victorian expansion plan 2023-27
MISSION: All Autistic students in every Victorian government school has an I CAN Autistic Mentor available to them. Making the I CAN School® program and services available to all Victorian government primary and secondary schools.
reasoning
- 1. With the advent of the Disability Inclusion Reform (and its Autism Education Strategy) and the School Mental Health Menu, Victoria is poised to set a world-leading example in promoting and celebrating Autistic students and their success at school. I CAN Network is ready to expand the role of its group mentoring program within the context of achieving the Autism Education Strategy.
- 2. With the right investment, it is entirely possible for every government student and every government school to have an I CAN Autistic Mentor available to them in Victoria. Whilst the I CAN mentoring program is inclusive of a very broad range of students, it remains predominantly an Autistic-led peer-to-peer group mentoring program.
- 3. 77 Victorian government primary and secondary schools have been involved in the I CAN School program between January 2020 to October 2022 (see the list in Attachment 2). Across these schools, about 650 students have attended an I CAN school-based mentoring program. A single program offers 8 hours of group mentoring to a single student.
- 4. Under its current CFA with VDET (Mental Health Reform Division), I CAN Ltd is on track to engage 101 government schools by June 2023 in spite of COVID-19 disrupting its delivery in schools.
- 5. Here is a breakdown of how the 101 schools fall across Victorian government schools:
- 6. The need for I CAN in schools, particularly secondary schools, is clear. Of Victoria’s Autistic secondary students, 44% had to move school because they were not supported at school (Amaze, 2017). Nationally, one-third of Autistic students do not make it past Year 10 (ABS, 2018). Autistic Australians have a suicide rate nine times that of the general population (Australian Autism Alliance, 2022). Accordingly, Victoria’s Autistic government secondary students have a unique context to which I CAN Ltd is well-placed to respond. Our mentoring programs help engage Autistic government secondary students at school and improve their mental wellbeing.
- 7. Against this context, Attachment 1 demonstrates the positive impact of I CAN’s group mentoring on Autistic secondary students (as of October 2022), including a 22% increase in connection with Autistic student peers, 12% increase in feeling positive about being Autistic and a 13% increase in optimism.
HOW WILL THIS BE ACHIEVED?
- 8. With the right investment, I CAN forecasts that it could grow to deliver in-person and online programs across the following number of schools by CY27, the priority being given to growth in secondary schools.
- 9. Whilst the typical I CAN program is 8 x 1-hr sessions, the above reach has been developed cognisant that there will be program variations across the diversity of schools. Some programs will be delivered over 4 sessions either in-person or online programs, including the Year 7 transition programs (see Attachment 4).
- 10. I CAN would be available to the rest of the government school system through 6-week online school lunchtime group mentoring programs (in which students from across 3 x schools could join) and online and in-person speaking sessions for student bodies (including Autistic students), parents/ carers and school staff.
MAKING THE I CAN ONLINE PROGRAM AVAILABLE TO ALL VICTORIAN GOVERNMENT PRIMARY & SECONDARY STUDENTS.
REASONING
- 11. Outside of schools, Autistic/ neurodivergent government students register for I CAN Ltd’s I CAN Online which occurs after school hours. I CAN Online delivers five 6-week cycles per year and three 6-session online school holiday programs. Thirty-five percent of each cycle’s participants are Victorian government school students. Under its current CFA with VDET, I CAN has engaged 663 government students in the I CAN Online program as of September 2022. The cost of the online program per student is about $310.
- 12. Attachment 3 demonstrates that online group mentoring can achieve high impact. For instance, among the results of 2022’s I CAN Online Cycle 2, there was a 19% increase in connection with peers within the program, a 16% increase in self-acceptance within online sessions and a 14% improvement in communication skills.
