Students At Risk Mapping Tool

1. Students At Risk Mapping Tool Deb Hull Doug Smith March 2007

2. Identifying Young People ‘At Risk’Research ‘At Risk’ of what? • Not completing school? • Becoming totally disengaged from education, training and work? • Youth offending? • Harm? Does everyone in your school agree?

3. School-based indicators/behaviours • Truancy • Behavioural issues • Low literacy level • Low numeracy level • Significant change in demeanour, behaviour or performance • Attitude to schooling • Does not value school completion • Articulated intention of early school leaving • Negative peer influence • Aggression/violence

4. Community and family risk factors • Low parental education attainment • Poor family management practices • Poor parent-child relationships • Abuse • High crime neighbourhood • Incarcerated parent • Frequent change of location/school • High number of people in neighbourhood with vocational qualifications • Poverty • Low income household • Parental unemployment • Australian-born parents, English-speaking background • Aboriginal or Islander • Refugee • Fragmented/reconstituted family structures • Separation from family

5. Personal Risk Factors • Offending • Substance misuse • Association with anti-social peers/adults • Sex work • Social isolation • Male • Non-metropolitan • Working more than 5 hours of paid employment per week, especially for males • Primary carer for parent or guardian with illness or mental illness • Poor health • Low birth weight • Ill health or disability • Disruptive behaviours • Passivity • Low self esteem • Low motivation • Self-harming • High level of aggression/violence • Pregnancy/motherhood

6. School-based risk factors • Unsupportive school culture • Repressive discipline • Large class sizes • Unstimulating content • Competitive exam-dominated assessment • Negative student-teacher relationships • Negative peer relationships in school community • Absence of school counsellors • Lack of student participation in decision-making • Poor school/home relationships • Poor teaching quality • Lack of clear relationships with the wider community leading to an absence of support and referrals

7. Pitfalls of identifying young people as ‘at risk’ • Encourages focus on young person rather than school improvement • Pigeonholing does not allow for resilience • No process to declare ‘no longer at risk’, no fresh start

8. Model 1: common practice Some combination of: • Referral from teachers • Referrals from parents • Self referrals from students • Review of literacy and numeracy levels • Review of school reports and assessment outcomes • Review of attendance patterns

9. Model 2: surveys and checklists • Detailed student survey(Time to implement and analyse) • Checklist completed by teachers(Comprehensive? Good PD)

10. Model 3: staff-student connection • School structure at centre • Each student has one staff member who is responsible for their welfare, and for communication and maintaining positive relationship • Staff member may ‘follow’ the student through successive years at school • Staff member is first point of ‘at risk’ referral by teachers, parents, student • School processes support action by these staff members

11. Model 4: SAR Mapping Tool • Developed by Doug Smith – BMLLEN • Draw down data from CASES21 • Provides preliminary list of ‘at risk’ young people • Teacher input • Goes further – ‘the whole package’

12. Judging a school by its outcomesDoE ACCOUNTABILTY Destination Outcomes “EARNING” “LEARNING” “BELONGING”

13. Extract from “Guide to MIPs”DoE requirements The Compliance Checklist will include the following requirement: “…an integrated model of careers and transition support, which includes: • Planned and systematic processes for identifying students…who are at risk of early school leaving, or not making a successful transition…..and providing them with appropriate support, preferably employing case management approaches.”

14. Why bother with “Early Leavers”? • Youth not fully engaged in further education or employment 6 months after school • 23% of Year 12 completers • 40% of Year 11 leavers • 45% of Year 10 leavers • Young adults not fully engaged: • 16% of Year 12 completers • 33% of Year 11 leavers • 40% of Year 10 leavers • 50% of Year 9 or below leavers • DSF figures quoted by Dr John Spierings

15. Risks to early school leavers • Higher rate of unemployment, low income • Poorer health • Higher risk of death for self and family members • Ongoing job uncertainty and vulnerability • Higher risk of criminal activity • Communities of disengagement, dependence on benefits, low self-esteem

16. What are the known indicators? • LEARNING • Especially Literacy and Numeracy • BELONGING TO THE SCHOOL • Poor attendance • Bullying / anti-social behaviour • FAMILY BACKGROUND/ ASPIRATIONS

17. Where can we find a working summary of student risk factors...EASILY? • In CASES21! • The information is usually scattered, but this Tool extracts and displays all the relevant data about individual students on ONE spreadsheet • Schools can access the data in TWO minutes, without additional data entry • Let us look at planning tool itself………

18. Group Activity What can the Tool tell you?

19. How to get the most out of the SAR Mapping Tool • Leadership requirements • Someone senior responsible for overseeing the whole process • A planned whole school approach- including • Use of teams in administration, Destination, Learning & Belonging areas • Linked to school goals & targets • Policy formation & processes

20. Roll-out 2007 • Web resources • Briefings • CASES21 training in Excel and Seamless Views • Primary schools