Youth Transitions

Managed Individual Pathways - Case Studies

Geelong High School

This school of 900 students has changed remarkably over the last six years. From 2000 to 2003, the school committed itself to investigating models of good practice and reinvigorating the curriculum. This resulted in the introduction of a home group program in vertical groupings from Year 8 to 12. (Year 7s remain in a year-level grouping to assist with the transition from primary school). Home groups are comprised of 25-30 students and two teachers, an approach that minimises the disruption that can arise when a home group teacher is absent, takes leave or moves to another school. Home groups meet for two single periods each week.

This structure is integral to the school’s individual learning program as students choose their own subjects from Year 8, and choose from a range of flexible study programs from Year 10. Though students may be with a different cohort of students in each subject, the home group fosters a sense of belonging and connection across the years of their schooling.

Enrolments at Geelong High School are increasing, retention rates are improving, absenteeism is declining, and a range of issues that used to consume time and resources “largely take care of themselves” under the new structure. Staff have become quite polished at explaining the school’s approach (PDF - 765Kb) at good practice forums and to the teachers and school leaders who come to visit.

Though the school had begun to trial MIPs approaches before the home group structure was implemented, they have found that the two complement each other. The ongoing connection between home group teachers and students supports the development and review of pathways plans. The school now has a MIPs/careers program that includes integrated curriculum from Years 7 to 12. The ‘Pathways team’ includes MIPs coordinator Sharon O’Keefe, Careers and VCAL coordinator Trudy Cameron, careers teachers Scott Wallace and Daryl Hay (also VET/SBA coordinator), MIPs database developer Guy Murray, VCE coordinator Jenny Hauenstein and all home group teachers.

Good Practice Approach to MIPs

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Process to establish the goals and aspirations of students

In 2001 the school trialled a program of ‘MIPs mentors’ – around twenty volunteer teachers who each counselled ten Year 10, 11 and 12 students. MIPs mentors were given an allocation of two periods per week to support this role. At the same time, the Pathways Coordinator for the school was given the task of introducing broader post-compulsory pathways for students, including VET, VCAL and alternative programs.

Having this program in place for two years before the home group structure was introduced meant that curriculum, resources and the advocacy approach had already been trialled and evaluated. When home group teachers were appointed for 2003, their role included acting as MIPs mentor for their own students. They were provided with proven resources and trained in how to ask the right questions, how to support students through a decision-making process without giving ‘careers advice’. With the home groups in place, the school began to expand the MIPs program (Word - 30Kb) to include younger students (described in more detail below).

Year 10s, 11s and 12s attend a study skills camp in first term each year. Discussion of learning styles, self-awareness and effective planning leads into MIPs planning in term 2, where the questions are ‘where are you heading and what do you want to achieve?’ In term 3 the focus turns to ‘how will you get there’, and students choose the subjects for the following year that will make up their Individual Learning Pathway.

Year 10 is the most important pathways planning year. At the beginning of the year they are gathered to celebrate their achievements so far and welcomed to the ‘endless possibilities’ that are now opening up before them. They work through the Year 10 MIPs booklet (Word - 126Kb) in home group time, and are introduced to SBAs, VCAL, the chance to undertake a VCE unit in Year 10, etc. Students who identify an interest in alternative or modified programs are referred to the Pathways staff for assistance. Those who do not have a sense of career direction use the Career Voyager software to get them started. The availability of Pathways staff to help them is ‘hammered home’ during this year.

At the end of term 2 students complete a MIPs plan, and the information is entered into the school’s MIPs database. This was first established for Year 10 data in 2001 but now extends to all students. The database has the capacity to record as many possible career choices and pathways as the student wishes. The database is updated whenever a student meets with Pathways staff. Part-time work, non-integrated SBAs, potential work experience contacts can be added. If students are looking at a particular course or tertiary institution, this is recorded. The database can be searched by all fields, so Pathways staff can pull up lists of, for example, all students interested in a defence force career, or courses at Monash University. This allows them to alert students to relevant Open Days, guest speakers or new resources. The database also records exit information to support destination tracking. Access to the database is limited to the Pathways team, to ensure consistent data entry and control.

