to focus on the early years and middle years and to provide supports
that lead to early intervention. The evidence is clear in supporting cycles of
disadvantage the way you treat people matters, continuity of support is essential
and a focus on addressing structural disadvantage must be maintained.(9)

The interviews highlighted that people were broadly unaware of the services within
the community available to them and that there was a lack of referral systems from
the education system and within services. Some teachers identified that they were
unaware of the support services in the community and had identified a gap in
support especially for children between the ages of 5 and 12. Discussions with
service providers highlighted that in the past there had been services who
coordinated information regarding local and visiting services but these activities
relied on funding and there has been no directory of health and community services
for the past three years. Job Search Agencies were asked about the services they
referred to and largely they use their own Allied Health services for clients. Further
exploration of this issue should be undertaken to identify whether this leads to a gap
in referral to local services and integrating job seekers into the community with
regular support services and assistance.
One interviewee discussed issues and struggles with anxiety throughout school and
into their adult life and the lack of understanding from teachers and community. This
example correlates with the evidence from Missions report on the mental health of
young people Early intervention and prevention, stigma reduction and mental health
promotion are imperative, and it is necessary for schools in particular to take action
and play a central role.(10) Mission suggest that it is essential for schools to take an
interest in mental health because learners who have good mental health have more
chance of succeeding. Rural areas have higher suicide rates and this correlates
with the data on the high number of deaths from suicide in Break ODay. There was
evidence in the interviews of services collaborating to bring Headspace (health
services for young people) into the region however this was never achieved due to
lack of funding. Missions report also identified that young people who had a
probable mental illness were concerned about a high number of issues when
compared to other young people and these included concerns about body image,
gambling, drugs, coping with stress and school or study problems.
5

The report highlighted that friends and internet were among the top sources of
information, advice or support for all young people.(10) Evidence from focus groups
correlates with Missions report as the internet and friends were common themes
when asked where do you go to for help, family and teachers were also strongly
represented.
There has been a gap in provision of learning opportunities for adults in the past.
LINC Tasmanias Adult Literacy Services provide one to one tutoring however it was
identified there was a gap in supporting adults into pathways for learning. The Break
ODay Child and Family Centre, LINC and St Helens Neighbourhood House have
worked in partnership with other services to fill this gap and has had excellent
enrolment rates for certificate II courses. The Job Search Agencies identify a need
for adult programs at certificate II or III level to be delivered for more than one day
per week enabling participants to complete within 6 to 12 months, these types of
courses are available in urban areas. Job Search Agencies also identified a gap in
the community for placing clients who are required to undertake Work For the Dole
activities. They identified that the community does not have the capacity to take on
clients as the opportunities for volunteering are different when compared to
metropolitan areas.

2.4

Feasability/Resources

This framework for action highlights opportunities for the partners to work in new and
innovative ways to support successful year 12 outcomes. The framework includes
objectives and goals that can be achieved within existing resources however some
will require a whole of government approach and an investment in resources for
them to be possible.

2.5

Community Support

The commonwealth government recognises a need for young people to have

successful year 12 outcomes in order for them to transition successfully into
employment.(11) The Tasmanian Government have also committed to achieving
success in post year 10 attainment by committing funding to extend regional schools
to provide years 11 and 12.(12) The partners of the Social Determinants of Health
Project Achieving Successful Year 12 outcomes have shown a commitment to
enhancing educational achievement through their partnership and research project.
All services interviewed as part of the research highlighted a need for increased,
sustained support mechanisms for families.