- 13. Within the business plan referred to above, I CAN will indicate the portion of investment required to help the I CAN Online program achieve the following engagement of government students over the next 4-5 years:
FURTHER POINTS
- 14. I CAN Network Ltd is an Autistic-led social enterprise which aims to build ‘a world that embraces Autism’. I CAN empowers Autistic/ neurodivergent young people with an ‘I CAN’ attitude through our online mentoring and school-based mentoring programs. I CAN’s point of difference is our mentoring programs are predominantly delivered by trained Autistic staff, half of whom have graduated from its secondary school mentoring program.
- 15. VDET’s CFA with I CAN ($1.5M) spans January 2020 until June 2023. I CAN has mentored 616 government students (of the target 500) in our online mentoring program. I CAN has engaged 77 government schools (of the target 100) and about ƒ650 students (of the target 1,000) in our I CAN SchoolⓇ program. Note the 100 government schools include both primary and secondary government schools.
- 16. The scale up of I CAN Network’s school mentoring program is an initiative of the VDET Autism Education Strategy. DET’s weblinks for the I CAN program can be found both here and here.
- 17. As a brand name, I CAN School® encompasses all of I CAN Network’s offerings in a school, including its primary school program I CAN Imagination Club® which is a non-Autism specific program which primary schools use for a range of students across grades 1 to6.
- 18. Students do not have to be Autistic to participate in an I CAN program. I CAN’s secondary school program has a more specific focus on Autism and neurodiversity. Many students across both primary and secondary programs have a range of conditions. Recent data showed that 82% have anxiety, 27% have depresssion and 13% have suicidal thoughts.
- 19. For a single school, the I CAN School® program can involve 8 x 1-hour group mentoring sessions (facilitated by 2 x I CAN staff) for up to 16 students.
- 20. Overall, the cost of the I CAN program per Victorian government student, in a scenario in which students receive 8 hours of mentoring, is currently ~$1,216. The cost to a government school is $417 per session. Each I CAN session is delivered by two I CAN staff and is supervised by a school staff member. I CAN mentoring sessions are complemented by an information session for parents ($363), a professional development workshop for school staff ($495) and a student motivational talk ($187). Please note that many rural government schools pool their students and budgets together to resource inter-school programs for up to 16 students per program. As I CAN is now a provider on the School Mental Health Menu, schools can either use their Mental Health Menu funds, or if it’s reached their region, Disability Inclusion Tier 2 funding, to purchase the program.
- 21. Whilst I CAN Ltd’s school program prices cover its direct costs (direct facilitation staff), they are not enough to cover its management costs. I CAN Ltd’s program delivery requires it to have a school programs regional management team, evaluation manager, CRM manager, human resources manager, finance and administration manager and CEO. The $1.5M behind the current VDET CFA with I CAN Ltd makes a contribution to these overheads in Victoria ($1.2 million is allocated to the School program overheads; $0.3 million is allocated to I CAN Online program overheads).
- 22. Every program is measured against I CAN Ltd’s outcomes framework, with the outcomes reported in its annual social impact report.
- 23. As part of a variation agreement to the VDET/ I CAN 2020 – 2023 CFA, the Australian Council for Educational Research has independently evaluated I CAN Network’s online mentoring program in Victoria.
- Attachment 1: I CAN School (Secondary) Data as of the end of Term 3 2022
- Attachment 2: Internal Data on I CAN Online Cycle 2 (Six-Week Cycle) in which 616 are Victorian government students
- Attachment 3: List of 79 schools involved in the I CAN School program 2020 – 2022
- Attachment 4: Report on I CAN Ltd’s 2021 Year 7 Mentoring Program (pp. 35-36)
Attachment 1:
I CAN School (Secondary) Data as of the end of Term 3 2022
I CAN School(R) programs overall
Satisfaction rate of 84% out of 139 mentees surveyed.