In addition to the MIPs planning process, the school offers Enterprising Careers as a one-semester elective at Year 9 and 10. Almost all Year 10s choose this elective because it includes the school’s work experience program. The Enterprising Careers unit is delivered by careers teachers Daryl Hay and Scott Wallace, with students undertaking one week of work experience in May and August. (The MIPs coordinator also arranges one-day-per-week work experience (Word - 21Kb) placements for other students by negotiation, and Year 11s and 12s are encouraged to obtain paid work or work experience over the holidays).

Learning from work experience feeds into the course counselling and subject selection process, which involves individual interviews and parent information evenings. Students are then supported into VCE or VCAL enrolments or an out-of-school pathway.

At the end of Year 10 there is a celebration, sometimes held in an out-of-school venue, to mark the occasion and to see students off onto their various pathways.

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Pathways plans to inform curriculum needs

Sharon believes that, because students shape their Individual Learning Pathway from Year 8, they are more ready by Year 10 to choose an individualised post-compulsory pathway. There are many Year 10 students undertaking a VCE subject, the school supports SBA students and VET in Schools programs, and the VCAL program is strong. Enrolments in the VCAL program are based on student pathway plans. VCAL is promoted and supported by all staff as a viable pathway for any students planning apprenticeship, TAFE or employment pathways. The VCAL program is self promoting due the successful outcomes of past students.

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Pathways planning through VELS

The school is currently mapping the Enterprise Careers curriculum against the VELS, but with its integrated pathways curriculum across all year levels the school does not expect VELS will result in significant adjustment to the program.

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Close collaboration between the VCE, VCAL and VET coordinators and the MIPs coordinator

Trudy Cameron works 0.6. She is the VCAL coordinator and now also the careers coordinator. Sharon O’Keefe works 0.8. Sharon is the MIPs coordinator (0.4) and also a classroom teacher (0.4). Daryl Hay is the VET coordinator, SBA coordinator, careers teacher and work experience coordinator.

As the school structure is based around vertical home groups gathered into Houses, the four House Leaders (and their assistants) fill the place in the school hierarchy normally filled by year level coordinators. These House Leaders work closely with the Pathways team, referring students considered at risk of early school leaving and including the MIPs coordinator in study skills camps and parent information nights.

The VASS and VCE administration is undertaken by Jenny Hauenstein, who assists the Pathways team to find the flexibility to support modified study pathways, participation in external programs, etc.

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Close collaboration between student welfare staff, integration staff, careers coordinators and the MIPs coordinator

The Pathways team is full of praise for the skills and support of the school’s welfare coordinator and chaplain. The welfare team readily refers students to the Pathways team for assistance, and the Pathways team brings them in if issues of concern arise during MIPs planning or interviews. The chaplain has a careers background, which enhances the link between the two areas.

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Encourages parental involvement

The Pathways team presents at the parent information evenings for Year 8-9s, and Year 10-12s. Teachers at all levels are encouraged to use MIPs plans to support discussion in parent-teacher interviews. In Year 10, students take their initial career choices home for discussion with parents, and parents then attend the individual careers counselling interview with their child. MIPs and career updates are also offered through the school newsletter, a specific Year 11 and 12 newsletter as well as numerous letters home.

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Process to regularly review pathways plans

In Year 11 students undertake a study skills program and update their pathway plan in term 1. They work on MIPs activities in their home groups, and are introduced to Course Link, Career Voyager, VICTER and the myfuture website in lunchtime sessions with Pathways staff. There is another formal update at the end of the year, but the Pathways staff find that student-made appointments and referrals from House Leaders mean they see most students during the year as well. Pathways staff provide assistance with resumes and application letters, and work to link students into apprenticeships and traineeships.

For Year 12 students, there is a much stronger emphasis on the VTAC process. The Pathways team meets with all students for an individual interview in term 3, to check that they have completed a VTAC or direct TAFE entry application, and/or apprenticeship, traineeship and employment applications. Each student is required to identify at least three possible destinations for after they complete Year 12 to ensure no-one is left without a ‘Plan B’. The Pathways team has a particularly strong relationship with the Year 12s, who visit frequently. The Pathways office is seen by students as a very positive space, where all pathways options are treated with respect and support. This fosters good relationships, especially with students at risk of early school leaving.

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Process for the identification, support and monitoring of students at risk of early school leaving

At risk students are a major focus of the MIPs program, which encourages referrals from home group teachers, House Leaders, welfare staff, parents and students. Students with patterns of poor attendance are referred to Pathways staff.