3. Timelines/Evaluation

The complex issues identified involve wicked social problems that require a longterm collective approach to address. There is a variety of research available on
programs aiming to increase post year 10 retention rates however little can be found
on projects addressing successful year 12 attainment. The evidence shows that
rather than focussing only on quantitative evidence there is a need to address
underlying qualitative issues such as the learning experience, individual
achievement, self-esteem and social outcomes.(1-10) The evidence supports a need
for a collective impact framework to address the complex social issues identified.
This framework will provide a whole of community approach to evaluate
achievements and enable opportunities to learn and adapt along the way.(13)

4. People

4.1

Target Group

The project plan aims to improve successful year 12 outcomes for St Helens.
Strategies will be developed to ensure young people are engaged in education that
leads to improved educational outcomes and subsequently employment pathways.
The programs identified in the literature predominantly focus on school leavers aged
16 25, however, there is evidence of success in targeting younger students to
enhance relationships and build a sense of community and to work with families
providing wrap around support.(9) Therefore this plan focusses on a holistic
approach to supporting learners of all ages and families.

4.2

Stakeholders

The stakeholders are a range of Government, Non-Government, Community and

Business organisations who have an integral role to play in keeping young people
engaged in learning and ensuring they have opportunities for employment. This
report identifies a diverse range of organisations as key stakeholders in supporting
successful year 12 outcomes.

St Helens Neighbourhood House

St Helens District High School

Break ODay Council

Department of Education and the Arts

Skills Institute

TasTAFE

LINC Tasmania

Break ODay Child and Family Centre

Baptcare
8

Anglicare

Department of Health and Human Services

Medea Park Association

Break ODay Health Resource Association

Chamber of Commerce

Break ODay and Glamorgan Spring Bay Tourism Association

Department Resource, Tourism and Infrastructure

University of Tasmania

Seafood Training Tasmania

Break ODay Youth Council

Youth Justice

Tasmania Police

Beacon Foundation

Smith Family

5.

Framework for Action

VISION
Active and connected community empowering young people
to forge successful and meaningful futures.
GOAL 1: Community, services and all levels of government work collaboratively to ensure young people achieve
successful year 12 outcomes
NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION

1.1

Mechanisms
developed for
ongoing
collaborative action
to support
successful year 12
outcomes for all
young people in St
Helens.

1.1.1. Establish a
collaborative approach
for strategic planning,
research and monitoring
and accessing resources
and expertise.

1.1.2 To establish a
collaborative team
approach to combine
evidence base and
innovation for new
solutions, monitored for
success (including a
cost/benefit analysis).

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Annual meeting
dates set and
adhered to.
Agreed to
approach to
planning,
enacting,
monitoring and
review.
Agreed to
approach to
case
management
prevention and
intervention.

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
Principal
Youth Worker
NHH
Coordinator
Grade 11 and
12 team
representative

Principal
Youth Worker
NHH
Coordinator
Grade 11 and
12 team
representative

10

COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES

BY
BY
February
March
Time
2015
2015
Meeting
Space
Meeting
Dates
planned in
advance
Leadership
capacity
February
June 2015 Framework
2015
to guide
action

COMMENTS
Requires a lead
organisation this could be
modelled on
the Child and
Family Centre
Working
Together
approach.
Self-sustaining
model

NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION
1.1.3 St Helens
community implements a
collective impact
framework to address
wicked social problems.

1.2

Needs are identified

and collaborative,
community action
ensures that
essential services
and supports are in
place to support
young people and
families.

Volunteer committee
established to advocate
with all levels of
government on issues
that impact on the health
and wellbeing of families
and young people.

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Funding
application
developed.

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
Principal
Youth Worker
NHH
Coordinator
Grade 11 and
12 team
representative

First group of
patrons meet
and annual
meeting dates
set and
adhered to.

NHH
March 2015
Coordinator
Youth
Worker/Council
Principal

Strategic
leadership
group reports
to advocacy
group at least
quarterly.

March 2015
NHH
Coordinator
Youth Worker/
Council
Principal

11

COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES

COMMENTS
BY
BY
June 2015
December
New partners
2015
may include:
Child and
Family Centre
LINC
DHHS
Baptcare
Job Search
Agencies
Beacon
UTAS
Smith Family
April 2015

Ongoing

Time
Meeting
Space
Meeting
Dates
planned in
advance

Representatives
from Council
elected
members,
School
Association
NHH
Management
Committee
informed by
the partners of
the SDOH
project.

