An alternative state school in Melbourne’s north is turning around the lives of at-risk students, providing a model for early intervention outside the youth justice system. Britnie Magnani, now studying a diploma in community services, had accumulated over 50 suspensions by year 8 before being referred to the Pavilion school as a last resort.
Magnani says her turbulent home life and association with the “wrong crowd” led to her suspensions, which she describes as sometimes “a cry for help”. At the Pavilion school, she found a flexible learning model with face-to-face contact hours tailored to individual needs, vocational pathways, and a wellbeing worker who provided crucial support.
“It was the caring nature, them understanding you and not just seeing you as a kid,” Magnani said. “They see you as a person and an equal.” The school’s approach includes classes of mixed ages and abilities, each staffed by a teacher, a teaching assistant, and a wellbeing worker.
Another former student, Tayah Carroll, 19, enrolled at Pavilion four years ago while battling alcohol addiction and withdrawal from prescription pills. She credits the school’s support, including a wellbeing worker who accompanied her on excursions during withdrawal, with changing her mindset. “It really changed my mindset that people were out there to help me and not to get me,” she said.
Victoria’s outgoing children’s commissioner, Meena Singh, advocates for more flexible learning options, noting that many children are not thriving in mainstream settings. The Victorian government recently announced a plan to employ social workers at 20 public schools, aiming to prevent at-risk students from dropping out, though the teacher’s union criticised it as “lip service”.
Magnani, who now hopes to work with children in out-of-home care, said the school helped her find her path. “I could explore my feelings, and I found what I wanted to do, I found the person I’m going to be,” she said.
