Student Resource Package – Targeted Initiatives

Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement (Reference 53)

Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding

Late Enrolment Funding is available to support young people experiencing vulnerability re-engaging in education following the February census. The Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding aims to target senior secondary students re-engaging into education via contracted provision of the VCE Vocational Major or VPC.

If a young person is eligible, funds will be allocated directly to the school where the young person is enrolled, paid pro-rate from the date of the young person’s enrolment.

Payments

The Late Enrolment and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Program provides targeted funding through the Student Resource Package (SRP) to schools for individual young people who enrol after the February census is completed and who meet the eligibility criteria.

Application deadlines

Applications open on Monday 22 April 2024 and close on Friday 17 May 2024.

Schools will be allocated their payment from the first round of funding as part of the revised SRP in June 2024.

Individual rate

The 2024 individual rate is a targeted payment of $10,000, which will be paid out pro-rata (100% or 75%) based on the enrolment date of the young person. There will be additional funding of $2,000 available to schools on top of the Late Enrolment Funding payment if they enrol a young person who has been involved in youth justice – either in custody or appearing before the Children’s Courts, in recognition of the often more personalised approach required to ensure ongoing engagement in education for this cohort.

Funding will be paid pro-rata based on the date of enrolment:

Eligibility criteria

For schools to apply for Late Enrolment Funding, the young person must be re-engaging with education after the February census and meet the following criteria:

• not been counted (funded) in a Department of Education school census in the same year and must meet at least one of the following criteria:
  • disengaged from school (defined as less than 30% attendance)
  • residing in statutory Out of Home Care (defined as young people who cannot live in their family home and are residing in a temporary, medium or long-term living arrangement)
  • involved with the youth justice system, including a young person with a youth control order and intensive bail conditions (identified by Education Justice Initiative staff, Parkville College staff or court liaison officers)
• have a confirmed school enrolment (or equivalent) at a government school with an Individual Education Plan (IEP) in place (please note there is no age limit for applications)
• not have received Late Enrolment Funding within the current financial year
• not be participating in an approved senior or foundational secondary re-engagement program.

For schools to be eligible for Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding, the following criteria must be met:

• the young person must be re-engaging with education after the February census
• the young person must not have been counted (funded) in a Department of Education school census in the same year
• the young person must be participating in an approved senior secondary re-engagement program with an IEP in place.

Applying for funding

Once a young person is identified as eligible for funding:

Step 1

The school develops an IEP for the young person. An IEP is required for both Late Enrolment Funding and Senior Secondary Re-engagement Funding applications. Schools must use the IEP template developed by the department which is available at Individual Education Plans – Resources.

It is required that school staff take the following steps when developing an IEP:

1. Utilise the department’s IEP template.
2. Complete the IEP eLearning module on LearnED (available via eduPay) and attend an IEP webinar (available via Arc – Individual Education Planning).
3. Schedule a Student Support Groups (SSG) meeting with the student (where appropriate), their parent/carer, teacher and education support staff. The SSG is an opportunity to get to know the student and how they learn. The meeting will assist school staff in understanding the student’s strengths and interests and any challenges or barriers to learning and will assist in developing student-centred approaches.
4. After the IEP has been developed, use the IEP quality checklist rubric (PDF) to check that it includes the essential components.

Step 2

The school completes the online application form (staff login required) and attaches the completed IEP.

Step 3

The application is initially sent to the Performance and Evaluation Division to determine whether the young person was funded during the February census. If a young person was not funded, the application will then go through a series of approvals. If the young person was funded, the principal will be notified immediately, and the application will be deemed ineligible.

Step 4

Schools will receive advice via email confirming the application's approval and the direct payment of approved funds to the school which takes place via the SRP update.

Links

For further information on VET delivered to secondary school students refer to: Vocational Education and Training Delivered to Secondary School Students.

Contacts

Schools should contact the Manager of Youth Pathways and Transition in their region to discuss applications and determine time frames to ensure the timely submission of applications.

If you require further information, please email: youth.participation@education.vic.gov.au