NO.

1.4

OBJECTIVE

Increased levels of
skills training and
accreditation for
people 16 years
onwards.

ACTION

SUCCESS
INDICATOR

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE

1.4.1 Strengthen existing

partnership
opportunities with
providers and industry to
ensure all people have
access to education and
training.
1.4.2 Training and
funding opportunities are
identified and accessed
through a whole of
community, strategic
approach.
1.4.3 Establish a
partnership pilot
involving UTAS, a key
industry group, training
provider and school to
implement a training and
accreditation enterprise
project.

Partners meet
regularly to
identify training
opportunities
and needs.

NHH
Coordinator
Youth Worker
Grade 11 and
12 team
representative

February
2015

Ongoing

Time
Meeting
Space

Whole of
community,
strategic
training plan
developed.

Learning
Network

February
2015

April 2015

Time
Meeting
Space

Grade 11 and
12 team
representative

February
2015

June 2015

Partnership
pilot project
developed.

12

COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES

BY
BY

COMMENTS

GOAL 2: Mobilising greater coordination of volunteers to support and add value to student support and learning.
NO.

OBJECTIVE

2.1

Mobilise community
support for real life
learning
opportunities.

ACTION

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Break ODay
Council

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
Youth Worker

COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES

BY
BY
June 2015
December Coordination
2015

2.1.2 Volunteers work

one on one with learners
to support positive
learning and social
experiences.

Learners and
volunteers
matched and
success
monitored

Principal

April 2015

2.1.3 Mentors accessed

to provide experiences
aligned to the
implementation of the Me
My Education strategy.

Mentors and
learners
matched and
success
monitored

Year 11 and
February
12 team
2015
representative

2.1.1 Develop a selfsustaining model of

community volunteer
coordination.

13

COMMENTS

Ongoing

Volunteer
coordination

Pilot on a
small scale,
evaluate and
review

Ongoing

Coordination Pilot on a
small scale,
evaluate and
review

GOAL 3: All families have effective, supportive and meaningful opportunities to communicate with schools and services
NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION

3.1

Provide parents with

access to
independent
mediation support.

3.2

Neutral, nonthreatening physical

space is available for
families to meet with
schools and services.

3.3

All people have the

ability to understand
information and
resources provided in
writing regardless of
their literacy skills.

Investigate and confirm

services and school
support staff who have a
mandate to support
families to enable them to
communicate and
negotiate effectively with
school and actively
promote access for
families.
Partnership between St
Helens District High School
and St Helens
Neighbourhood House or
other service to utilise
space for parent/teacher
meetings.
Information is presented
using plain English
guidelines.

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Support
workers are
available to
support
families.
Families
referred or selfrefer to services
for support.

PERSON
COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES
RESPONSIBLE
BY
BY
Chaplain
February
March
Break
2015
2015
ODay
Networking
Meeting
Newsletter

Meeting room
is available and
utilised.
Parents and
teachers report
on benefits.

NHH
Coordinator
Principal

February
2015

March
2015

Funding
Meeting
Space
Furniture
Room Hire

26TEN plain
English
workshops
delivered.
Number and
range of
services and
school staff
attending.

NHH
Coordinator

February
2015

April 2015

26TEN
team and
meeting
space

14

COMMENTS

GOAL 4: St Helens community communicates and works respectfully together

NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION

4.1

Young people and

adults communicate
and work respectively
together.

St Helens school adopts

and works proactively
under the respectful
schools, respectful
behaviour whole system
approach.

4.2

School works
collaboratively with
the community to
develop policies in
partnership.

St Helens school identifies

policies that would benefit
from community input and
support and involves
partners in policy
development e.g. antibullying policy and
respectful schools,
respectful behaviour
approach.

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Students and
teachers are
supported to
work
respectfully
together.
Students and
teachers report
improved
communication.
Policies
developed in
partnership
with other
organisations.
School and
organisations
provide
feedback on
effectiveness of
collaborative
action.

