Project REAL
Project REAL is a re-engagement program for 9-12 year-olds who have disengaged from mainstream education.
Project REAL is a re-engagement program for 9-12 year-olds who are experiencing disengagement from mainstream education. It aims to support children, their families and schools to develop skills that foster positive school engagement.
Project REAL is a Flexible Learning Option (FLO) for students aged 9-12 years old currently attending primary school. Commenced in 2017, Project REAL has undergone extensive evaluation, and is now regarded as a benchmark of effective practice in the FLO space.
Project REAL accepts 10-12 students per annum on a variety of modalities including onsite, offsite and outreach. Project REAL Teachers, Youth Engagement Learning Mentors and Family Workers provide extensive support to students, families and partner schools, in the form of 1:1 and small group learning, teacher coaching and professional development on key areas of practice, and intensive family support services including referrals and collaboration with community agencies and allied health professionals.
The Project REAL approach with our students, families and schools represents a local adaptation of theoretical and practice-based components from a range of fields, including:
- Trauma-informed practices (and Trauma-Informed Positive Education)
- The Attachment, Regulation and Competency (ARC) Framework
- Social and Emotional Learning – CASEL Framework
- Restorative Practices
- Intensive Family Work
An in-depth summary of our theoretical underpinnings is in the NCESE’s published Building Blocks for School Engagement.
For years BGCS staff had witnessed dozens of children from the local area regularly missing school as a result of school refusal and significant barriers to their learning. Quite powerlessly, we watched the longing for community and social connection and the need to belong, as they would regularly ride around and spend time at Banksia Gardens Community Services looking for something to do and somebody to talk to. Several conversations over many months led us to find a solution to support the increasing number of children, families and schools affected by early disengagement in the Hume area as schools struggled to meet their complex needs.
After a long fundraising journey, Project REAL was able to open its doors on the 7th of February 2017 and has rapidly become a major support to schools, families and children in the local area.
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Since opening our doors almost eight years ago to some of the most vulnerable children in our community, we have established a strong alliance between local organisations including Banksia Gardens Community Services, Royal Childrens Hospital, DPV Health, Berry Street Childhood Institute, The Gateway School (Roxburgh College), the Department of Education and Training, and fifteen local primary schools. Project REAL is the site that brought so many of our schools together and its operations have evolved significantly since 2020 with the formalisation of the alliance mentioned above into the Northern Centre for Excellence in School Engagement (NCESE).
Project REAL is a place where research and theory meet practice, where we refine our student re-engagement model based on the local and international research of what works best to increase student participation and success in school engagement. It is the engine room of the NCESE and where all the magic happens!
Our ultimate goal of re-engaging our students in their education and building the capacity of all our partner schools to meet the needs of students and families impacted by adverse childhood experiences is a vision that we will continue to work tirelessly towards.
Referrals to Project REAL are exclusive to NCESE partner schools. If you would like further information about Project REAL please contact one of the following people in our team:
Jaime.d@banksiagardens.org.au
Seral.f@banksiagardens.org.au
Anne Epstein, Team Leader – Project REAL
Anne.E@banksiagardens.org.au
Bridget.m@banksiagardens.org.
