Page 2675 - Week 09 - Wednesday, 7 August 2013
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for the 2013 National Disability Awards. I think it is great news that we have three of those 27 finalists here in the ACT. I would like to offer my congratulations to Sue Salthouse and Anne Proctor who are finalists in the lifetime achievement award in the disability category. I would also like to congratulate local entrepreneur Huy Nyguen who is a finalist in emerging leaders in disability award.
I think that is a good outcome for those three people. I am sure all of us in this place know them and recognise the work they do. The awards will be at the Great Hall of Parliament House on 28 November this year. I wish those people every success to take out those awards on the twenty-eighth.
Galilee School
MR GENTLEMAN (Brindabella) (5.46): I rise tonight in Homelessness Week to discuss another great program run by Communities@Work in my electorate, being the Galilee School, which had their open day just last month. The Galilee School is an alternative education program that provides educational opportunities for young people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, Family Services clients or young people who, for whatever reasons, are unable to access the mainstream schooling system.
This program is co-educational and caters for years 7 to 10 based on the ACT curriculum. Galilee School is an accredited independent school which provides an alternative education program for disadvantaged and at-risk young people aged 12 to 16 years in the Canberra region. It is a special place, because it caters for the needs of students who do not fit into the mainstream schooling system. It provides a well-established program with over 15 years experience working with young people who present with a range of support needs.
This program caters for both full-time and part-time enrolments. The school has a student-to-staff ratio of four to one, and utilises small group learning as a key to educational strategy. The young people attending Galilee School are perhaps likely to have some history of truancy, drug and alcohol issues or behavioural difficulties and may have an involvement with the Care and Protection Services or the community youth justice system.
The primary focus of Galilee is to encourage young people to return to the educational system. But it also provides for quality individualised and holistic education and training and skills for young people moving into the workforce. To facilitate this, the program is flexible and structured around youth needs. The program content focuses on literacy and numeracy skills but also covers other curriculum subjects such as interpersonal skills, life skills and training in transition to independent skills.
The program provided by Galilee does not focus on a quick fix, but rather on developing long-term resilience and resourcefulness. The objective is to promote respect and self-esteem and to inspire young people to realise their full potential by developing and utilising their unique talents and capabilities. Last year, the school was able to take on 13 full-time and 14 part-time students, with four students receiving their year 10 certificate and two young people obtaining school-based apprenticeships.
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