Young people at the margins: Where to with education?

Early school leaving places vulnerable young people at greater risk of long-term unemployment, dependence on welfare, mental health issues and social exclusion. Mainstream educational settings currently struggle to include and meet the needs of these students. In Victoria, an estimated 5.5 per cent of early school-leavers have not reconnected with employment or training in 2016; significantly higher figures are reported in some areas (Wangaratta, for example). for many of these young people, there is a familiar set of factors at play: their initial school experience is one of rejection, and they have experienced long-term socioeconomic disadvantage, complex family relationships to navigate, a difficult history of involvement with multiple government agencies and, in many cases, mental health problems.