Youth Transitions

Managed Individual Pathways - Case Studies

Traralgon College

Traralgon College is a large school with separate junior and senior campuses. In any one year there can be 200 ‘exits’ including early school leavers, international and exchange students, and students that enrol in the school but do not arrive. Add to this the 180 Year 12s who complete each year, and the job of the MIPs staff is a large one indeed.

The MIPs program at Traralgon is implemented by classroom teachers in Years 10, 11 and 12. Each teacher delivers the MIPs program to a group of students that they teach for something else, and an additional period each week is added for MIPs. This year the program is being run by the English and Maths teachers. Students choose from a broad range of electives.  English and Maths are often the only subjects in which Year 10s have the same teacher for both semesters. Bev Wort, the MIPs coordinator, believes that one of the strengths of this approach is that the teacher already knows the students and has credibility with them. The MIPs teachers can choose whether to use the allocated period each week for MIPs, to do the program in week-long blocks, or some combination of these.

MIPs and careers coordinators provide support, resources and programming for the MIPs teachers. This model means shared responsibility for, and understanding of, MIPs across the school.

Good Practice Approach to MIPs

 

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Process to establish the goals and aspirations of students

The most intensive year for the MIPs program is Year 10, when students work through a program that clarifies student interests, strengths and career goals. Each student is given a MIPs folder - a display book – that teachers collect at the end of the period and bring with them the next time. Also included are a VICTER Guide, myfuture materials and other tools. In the folder, students gather their concise MIPs plan and a career map in which they plot the pathway to at least two possible careers, using appropriate careers resources to identify prerequisites etc.

MIPs teachers survey all students to collect their aspirations and email addresses so that the MIPs coordinator can contact students with relevant careers information and possible work placements. This allows the MIPs coordinator to identify target groups for guest speakers, students at risk of early school leaving, and students who need immediate assistance with employment or apprenticeships.

While goal-setting is part of the process, Bev does not feel the students cope well with this aspect, particularly at making the connections between short term and long term goals. Students who are worried about their lack of direction in Year 10 will be referred to the specialist MIPs/careers staff, who will help them work through an interest and job suitability process.

In addition, all students in Year 10 undertake work experience in a two week block. MIPs teachers and other staff visit students in the workplace and this is forging good relationships between the school and local employers.

MIPs teachers are provided with a handbook outlining the program for work experience preparation and implementation, including a schedule of activities. Students write a report about their work experience, and then MIPs teachers provide careers counselling and discuss subject selection for the following year. MIPs teachers have to ‘sign off’ to show that subjects chosen are appropriate for the student’s stated pathway and for their current progress.

Supporting the MIPs teachers and students is a skilled MIPs/careers team. In addition to Bev Wort (MIPs coordinator, careers teacher, Year 12 convenor and Leading Teacher - Pathways/Later Years) there are Collette Beck (Careers coordinator, SBA coordinator and Leading Teacher -Teaching and Learning), Merrick Hilton (Transitions officer employed 0.4, previously from the Jobs Pathways Program), Gary Joske (case manager from Berry Street Victoria, two days per week), Judy South (employed 0.4 to provide learning support, develop organisation and coping skills and act as an advocate for some students), and Rebecca Lowe (employed 0.8 to provide clerical assistance and administer the absence hotline and electronic ‘roll call’ system).

Students who choose an employment pathway will receive help with resume and job applications in their MIPs classes, but are also generally referred to the Transitions Officer. Merrick’s office is located within the VCE study area, and many students drop in of their own accord.

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Pathways plans to inform curriculum needs

Collette and Bev are both Leading Teachers and are involved in the school’s strategic planning process. The MIPs program is built into the school timetable, and is delivered by a broad group of staff. To support student aspirations, around 19 different VET in Schools programs are offered by the school. There are three in which the school is the RTO, with the others offered in partnership with local providers. The school supports SBAs and offers a VCAL program. The school also runs a community VCAL program, and a young mothers’ VCAL group.

Links between the Maths curriculum and employment are being explored by the school. The MIPs/careers team is sourcing aptitude tests from employers to show students and teachers what employers are expecting in trade areas. The feedback from teachers suggests that something from industry has more credibility with students, and makes the Maths they are doing seem more relevant. As part of a Commonwealth Scholarship for careers advisors, Bev worked with GippsTAFE and Gippsland Group Training to develop a submission to the Enquiry into Maths and Science which explores issues regarding Maths as a preparation for employment. The school produced a guide (in poster format) to the kind of Maths used in each of the trade areas and where it fits into the school curriculum.

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Pathways planning through VELS

Traralgon College is reporting against VELS this year, and Collette has been closely involved in the implementation through her Leading Teacher position. Bev believes that the goal-setting elements of VELS will complement the MIPs program.

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

Bev Wort is the MIPs coordinator, a Year 12 convenor, and a Leading Teacher. Collette Beck is careers coordinator, SBA coordinator, and a Leading Teacher. The MIPs/careers office, and that of the part-time Transitions Officer, are both accessed from the VCE study area.

This is the team that works on course counseling and makes presentations at parent information nights. This is also the team that interviews students who are doing poorly at school to discuss possible pathways.

