Program helping get students back on track

Almost two years after it launched on the Central Coast, The Y NSW’s Alternative Suspension Program is seeing impressive results.

The program is redefining the future for young people facing school suspension, providing essential support and a positive path forward.

Designed to address behavioural challenges in a structured, compassionate environment, it offers students not only a second chance, but an opportunity to reclaim their futures and reset.

One hundred students have been referred to the program since it began on the Central Coast in February 2023 with the average age of participants being 14 – 60 per cent male and 40 per cent female.

Of the 100 participants, 29 per cent were Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islanders and 20 per cent had diagnosed disabilities.

On referral participants are scored on a series of presenting behaviours.

Topping the list on the Coast was physical violence (displayed by 55 per cent of participants), followed closely by bullying at 43 per cent and verbal abuse at 39 per cent.

Of the students completing the program, 86 per cent said what they had learned at the workshops should be useful at school and 98 per cent said they felt the program was a safe space.

In NSW public schools, 1 in 23 students were suspended at least once in 2023.

The cost of suspensions affect more than just the student, impacting on families, siblings, the school, other peers and teachers alike.

Equitable education advocate David Gonski said the Alternative Suspension program offered not only an alternative, but an essential resource in creating inclusive pathways for every student to succeed.

“This program exemplifies what’s possible when we invest in our youth,” he said.

“It can transform suspension from exclusion and marginalisation into an opportunity for growth, allowing students to overcome challenges with the support they need.

“This program creates real opportunities for students who might otherwise be left behind, helping them build resilience and thrive in ways that the traditional approach to a suspension at home simply cannot.”

The Y NSW’s youth workers who run the program work closely with referral support services including psychologists and alcohol and other drug counsellors.

Partnerships with the Eureka Benevolent Foundation, St. George Foundation, Department of Social Services, Matana Foundation and the Kimberley Foundation will pave the way for the program to continue on the Central Coast and in Western Sydney as well expanding to other parts of the state.

Schools can refer students to the program for a minimum of three days.

For more information visit alt.suspension@ymcansw.org.au