The Courier was invited to join Mansfield Secondary College staff and students participating in the Hands on Learning program on Monday June 25 along with the founder Russell Kerr.
TIME spent outside the classroom is having a massive impact on students' engagement at Mansfield Secondary College thanks to the national wellbeing program Hands on Learning (HoL) that began four years ago at the local school to help turn around the lives of many young people who would otherwise fall through the cracks.
This initiative is thanks to the vision of its founder, Frankston school teacher Russell Kerr OAM, who visited the Mansfield school last week to see the program in action for the first time.
Developed by Mr Kerr in the late 1990s the education program based on 'learning by doing" has transformed students' lives especially those who "fly under the radar" and are at risk of dropping out of school or high absenteeism.
The success can be attributed to how students thrived engaging in authentic and readily achievable tasks that built self-confidence and self-esteem.
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The founder's joy at meeting the participants involved in the Mansfield group was evident by his interaction with students and staff during his visit with one of the organisation's regional support managers, Lizzie Davis.
Now, in his mid-70s, Mr Kerr used his own experiences in the classroom as a student and, in later years, as a teacher to reach out to disengaged schoolkids.
The not for profit program now in its 25th year was piloted at the Frankston High School in 1999 with Mr Kerr wanting to do things differently with a hands on approach.
As the program began to gain traction, he wanted to replicate it in other schools.
"2004 was the turning point when we focused on how we could grow from three to four schools, to 2007 when it grew to around 13 schools," said Mr Kerr.
Today HoL boasts 160 programs across several states with 70 per cent of them located in city and rural Victoria.
"The kids will say, 'That's the day a week I can breathe,'" says Mr. Kerr, who believes this is the simple key to the program's success.
"Schools are full of people talking at you."
Mr Kerr stressed the importance of the program's four-pillar approach: a place to belong, people to belong to, real things to do, and a chance to give back.
The program aims to break the classroom disengagement cycle, which is often caused by various factors influencing students' behaviour and inability to cope within that environment.
Oversight of the program at the Mansfield Secondary College is the responsibility of artisan teachers Kylie Smith and Michael Hince.
Ms Smith's background includes primary school and food technology teaching, and more recently, she has been an advocate for regenerative farming at her family property.
Mr Hince uses his building industry skills to encourage hands on participation and interesting projects.
The pair, together with Mansfield Secondary College's wellbeing coordinator, Brad Freind, have seen the difference the program makes with time away from the classroom.
Hands on Learning is all about learning by doing and building the social and emotional capacities to thrive at school, in the workplace, and life.
The extracurricular program consists of 10 students who successfully applied for a place at the beginning of the year.
It runs for one full day per week during term.
The artisan teachers travel with the students as they embark on this journey, which can be as short or as long as they need until they feel ready to return to the classroom.
A carefully structured day with expectations, boundaries and consistent parameters enables students to achieve in a safe environment.
Doing real things and working on meaningful tasks is central to Hands on Learning.
During the Courier's time with the group, there was an excursion to Ms Smith's property and an opportunity to experience the diversity of regenerative farming.
The tour included learning about permaculture practices, growing vegetables and fruit trees, tending to cattle, and running pasture-raised chickens.
Students were encouraged to ask questions and explore the farm, including getting up close to livestock such as Bruce the bull.
After a chilly start, the group returned to their purpose-built shed, which acts as a base on the school grounds when the program is running.
Everyone prepares and eats together, and students remain with their HoL group for the whole day, which includes recess and lunch.
Pizza is on the menu today, and everyone sits down on the table and benches made by the students from recycled pallets to share food and have conversations.
Students complete small and large projects – building respected school infrastructure and undertaking valued community projects.
One such community project was the creation of several mini clotheslines for the Mansfield Kindergarten to use with the children.
Students also refurbished the school's wicking beds, which grow produce for food technology classes.
Students learn the value of teamwork, commitment and leadership.
To ensure ongoing personal development of students the Focus Plans are the heart of the HoL methodology and are used to target specific areas of behaviour, build capacity and confidence.
The shed walls have whiteboards outlining each student's area of personal development and their goals.
Artisan teachers use this structured reflective practice to support student progress and enable students to achieve overall success at school.
Students learn to manage their emotions and social interactions, empowering them with a lifelong toolkit of strategies to make friends, cooperate, work in a team, understand and show empathy for others, establish and maintain supportive relationships, make responsible decisions, and build resilience.
The students love being outdoors and doing practical, hands-on activities.
Lucas said he loved "learning stuff" such as "cementing and brick laying", and Jimmy said he enjoyed "making new friends".
An important part of HoL's success is measuring outcomes from individual groups' data.
The latest data across the programs reports that 86 percent of parents said that their child's confidence has improved since being in Hands on Learning.
Seventy percent of school staff said the participants' ability to work positively with a range of students and teachers has improved.
One notable outcome is that 95 percent of HoL students finish school, get an apprenticeship, or get a job.
Ms Smith said the college was so grateful for the support of the Mansfield community to keep it running this year and wanted to publicly thank all those who have contributed to the success of the program: Betta Electrical for the donation of a second-hand oven for the shed, Mansfield CWA for financial donations, Wild Mint Acres (Maindample Nursery) for donation of plants, Olver Electrical (Luke Olver is a parent of students at the college) for his expertise in installing the new oven, Snowgum Nursery for the commitment to donate some mature citrus trees, donation of building supplies for projects from Mansfield Secondary College staff, and help from suppliers Yenckens Hardware and Alpine Garden Supplies.