PERSON
COMMENCE COMPLETE RESOURCES
RESPONSIBLE
BY
BY
Principal
Commenced Ongoing

Principal
Youth
Worker
NHH
Coordinator

15

June 2015

Ongoing

COMMENTS

GOAL 5: Enhance health outcomes through increasing knowledge of and access to supportive and preventative services.

NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION

5.1

Coordinate greater
awareness and
utilisation of existing
services and work
proactively to
address gaps in
services.

5.1.1. Develop a project

plan underpinned by the
Social Inclusion Board
Governance Model for
Location Based Initiatives
for a coordinated service
to provide wrap around
support for families and
young people who are at
risk of unsuccessful year
12 outcomes.
5.1.2 Engage students
and professionals to
develop a pilot program to
develop a mobile app with
a web back end that
aggregates service
provider information and
improve access to web
based resources for health
and wellbeing.

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Project Plan
Developed

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
Consultant

Pilot program
developed

Youth Worker March 2015

Year 11 and
12 team
representative

16

COMMENCE
BY
March 2015

COMPLETE RESOURCES
BY
July 2015
Volunteer
time and
facilitation

May 2015

COMMENTS

NO.

OBJECTIVE

ACTION

SUCCESS
INDICATOR

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE

COMMENCE
BY

COMPLETE RESOURCES
BY

COMMENTS

5.1.3 Implement a system

whereby St Helens has
access to information and
training around
preventative health e.g.
mental health, protective
behaviours, alcohol and
drugs and body image.

GOAL 6: St Helens Young People have a voice regarding decisions, systems and services that effect them
NO.
6.1

OBJECTIVE
Young people have
regular and
meaningful
opportunities to be
listened to.

OUTCOME
6.1.1 Break ODay Council
and St Helens District High
School work
collaboratively to regularly
communicate with young
people to identify needs.
6.1.2 Young leaders are
involved in active solution
seeking activities.
6.1.3 Community groups
actively seek young
members.

SUCCESS
INDICATOR
Policy
developed to
ensure young
people are
consulted on a
regular basis.

PERSON
RESPONSIBLE
Youth Worker
Principal
Chaplain

Young people
participate in
community
forums and
meetings

Youth Worker June 2015

NHH
Coordinator
Principal
Year 11 and 12
team
representative.

17

COMMENCE
BY
June 2015

COMPLETE RESOURCES
COMMENTS
BY
August
Monitored by
2015
Strategic
Planning team

Ongoing

6.

Justification for framework

Australian research shows that during middle school there is a decline in students
willingness to engage in learning compared to earlier years.(5) Previous government
initiatives to increase successful year 12 attainment have been unsuccessful, the
National Partnership on Youth Attainment and Transitions aimed to achieve a year
12 or equivalent attainment of 90% by 2015 and this has not successfully been
achieved.(16) The evidence clearly highlights that it is essential to have new approach
to tackle the issue.
The St Helens Profile correlates with the evidence on social determinants of health.
Young people who leave school early are predominantly from low socio-economic
backgrounds and have difficulty engaging in learning and the school environment.(1-6)
This framework for action aims to address the issues that create barriers for young
people to engage successfully in the school system. Evidence to show the
cost/benefit analysis of such a program is not available and it is recommended that
more research needs to be done in this area. White 2003 summarises the
importance and cost of early school dropout compared with young people who
complete secondary schooling, those who dont complete secondary schooling, are
more likely to experience extended periods of unemployment, obtain low paid and
low skilled jobs and have difficulty obtaining relatively stable jobs: they are more
likely to earn less, rely on government assistance and not actively participate in
community life.(14)

Applied learning pedagogy assists in addressing engagement in the middle school

years.(6) Focus groups identified that young people wanted to be involved in more
practical programs, highlighting that options provide them with opportunities to do the
things that they are good at which wasnt necessarily traditional school work.