“The loopholes seem to have shrunk with the home group structure – it’s harder for kids to slip under the radar. Home group teachers are proactive on behalf of their students because they know the student really well,” says Sharon. “The students really seem to identify with their Houses, with the whole ‘house culture’ thing. It plays a big part in their sense of school, and though it sounds strange I think it increases their desire to be at school. They’re happier.”

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Supporting early school leavers for six months

The school’s exit procedure (Word - 37Kb) requires the MIPs coordinator to sign each exit form. The MIPs coordinator works very closely with Assistant Principal David Whelan to monitor exits, track destinations and manage transitions into other programs. The school continues to monitor the progress of early school leavers for at least six months, and offers support if things are not working out.

The school contacts Year 12 completers in March and August. “It is an absolute pleasure doing it in March. I want to make sure everyone is OK.” Sharon felt that the post-exit contact was particularly important this year, as one of the students had died during the holidays. “He was just a wonderful person and we all thought the world of him. We particularly wanted to make sure his friendship circle were OK.”

Destination data is gathered from pathway plans from the database as well as individual phone calls home. Sharon often uses students’ own mobile phone numbers to make contact. This improves destination tracking, as ex-students are generally able to provide access to other ex-students, which parents are not able to do. “We pride ourselves on not having any unknown destinations.” Anyone who is not happy with their post-school path is invited back in for further support. Many ex-students drop in to visit the Pathways staff, confident of a warm welcome. Sometimes if the school has reservations about a student’s destination, Pathways staff will keep offering new possibilities.

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Providing students with a copy of their MIPs plan when they leave school or change schools

At end of Year 10 the school keeps the MIPs plans, while students keep their workbooks. Any student exiting the school receives a letter outlining what they have to do to pursue their chosen pathway, with brochures from local education, employment and other services. Pathways staff will sometimes visit these services with students.

At the start of term 4, Year 12s receive a detailed letter about what they need to do in last few months of school. At the end of the year they receive a package that includes a print-out of their MIPs plan.

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Recognising that retention and engagement issues begin prior to Year 10

The MIPs program at Geelong High School begins with the Year 7 camp in term 1. Trudy and colleague Jacinta Grills have developed a comprehensive program that used to include some discussion about possible careers. Teachers found that students were not yet interested in this, but that they responded well to activities that helped them learn about themselves, their learning style, their personality type, and good habit building. “What do I like, what do I do well, what could I do better, etc.?” Year 7 teachers are given support notes and suggested activities, but they are encouraged to customise the program to suit the interests of each particular class.

This program underpins the students’ subject choices going into Year 8, and they are encouraged to choose areas in which they need development as well as those they will find easy. Trudy believes that choosing their own learning pathway increases student engagement in the middle years of schooling.

The response to the unit was so positive that the school wanted to extend the program beyond Year 7, while still avoiding a heavy focus on careers. A trial is underway of the new Smart Dreams program for Year 8s and 9s, in which they do multiple intelligence testing, discuss the concept of resilience and how to develop it, coping skills and strengths and weaknesses. The unit is adapted from Andrew Fuller’s Work Smarter Not Harder program.

When Trudy called for volunteers to trial the program with their home groups, 28 staff from 14 home groups volunteered. The feedback so far is that students are engaging well with the material, and that peer mentoring is occurring as older students encourage the Year 8s and 9s.

In addition to these programs, the Enterprising Careers unit is offered as an elective at Year 9, and the Real Game is played in a one-semester unit offered at Year 8 and 9. The school would like to see more staff trained to deliver the Real Game.

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How did you get here – tips for success?

  • The home group system is a natural fit with the MIPs concept.
  • Trialling the MIPs mentor program helped the transition into the home group system.
  • The database has been a really valuable tool.
  • “We have really hardworking people in all key positions,” says Sharon.
  • The school places real value on the idea of the possible pathway being limitless.

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What next – where to with your MIPs program over the next two years?

  • Reduce paper – find a way to keep electronic records of MIPs planning without students losing ownership of the end product.
  • Try to find a process that would allow students to observe their changing dreams and plans over the years.
  • Expand the Smart Dreams program to all Year 8s and 9s.
  • Develop a more formal workbook to support the Year 11 and 12 MIPs program.
  • Continue to support home group teachers with high quality resources to support MIPs.