The JHHS Outreach Class, Kolang Kumba, is an educational service for students with regular attendance below 50% experiencing symptoms of anxiety and school refusal. The goal is to re-engage young people with an educational pathway and build their capacity to thrive academically, socially and emotionally, regardless of their personal circumstances.
This short-term intervention service puts students at the heart of all we do by providing individualised educational support embedded in a comprehensive wellbeing program aimed at challenging students to build resilience, belonging, sense of self and 21st Century life skills.
The program aims to enhance the student's engagement in education, develop their skills and routines for re-engagement, access local services for families to assist in building their capacity to help their child.
We partner with schools to strengthen support systems for students on their return. We have the core belief that there is a place for every young person to thrive and through their engagement at Kolang Kumba we hope to provide a supported transition to their next step.
Across Australia, the national attendance rate and attendance level have been trending downwards for a number of years, with a particularly noticeable decline in both measures in 2022. In 2022, more than half of students across Australia were chronically absent from school. (Source: APH.gov.au).