Y Community School

At the Y we believe in the power of inspired young people and the vision of the Y is to build a better world with and for young people.

The Y Community School is established to respond to the needs of young people who are disengaged or at significant risk of disengaging from mainstream education.

We enact our belief in the power of inspired young people by providing a safe, supportive environment for young people to engage with education, attain skills and qualifications and begin not just to survive, but to thrive, become inspired, and an inspiration to others.

All young people want to learn and do well and should have the right to achieve their full potential regardless of circumstances and the barriers that have prevented them engaging fully in education. The development of the whole person is of utmost importance. We are guided in developing this through the Y’s philosophy of valuing a person’s body, mind and spirit. We believe this holistic approach is best delivered through a flexible individualised learning program and environment to maximise positive outcomes for every student.

We strive to deliver a high-quality educational program focussed on the whole person and on supporting individualised education in the academic, wellbeing and vocational domains. Our approach is to reengage students through specially tailored programs, curriculum and structures focussed on supporting students to progress to employment and / or further education and training.

Students engage with the school and the wider community and develop positive relationships and connections, enabling them to function and contribute effectively to the wider community, supporting them to thrive emotionally, socially and physically.

Our philosophy seeks to contribute to the goals of the Alice Springs (Mparntwe) Education Declaration and in particular:

Goal 1: The Australian education system promotes excellence and equity. We will provide a specialist setting demonstrating excellence in reengagement and trauma informed education, thereby promoting equity for some of our community’s most disadvantaged young people.

Goal 2: All young Australians become confident and creative individuals, successful lifelong learners, and active and informed members of the community. We will provide an individualised learning program built around each young person’s interests and needs to build engagement, develop confidence, address gaps in learning, and develop learning skills and competencies to equip young people for their lives beyond school.

To find out more on our philosophy and educational approach click here.

Y Community School supports and promotes the principles and practices of our Australian democracy including a commitment to:

• An elected government
• The rule of law
• Equal rights for all before the law
• Freedom of religion
• Freedom of speech and association
• The values of openness and tolerance.

As the Y seeks to establish its first Schools in Victoria, starting in the northern corridor of Melbourne (in the Y Whittlesea service area), there is an opportunity to partner with the Y in a variety of ways to support young people disengaged from mainstream education and empower them to reach their full potential.

The Y has a vision to create a network of school campuses providing for students from years 7 – 12 across a wide area where the need and conditions exist to enable and facilitate these.