A school in Perth’s north says placing student interests at the heart of its classrooms, has led to improved attendance for some of WA’s most disengaged learners. Experts say while important lessons can be learned from the approach, there are significant barriers to applying it across the state.
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00:00James Parker was not a big fan of school.
00:06I didn't have a lot of friends, teachers weren't very supportive so I didn't often feel very comfortable going to class.
00:12But his approach changed after he enrolled at the Y School and was given the chance to design its gym.
00:18James is completing Year 12 while studying for a Certificate 3 in Personal Training.
00:23That's 5, doing amazing.
00:26The teachers have helped me link what I'm doing in the classroom to what I'm doing in here and then what I'll be doing in the real world.
00:35The school's 100 students are given a high level of support, with every learner assigned a youth worker and class sizes capped at 17.
00:43It's one of 11 alternative education schools in WA, designed to cater for students who are struggling to access mainstream learning.
00:51We find there are mental health issues, physical health issues, but also situations that have arisen at home.
00:58Some of them are young carers, some of them have had family members with significant illness and there's been periods of time where they've disconnected from school.
01:07In 2023, the school's attendance rate was 56%, increasing to 64% last year.
01:14That's still well below the average for WA students, but it's a huge improvement for these learners.
01:21While schools like this are tackling low attendance with intensive support and a tailored curriculum,
01:27experts say applying that philosophy to mainstream secondary schools would be a massive challenge, due to standardised education.
01:36With attendance rates trending downwards nationally, some believe a more holistic approach is needed.
01:43But if we continue down this road of standardised one size fits all approach, we're going to continue to see disengagement,
01:49we're going to continue to see low attendance rates and young people getting less and less out of education than ever before.
01:56Striving for the right balance to keep all kids interested and in the classroom.