The Mornington Peninsula is home to some of the most disadvantaged – and some of the wealthiest - communities in Victoria. 

The Ross Trust has a long relationship with the region, which is about a 1.5 hour drive south of Melbourne CBD, granting an estimated $20 million to Aboriginal, educational, community, health, and environmental projects over the past 50 years. 

In 2020, the trust strengthened its commitment to the region by adopting a place-based granting strategy. The strategy centres on improving education outcomes, particularly in Hastings and Capel Sound/Rosebud West, where pockets of the community face significant challenges including family violence, mental health issues, drug and alcohol addictions, and cultural safety.

Through its targeted program, the trust supports and builds the capacity of the community, schools, organisations and services, to disrupt the impact of disadvantage on children, young people and their families, and drive educational attainment.

Ross Trust CEO Sarah Hardy says strong and collaborative relationships that have been built over many years, as well as more recently, are crucial to deliver the strategy. 

“In 2023 we saw an opportunity to reassess the need and understand the gaps in the region to consider how to respond to school disengagement, following three years of disruption due to the pandemic,” Sarah said. 

Local leaders inform granting on the peninsula 

The trust has formed strong relationships with community and school leaders and granted to education and social programs with a shared purpose of supporting children and young people to succeed in education. Most of these grants not only address an identified need but also contribute to the broader vision of reducing risk factors and social determinants that are barriers to education. 

Tyabb Railway Station Primary School and trust have worked together for more than four years, starting when Senior Program Manager Meghan Weekes met principal Emma Slater through the Western Port Learning Guarantee 

The trust’s most recent grant went towards the purchase and installation of a portable classroom to provide an appropriate physical space and access to health and wellbeing supports, such as speech therapy, occupational therapy and psychologists, within the school. 

Emma said a wraparound program at the school meant children had a better chance of transitioning well to local secondary colleges. 

“We have regular conversations with local senior schools about students and what’s going on in their lives, which means our children have the best opportunity for good outcomes,” Emma said. “Our school is all about relationships - with our community support centres, students, parents, kindergartens and the secondary schools.”

One of those senior schools is Western Port Secondary College, of which Chris Quinn is principal. He said the trust had played a significant role in various initiatives, largely around transition to the school and educational engagement.

“Our school has a pivotal role in transforming our students’ lives and addressing the complex issues that can occur in communities like ours,” Chris said. “Education is the changemaker and we have needed additional support to be able to provide the gaps in resources and in staffing.”

Since 2021, The Ross Trust has provided $600,000 to the college to ensure that every Year 7, 8 and 9 student had their own laptop computer. 

Meghan said the ‘My Tech’ project ensures each junior school student has access to a school-managed device. The tech-centred approach has led to heightened engagement, understanding, and retention of subjects.

“The amount of technology used in classrooms across Australia has exploded and its potential to improve learning on a large scale cannot be ignored,” Meghan said. “All students should have equal access to technology, and these devices will improve future pathways for students.”

Family support in Rosebud and Hastings

The trust also funds support workers at two community centres – Southern Peninsula Community Support (SPCS) in Rosebud and Western port Community Support (WCS) in Hastings. Both centres have been assisting people on the peninsula for decades, through emergency relief and longer-term support. 

“We specialise in supporting people who are vulnerable, which can include somebody who is struggling for a short time or people who are sleeping rough,” SPCS executive officer Jeremy Maxwell said. “We have a lot of wealth on the peninsula but there's a whole group of people really battling to make ends meet.

“We provide food and material aid, but we also focus on the reasons people need help. We don’t want to just get people through each day but work out how we can give them back independence to help them manage their lives.”

Currently the trust funds family support workers at both the Rosebud and Hastings centres.

In Hastings, Executive Officer Georgia Hourn said that in 2022-23, WCS had been approached for support more than 6500 times by individuals.

“People come through the door needing food, fuel, and other material aid – there has been a 70 per cent increase in demand on our agency on the previous year,” she said. “Initially the Ross Trust support was for our crisis program, and now it has provided a grant so our family support program can increase, meaning our Family Support Worker Laura Baxter can work intensively and holistically with vulnerable families.”

Laura has created strong ties with local schools (including Western Port Secondary School and Tyabb Railway Station Primary School), becoming an integral part of each community. This has increased referrals to the service and ensured a streamlined, rapid response to families and children in crisis.

“I visit the schools and make sure that specific children are getting the right attention that they need in order to stay in school,” Laura said.

The Ross Trust Senior Program Manager Meghan Weekes says grantees across the peninsula are reassured by the long-term commitment.

“We are focused on working in collaboration with local leaders, schools, agencies and other services to address local needs and build sustainable change,” Meghan said.

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Executive Officer Jeremy Maxwell outside Southern Peninsula Community Support in Rosebud