Every young person deserves the opportunity to thrive — and Junction Support Services’ Education Support for Children in Care (ESCC) program brings that belief to life.

Originally launched as a 12-month pilot in Gippsland, designed to re-engage young people in out-of-home care with learning, has been granted a two-year extension.

ESCC will now continue until at least December 2027.

The extension has been ­welcomed as a commitment to closing the education gap for vulnerable young people.

“Our ESCC program in ­Gippsland is going to run for at least three years in total,” says Service Manager Ann Guns.

“We are hoping for a further extension, not only in Gippsland, but also potentially, if we could bring that to other regions, that would be really nice.”

Education is a powerful tool for building stability and confidence.

Junction believes every child, no matter what trauma they’ve ­experienced, no matter what their care status is, deserves access to a high-quality and ­responsive education that can set them up for the future.

The ESCC program supports young people aged 5–18 who are disengaged, or at risk of disengaging, from school.

With a team of six VIT-registered teachers, the program focuses on literacy, numeracy, and — most importantly — building relationships that make learning possible again. Sessions are held wherever young people feel safe: schools, libraries, carers’ homes, residential houses, or community spaces. ­Each student receives tailored support, essential learning resources, and a personal budget to help remove barriers to education.

Junction’s ESCC teachers take a flexible, trauma-informed approach to rebuild confidence and reconnect them with education pathways.

“ESCC was established because Junction recognised there was a critical gap in that our mainstream education was often not meeting the needs of many of the young people that we see in out-of-home care,” Ann says.

“A lot of focus is how can we make this learning journey exciting for them and have them experience success.

“The goal is to reconnect them with some education pathway, whether that is going to a mainstream school, to a flexible learning environment, attending TAFE, if they’re a bit older, or even looking into what kind of jobs they can pursue.”

As Leading Teacher Jo Huckett, put it:

“Relationship building always comes first.”

Whatever lies ahead, the achievements so far are a testament to the dedication of Ann, Jo, and the entire ESCC team.

Their work embodies Junction’s mission: creating brighter futures and empowering people to reach their potential.