Volume 5
Issue no. 2
June 2021
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Highlands LLEN Update
The past few months have been a period of significant change for Highlands LLEN!
I am proud to share with you that Highlands LLEN, in partnership with Central Grampians LLEN, has been successful in our application for the Jobs Victoria Advocates program which focuses on providing information, guidance and referrals to community members who are looking for employment. We have recently appointed Daniel Smart and Belinda Woodruff to the roles of Jobs Victoria Advocates and we are excited to see this new program get off the ground in our region.
We have also welcomed two more new staff members to the team throughout April and May. Rebekah Robertson has been appointed as the new Youth Advisory Board Coordinator. Rebekah has a keen interest in youth advocacy and will be working with the YAB part time. Polly Britten has been appointed to the role of GROW & Beeline Program Coordinator and comes to HLLEN with a background in local government. The vast array of skills and experience that Dan, Belinda, Rebekah and Polly have brought to their roles and the wider organisation will pave the way for important work to be completed with our stakeholders throughout the region.
It is with great disappointment that I share with you the news that due to the current state of COVID-19 restrictions, Highlands LLEN made the decision to postpone our 20th Anniversary Celebration until such time as the event can be held within government guidelines. We will be certain to communicate any new dates with you all when they are finalised. If you would like to attend the event, please let us know. Our actual birthday was 28 May so we are now officially 20 years old.
We are happy to provide you with the following updates in The Engagement Express and are looking forward to continuing to achieve outcomes alongside our community.
Jannine Bennett
Executive Officer
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Media Releases from the Victorian Government
Australian-First Academy For Our Best Teachers
Teachers from across our state will benefit from a brand-new multi-site academy of teaching and leadership excellence, as Victoria leads the way in raising the bar on teacher quality. The Acting Premier and Minister for Education James Merlino today announced the Andrews Labor Government will invest $148.2 million in establishing the Victorian Academy of Teaching and Leadership, a new statutory authority.
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Helping Victorian Families Find Their Local School
The Andrews Labor Government’s Findmyschool website has been updated so parents continue to have the latest information to find out the school zone they live in. Acting Premier and Minister for Education James Merlino said the updated website includes school zones for the 14 new schools and campuses opening in 2022.
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Supporting Our Kids To Be Healthy And Happy
Our kids deserve to grow up healthy and happy. And after their family and friends, our schools are one of the biggest supports in a young person’s life. As we build our mental health system from the ground up, we’re putting schools at the centre of our response – helping to make sure they have everything they need to support their students, families and communities.
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Six Months Of Orange Door In Central Highlands
The Central Highlights Orange Door network has helped more than 6000 people including more than 2000 children and young people since opening six months ago. The Orange Door in Central Highlands was one of two Orange Door Networks to open in October last year during COVID-19 restrictions.
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New Apprenticeships Body To Build Skills For Victorians
Thousands of apprentices and trainees will be better connected with real learning and job opportunities through the Andrews Labor Government’s new Apprenticeships Victoria. Apprenticeships Victoria (AV) will coordinate and oversee all aspects of the delivery of apprenticeships, and forms a key part of the Labor Government’s unprecedented investment in the training and skills sector.
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News and Interesting Reading
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Gonski and Shergold’s NSW VET Review: Bringing VET & HE together
March 2021 saw the release of David Gonski’s and Peter Shergold’s report on VET in NSW.
Entitled ‘In the same sentence: Bringing higher and vocational education together’ it proposes - amongst other things - the development of a new type of tertiary institution.
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What VET can offer to COVID-19 youth unemployment recovery
Australia entered the COVID-19 pandemic with a youth (15 to 24-year-old) unemployment rate of 11.6% in December 2019, three times higher than the 25 to 64-year-old unemployment rate of 3.6%. The strategies taken by governments to minimise the spread of COVID-19 have had widespread economic impacts.
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New research highlights impact of COVID-19 on student health
A new study has revealed a massive decrease in physical and mental wellbeing in children aged 6-12 during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic. The research, by leading Outside School Hours Care provider, Camp Australia, was conducted in December 2020 and surveyed 1,138 Australian parents, as well as 124 principals from the organisation’s partner schools.
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Big Brothers Big Sisters of Australia Newsletter
We are sharing the newsletter from Big Brothers Big Sisters so that they can get more support and more mentors for the young people in Ballarat. They are currently experiencing a high demand for mentors and would love to match every young person with a friend and positive role model.
Read the newsletter here
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Young people's life changes post COVID-19
A couple of papers released by the Brotherhood of St Lawrence complement our other article on young people in this issue. Of the two papers the Brotherhood put out, the first looks at life chances for those around 30 post-COVID, while the second one has a VET focus.
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Federal Budget 2021: What's in it for education?
Last night, Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg unveiled the long-awaited 2021-22 Budget, announcing a raft of measures to get the Australian economy back on track after its first recession in nearly 30 years. The government has pledged $30bn in tax cuts, $17.7bn towards aged care and $1.1bn for women’s safety measures.
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Articles from "The Conversation"
No, people aren’t unemployed because they’re lazy. We should stop teaching children myths about work
The narratives that define our culture are subtle sometimes. We all like the shared belief that hard work has good outcomes.
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The education minister wants graduating teachers to be ‘classroom-ready’. But the classroom is not what it used to be
Federal Education Minister Alan Tudge has launched a six-month review into teacher education. The aim is to return Australian students to the top of international rankings in reading, maths and science by 2030.
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Teaching young people about sex is too important to get wrong. Here are 5 videos that actually hit the mark
Two videos were removed this week from the Australian government’s recently released sexuality education resource for schools. The government released the Good Society resource in mid April, which consists of more than 350 materials including videos, digital stories and podcasts to teach respectful relationships in schools.
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Resources, Events & Initiatives
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Reports, Statistics and Surveys
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YACVic’s Summary on Youth Mental Health from the Royal Commission’s Final Report
The Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has released its Final Report which contains five volumes and 65 recommendations. The Royal Commission has created a once-in-a-generation roadmap for reform with specific ‘investment in and attention to the mental health and wellbeing of young people’.
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New report reveals plight of disadvantaged youth
Disadvantaged young people face greater social exclusion and more limited opportunities compared to their more advantaged peers, a new report has found. The report comes as data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics shows there were 346,000 ‘jobless families’ with dependants in Australia in June 2020, which accounts for 10.5% of all Australian families with dependents.
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Young Parent Education Program - SELLEN
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