The Centre Education Programme (Kingston Queensland)
History and Philosophy
The Centre Education Programme (CEP) has been operating in the Logan community for the past 30 years. Initially it was a programme supporting Woodridge State High School offering maths, English, self-esteem and craft programs to a number of their truanting Year 8 and 9 students before it became a stand-alone program in 1987 for young people who were missing from schools and who were starting to get into trouble with the law. In 1990 CEP was established as a non-government registered school with an enrolment of 34 young people. Today, the school caters for a diverse range of young people in difficult circumstances with complex issues affecting their lives; they are aged between 12 and 20. While the enrolment budget for the school is 120 students, in 2016 CEP enrolled and worked with 200 young people. This growing number of young people who The Centre works with is a reflection of the instability in the local community due to increasing ice use and chroming, disintegration of the family unit, regular incarceration and the devaluing of education as a vehicle to change one’s life. In 2006 CEP identified the growing need for flexible learning arrangements to service the communities of Ipswich (now an established Flexible Learning Centre), Jimboomba/Beaudesert and Crestmead/Marsden. These groups were established to engage students with significant histories of non-school attendance through the development of trusting relationships and opportunities to experience success both educationally and socially.
The Jimboomba/Beaudesert Outreach
It’s Up 2 U began operations in 2007 and continues to focus on providing a social/educational program for young people who are geographically isolated in the 45km corridor between Park Ridge and Beaudesert and are aged between 12 and 15 years. Many of the young people who attend have been suspended or expelled from the small offering of public schools in this district and, or, experience mental health issues. In addition to geographical isolation this community is also affected by insufficient community service and further training providers. The Jimboomba/Beaudesert Outreach has enjoyed the benefits of a long-term teacher who has developed strong community links that have improved young people’s engagement with the limited service offerings available. This also means that young people tend to remain well-engaged with the program for lengthy periods of time. Although the youth work position had been filled several times in the initial years of operation, the program has flourished with the longer-term retainment and investment of both its current and previous youth worker (3 years each). The stability and effective relationship building of the staff team means the program is well-known and respected in the local community often with more demand for enrolment places than is able to be supplied.
The Crestmead/Marsden Outreach
This Outreach was established in 2007 through the Community Renewal Fund as a response to the significant numbers of young people in the Logan Central area with complex mental health concerns impacting their attendance at school. The program’s development afforded the teaching team time to visit young people in their homes to begin building rapport and relationships to reduce the anxiety of potential participants. This Outreach is on the doorstep of CEP to meet the needs of those young people who struggle with being in a larger student cohort. By the end of the first year of operation 110 referrals had been received and the program had strong links with a large range of community services. Over the last 5 years the service focus has changed as the mental health support services in Logan have increased for adolescents aged 14 years and older, and the integration of year 7 students into the high school setting in 2015. As a result, the Crestmead/Marsden Outreach provides an educational program for young people with mental health concerns targeted at year 7 and 8 students.
Address
108 Mudgee Street, Kingston, QLD 4114
PO Box 4, Woodridge, QLD 4114
Contact Details
Head of Campus: Adrienne Green
Phone: 07 3808 6800
Email: cep@youthplus.edu.au
Student Protection Officers: Adrienne Green, Tracie Pratt and Callum Robertson
Policies
EREA Student Protection Processes and Guidleines CLICK HERE
Code of Conduct for Interacting with Children and Young People CLICK HERE
EREA Screening Policy and Guidelines CLICK HERE
Complaints Policy for Parents and Volunteers CLICK HERE
Child and Youth Risk Management Strategy Checklist CLICK HERE
108 Mudgee Street, Kingston, QLD 4114
Phone: 07 3808 6800