A Mornington Peninsula college is using creativity and kindness to tackle the issue of school avoidance with the help of funding from The Ross Trust.

At Rosebud Secondary College, more than half of the school’s nearly 1000 students have been classified as needing highly individualised and intensive support to re-engage, according to vice principal Samantha Rowe. 

The school’s Student Attendance Ignites Learning (SAIL) program has already proven critical to success for years 7 to 9 students – and this year, the extra funding will allow the initiative to expand to senior students.

“The broader community often misunderstands the attendance space,” Samantha says. “Families frequently feel judged, blamed, or unsupported – not entirely by schools, but by extended family, peers, and society. Our goal is to build a culture of learning engagement, with empathy, trust, and partnership, where students and families are not penalised for disengagement, but supported to re-engage in learning.

“SAIL flips the narrative and says that we understand it IS hard to get to school every day - so, let’s take the pressure off and try a new way to support our students better. Our work through SAIL is about leading that change, creating pathways that prioritise learning, connection and wellbeing, not just attendance.”

SAIL works to reestablish a sense of connection, belonging and then academic achievement with disengaged students.  

“The door is always open,” is how the school’s learning specialist Liam O’Connor summarises SAIL. “It’s at a pace that is suitable for the students; letting them know from the outset that we’re here to listen. There’s no judgmental language. There are no threats of consequences.

“Our very first conversation is around them, their place, what are the barriers and let’s problem solve together, rather than saying, you must do this or this is what needs to happen. For some, it’s over the phone and it takes a long time to build that trusting relationship. Some are happier to come to school. We’ve offered offsites to meet at another place in the community, just to let them know they're not alone. 

Samantha Rowe said SAIL students are often connected to each other outside of SAIL classes, whether it’s gaming together or chatting with each other.

Part of SAIL’s work is to let families know they are not being judged or at fault for their child’s inability to attend school. 

“What SAIL has been able to do is take the pressure off the families. It’s not having that fight in the morning. It’s knowing that their young person is still connected in learning,” Liam said.

The results have been encouraging, with children resuming classes, and remaining connected to their education. 

“It creates that sense of belonging that you are still a Rosebud Secondary student, and there is still that connection - the door is always open for engagement or to reengage,” Liam said.

Rosebud Secondary College is one of many schools dealing with the issue of children not attending school, and Samantha and Liam hope SAIL might become a model for other schools. 

Meghan Weekes, Executive Officer of The Ross Trust, said such programs highlight the importance of responding to school disengagement with empathy and flexibility. 

“These types of initiatives show what’s possible when schools lead with empathy, flexibility and trust,” she said. “By prioritising connection and wellbeing, Rosebud Secondary College is helping young people re-engage with learning in ways that truly meet them where they are.” 

According to research connected to the SAIL grant, the current absence statistics for Victorian schools, based on data up to 2022 and analysed in 2024, show that the average secondary school student missed 163 days of school between Years 7 and 12 – which is equivalent to more than three terms.

Specifically, students in Years 7 to 10 missed an average of 29.2 days per year, while Years 11 and 12 students missed 23.2 days annually. Attendance has never returned to pre-COVID pandemic levels.