Collette is a member of the school’s Learning and Assessment Team, which is working on student motivation and issues around promotion into the next level of a subject.

The next office along from the VCE study area, where the MIPs/careers team is located, houses the VCE administrators who have a close working relationship with the MIPs/careers staff. The school has a separate VET coordinator, as with 19 VET programs the job is too big to combine with the MIPs/careers roles. There is good communication regarding enrolments in these programs.

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

Although some schools have established MIPs within the welfare program, Bev feels that it is better positioned with careers. Nonetheless, at Traralgon the links between MIPs and welfare are important, and Gary Joske and Judy South are members of both the welfare team and the MIPs/careers team.

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Encourages parental involvement

MIPs is explained to parents in the information evenings held for each year level. The school also expects 100% attendance at subject selection evenings. Prior to subject selection evenings, two days and evenings are allocated when parents can come in with their child for course counselling. Bev and Collette train the team of twelve teachers and student managers who do the counselling.

In 2006 Traralgon College is running, through the Local Community Partnership and the Parents As Career Transition Support (PACTS) program on the junior campus for the first time.

Parents who wish to support their children through pathways planning are certainly assisted by the school. A direct link from the Home Page of the school website takes you to the Careers pages. The school website is currently being redeveloped, but in the past the Careers pages have contained Careers Update Newsletters, a step by step explanation of how to use the VTAC guide, a calendar of events for each year level including parent information nights and open days, and links to VTAC, TAFE institutes, universities and other career resources.

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Process to regularly review pathways plans

Compared to the program at Year 10, Year 11 and 12 MIPs is less intensive. There is an expectation that MIPs teachers will ensure students revisit their MIPs plans once a term, at least to update subjects successfully completed. Bev is aware this does not always happen.

Bev presents at a couple of Year 12 MIPs classes to explain the resources available and to make sure the students’ information about prerequisites is correct. Each student then has a one-on-one interview with Bev or Collette, with a second interview around VTAC application time. Those who are seeking employment will meet with the Transitions Officer.

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

Year 10-12 students at risk of early school leaving are identified through MIPs teachers and year level convenors. The team also gets referrals regarding students with attendance or behavioural issues. The process of articulating career aspirations often identifies those students who do not expect to complete school. Bev believes most students would approach Merrick about job possibilities when they are first considering leaving school.

The school’s exit process requires students to meet with members of the MIPs/careers team.

The separation of the junior and senior campus means that the MIPs/careers team is not closely involved in supporting younger students at risk of early school leaving.

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Supporting early school leavers for six months

Bev believes the process for contacting students after six months is really valued by parents. However, with 700 students on the senior campus and 180 Year 12s, the school limits its follow-up to those students that leave to part-time work, unemployment or an unknown destination. Some of the follow-up is done through emails directly with the student, which is a non-threatening and familiar way to maintain a dialogue.

“The students are willing to listen then, when they often haven’t been willing to listen before they left school,” says Bev. Many students will return after they have left school to seek assistance with job seeking and apprenticeships.

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

Throughout the year the MIPs folders are held by the MIPs teachers. Students can access them when they need to get copies of work experience evaluations, resumes, etc. Students are given their complete MIPs folder when they exit, and this is included on the exit checklist. They are also given a follow-up sheet that captures the things they need to do to achieve their career goals.

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Recognising that retention and engagement issues begin prior to Year 10

Bev and Collette speak to all Year 9 classes about the transition into Year 10, and the pathways implications of Year 10 subject choices. Students receive handbooks on Year 10 subjects offered, and on the requirements at VCE level. Bev also runs a session for Year 9 teachers about the process of course selection.

Year 9 SOSE students play the Real Game, and guest speakers discuss their career paths and how these are aligned to the Keys to Success (You Can Do It program).

There was a careers presence on the junior campus one morning each week, when members of the MIPs/careers team would meet with referred students, but that has fallen away over the last year.

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How did you get here – tips for success?

  • The MIPs coordinator has control of the MIPs budget, and it is spent for the most part on the salaries of excellent support staff who are valued by senior school teachers.
  • There are two careers teachers, which means someone is available when the other is off-site. Two teachers means sharing all the evening commitments, less stress, easier handover and better planning. Bev was able to work with apprentices and employers with Gippsland Group Training for a term, as part of a Commonwealth Government scholarship for careers advisors, without massive disruption to the MIPs/careers program. The school now gets the benefits of Bev’s better understanding and networks.
  • Staff stability.
  • A good referral process sees convenors and student managers referring students when it appears they might not make successful transitions.
  • The MIPs load is spread across many classroom teachers who have established their credibility with students. It is important that it is embedded in the curriculum, and when teachers work with ‘their own’ students they do not perceive it as such a burden.
  • Careers teachers and the MIPs team are available to students most of the time, and substantial time is allocated for student consultations.
  • The MIPs process has been fully reviewed and fine-tuned each year.

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

  • Transfer the MIPs plans online if this is possible with the level of computer access in the school.
  • Review student destination and retention targets. A broad team from across the school set the original targets and this process increased commitment to and ownership of the MIPs program. Bev would like to establish a similar process to set new targets.
  • Explore the possibility of the MIPs role being included in all classroom MIPs teachers’ performance plans and accountability processes.