The stress of major life challenges such as chronic relationship breakdowns, parental substance use and family violence is highly disruptive for any student. Once children start falling behind and disengaging from school, their resulting loss of confidence makes it harder and harder to catch up.
Because of these disruptions, students in alternative care are typically two to three years behind their peers in literacy and numeracy, and historically only about a third (35 per cent) complete Year 12. Anglicare Victoria (AV) designed the TEACHaR (Transforming Educational Achievement of Children at Risk) program to change this story.
Our education specialists are trained teachers who spend time with children to accelerate their learning and help those who have fallen behind to regain their confidence and catch up again. During 2020-21, more than 80 per cent of the students who completed the TEACHaR program either maintained or improved their attendance in the classroom.
