Kingsgrove North High School is pleased to have developed a partnership with St George Youth Services to deliver the Links to Learning (Step Out) program. This program runs once a week for 8 weeks and is an important part of the welfare and student support services we offer at Kingsgrove North High School.
Step Out
Step Out is being delivered by St George Youth Services. It improves educational, future employability and life skills outcomes and overall wellbeing for students who are disengaged from their learning and/or at risk of leaving school early (for Years 9, 10, 11, particularly students who are from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (ATSI), or low social economic backgrounds).
The project works with partner schools to complement the in-school curriculum and support programs schools provide. Step Out offers an integrated, evidence-based creative and interactive group work program that is tailored to specific student needs. Individual complementary support work is also implemented for students and their families. Outcomes will assist students to actively strengthen their retention/attendance within school, complementing the base school's strategies.
Participation is encouraged through provision of arts/sports activities and educational workshops (based on consultations with students and their needs) to engage/motivate students and build their skills for learning. This includes activities such as music production, African/Arabic drumming, hip hop dance, multicultural dancing, self-defence, visual arts; practical workshops about emotional regulation, anti-bullying and anti-violence. Creative/sports activities and educational workshops provide core life, education/employment, foundation and soft skills to strengthen students capacity including building skills in teamwork, communication, problem solving, initiative/enterprise, planning and organising, self-management, valuing diversity, health and nutrition, emotions/anger management, resilience, self-esteem and respectful relationships, decision making/ violence and bullying prevention, coping/stress/anxiety.
Students are linked with complementary youth and community services within the community, including tutoring, counselling, homework help, mentoring, cultural and language assistance, recreation, to ensure sustainable outcomes.
A breakdown of the program sessions is presented below:
- goal setting, team building activities, drumming
- self-esteem education activity, positive affirmations, arts/sports session, for example, positive art affirmations designs
- respect education activity, arts/sports session, for example, soccer
- music/lyric production and relationships workshops
- anti-bullying sessions, team building activity sport, for example, self-defence activity
- emotions/anger management workshop with strategies to control anger and sports/art activity, for example, photography
- cultural awareness, community harmony workshop and sports/art activities, for example, calico bags design
- police cyber safety sessions, anti-violence sessions, goal setting, careers planning and art/safety activity or outdoor adventure and transition planning.
