MacKillop Education Maidstone is a Year 3 to Year 6 school. We have 32 young people enrolled at any time. We have four classes, each with eight students. Each class has a key teacher and an education support staff. Some of the young people making up each class are not ready to be in a group learning environment and so they are supported for a period, in the 1-1 space.
At Maidstone, we have a education and wellbeing coordinator, school psychologist, speech therapist, a canine therapy program, and an art and music program. We have a staff to student ratio of 1:4 and all our staff are trained in therapeutic crisis intervention and have ongoing professional development in all areas of learning and teaching, targeted interventions and wellbeing support.
Young people are referred from a variety of host schools and approved agencies. Supporting students to return to mainstream education is a high priority; however, it is also recognised that return to a mainstream school may not be in the best interests of some students and they will remain at MacKillop or be supported to access an alternative learning environment to meet their individual needs.
There is no limit to the amount of time a primary student, Year 3 to Year 6, can be enrolled with us.
Our core business is teaching and learning, and we assess and report against the Victorian Curriculum. Our days and times are slightly different to a mainstream school;
These arrangements are in place so that staff can support the students throughout the whole day, including fully structured recess and lunch times; there is no release time for teachers. We find that this level of support, combined with staff who have extensive training and knowledge of trauma-informed strategies, is critical to ensuring young people not only access education, but flourish as learners.