18

Programs such as the Western Australian Schools using Applied Pedagogy and the
ALAS program in the US used limited resources and financial investment and impact
evaluation showed this to be successful.(5,15)
The St Helens Community has strong community participation ABS data shows the
area continues to have one of the highest scores for community volunteering in
Tasmania in 2011. This positive aspect of the community could be invested in to
provide trained mentor/tutors to meet project goals and objectives, ensuring
community capacity is developed to address the issue long term.
Successful programs to support young people at risk of leaving school early will rely
on strong partnerships and integrated service delivery to ensure young people are
connected to the range of services and supports that are required to address the
myriad of issues facing them.(1-6) The evidence clearly highlights a need for a
collective impact approach to address the issue. Collective impact provides a
framework for large scale change from collaboration across a range of sectors rather
than working in isolation. Government, not for profit organisations, community and
businesses can solve complex social issues if they work together and in doing so
they provide opportunities to identify a common agenda and learn from each other
and adapt and change along the way to create solutions.(13)
Teachers have a particularly important role to play within the school community and
their support of programs and willingness to work in innovative ways will be essential
to program success.(1-6) Throughout the focus groups teachers were identified as
significant across a range of the questions asked and in particular, when asked
about learning, belonging and being valued teachers and friends were significant.
The students discussed fair teacher time and the need for teachers to explain things
differently when they didnt get it the first time and a desire for respectful behaviours
where teachers dont yell at classes, Good people teaching us kindly.
The research suggests that programs to keep at-risk students engaged in the school
environment and learning need to be implemented from the beginning of middle
school between the ages of 12 and 13 and provide ongoing support throughout
secondary school education. Programs implemented as second chance after young
people have dropped-out of school do not have significant positive outcomes. (1-6)
19

The research with families and teachers in St Helens highlighted a need for support
to be provided from earlier years and at least from the age of 8. One teacher
identified that there was lots of support for children and their families 0-5 years and
support for young people 12 25 but the kids in the middle miss out.
The research clearly highlighted a gap in health promotion education and support
services for young people including those who have a mental health issue. One
student and parent discussed a complex range of issues that led to disengagement
which included abuse, social isolation and mental health issues. The family
identified the right services to access for support however this means travelling to
Launceston every week as there are no visiting youth specialist services to the
region.
The research clearly highlights the need for a collective approach in improving
education and employment outcomes for young people. The Ontario model
provides an innovative approach to career development in the twenty-first
century that focusses on developing a Kindergarten to year 12 approach.(17)
There is evidence that the Tasmanian Governments new approach to career
planning My Education is on this pathway We want to ensure that students are
involved in decision making about future options and pathways from the
beginning and right through their education, together with their parents and
carers.(18) Whats missing from this statement is a need to involve community in
supporting students to successfully achieve. Dave Turner highlights the need for
a 4 Pillar approach in supporting successful transition for young people. His
research identified that not only schools and parents need to be involved to
support students but also other significant adults can be included in supporting
young people through guidance and support. (19) The ability to engage with the
community and use the resources of local mentors will be essential in supporting
young people from jobless families to engage in education and plan careers.
Interviews with parents identified that their children were made to stay in school
or parents will lose income, there is little or no discussion around education
leading to employment.

20

Fullan and Scott in their Education Plus paper state The world will be led by
people you can count on, including you! They too have identified a need for
schools to bring the community into a learning partnership between and among
teachers, students, business, community groups and families.(20)

8.

Conclusion

If you want to go fast go alone, if you want to go far go together. African Proverb

The St Helens Social Determinants to Health project offers an insight into barriers to
successfully achieving year 12 outcomes. The social determinants of health
evidence is clear, low year 12 educational attainment, high number of people on
income support and children from welfare dependent families, high number of one
parent families, low median income and high unemployment lead to poor health
outcomes across a range of indicators. A framework for action has been developed
underpinned by research and best practice. The project provides a unique
opportunity for a whole of government, whole of community approach to address
wicked social problems.

21

Robert Frost (1874 1963). Mountain Interval. 1920.

The Road Not Taken
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveller long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;
Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear,
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,
And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads onto way
I doubted if I should ever come back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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9.

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