Highly personalised approach drives demand and expansion at our David Scott School

The tailored approach of our David Scott School in educating young people who have become disengaged from the mainstream school system is yielding positive results, with a big expansion underway.

The tailored approach of our David Scott School in educating young people who have become disengaged from the mainstream school system is yielding positive results, with a big expansion underway.

Based at Frankston in Melbourne’s outer south east, the school delivers the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning , or VCAL, equivalent to Years 10, 11 and 12. Sixty students began classes in Term One, and the school is building capacity to educate up to 90 students throughout the rest of this year.

Staff levels are being boosted, with four new classroom-based teachers, a senior teacher overseeing careers, a learning technologies coordinator, two support officers and a healthy eating coordinator.

Principal Catherine Arnold said there has been more demand, with students referred from across Melbourne, beyond the local region.

She said the school’s highly personalised approach is the key to its success in catering to young people who had not flourished in a mainstream school environment.

The David Scott School became a registered independent school in January 2017. In 2018, 51 per cent of students completed their courses, far exceeding completion rates of most like schools. Ms Arnold said the attendance rate in 2018 was around 80 per cent, which is also very high for young people who have struggled with attendance in the mainstream system.

‘Our holistic approach to address learning barriers means we treat students with an unconditional positive regard,’ she said. ‘We develop individualised learning plans with engaging learning opportunities and learning in the real world. Students have a voice; our staff are passionate and committed.’

The David Scott School is continuing to recruit students. To enquire, please email info(at)davidscottschool.vic.edu.au or phone 03 8781 5907.