|
● 13% increase in ‘I feel confident in myself’ ● 22% increase in ‘I feel connected to other Autistic students’ ● 12% increase in ‘I feel positive about being Autistic’ |
|
● 13% increase in ‘I can give things a go that I find difficult’ ● 8% increase in ‘I have strategies to reduce my stress at school’ ● 13% increase in ‘I think good things will happen to me’ |
|
● 13% increase in ‘I feel confident communicating in front of other people’ |
Case study: Numurkah Secondary College
|
● 18% increase in ‘I can give things a go that I find difficult’ ● 14% increase in ‘I think good things will happen to me’ ● 35% increase in ‘I feel confident interacting with other people’ ● 40% increase in ‘I feel confident communicating in front of other people’ |
Case study: Parkdale Secondary College
|
● 32% increase in ‘I can give things a go that I find difficult’ ● 32% increase in ‘I have strategies to reduce my stress at school’ |
Case study: Surf Coast Secondary College
- 17% increase in ‘I feel positive about myself’
- 18% increase in ‘I feel confident in myself’
- 38% increase in ‘I think good things will happen to me’
- 38% increase in ‘I feel confident communicating in front of other people’
Attachment 2:
List of 77 schools involved in the I CAN School program 2020 – 2022
Target: Engage 1,000 Victorian government students in the I CAN SchoolⓇ program through 100 government schools over 2020 – 2023 (achieve 30% growth year-on-year).
Status of Government school programs in Greater Melbourne region
|
# |
School Name |
VDET Region |
Delivery |
|
South East Region |
|||
|
1 |
Cranbourne SC |
South East |
2020 – 2022 |
|
2 |
Alkira SC *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
South East |
2021-2022 |
|
3 |
Cranbourne East SC *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
South East |
2021-2022 |
|
4 |
Cranbourne West SC *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
South East |
2021-2022 |
|
5 |
Parkdale SC *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
South East |
2020-2022 |
|
6 |
Southern Autistic School |
South East |
2021 |
|
7 |
McClelland SC |
South East |
2022 |
|
South West Region |
|||
|
8 |
Hoppers Crossing SC |
South West |
2020 – 2022 |
|
9 |
Copperfield College Senior Campus |
South West |
2022 |
|
10 |
Melton Specialist School |
South West |
2022 |
|
11 |
Seaholme PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
North East Region |
|||
|
12 |
Kallista PS |
North East |
2022 |
|
13 |
Carlton North PS |
North East |
2022 |
|
14 |
Lilydale HS |
North East |
2020 |
|
15 |
Boronia K-12 College |
North East |
2020-2022 |
|
16 |
Eastern Ranges Autistic School |
North East |
2022 |
|
17 |
Ringwood SC *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
North East |
2021-2022 |
|
18 |
Norwood SC |
North East |
2022 |
|
19 |
Montmorency SC |
North East |
2021 |
|
20 |
Macleod College |
North East |
2022 |
|
21 |
Hawthorn West PS |
North East |
2021-2022 |
|
North West Region |
|||
|
22 |
Thomastown West PS |
North West |
2022 |
|
23 |
Brunswick East PS |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
24 |
Sydney Road Community School |
North West |
2020-2022 |
|
25 |
Lynall Hall Community School |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
26 |
Fitzroy High School |
North West |
2022 |
|
27 |
William Ruthven SC |
North West |
2021 |
|
28 |
Northcote HS *Funded through Bendigo Bank grant |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
29 |
The Pavilion School |
North West |
2022 |
Status of Government school programs in Northern Victoria region
|
# |
School Name |
VDET Region |
Delivery |
|
North East Region |
|||
|
30 |
Numurkah SC |
North East |
2020 – 2022 |
|
31 |
Waaia-Yalca South PS |
North East |
2021 |
|
32 |
Wunghnu PS |
North East |
2021 |
|
33 |
Numurkah PS |
North East |
2021 |
|
34 |
Gowrie Street PS |
North East |
2021 |
|
35 |
Greater Shepparton SC – Wanganui Campus |
North East |
2020-2022 |
|
36 |
Greater Shepparton SC – McGuire Campus |
North East |
|
|
37 |
Greater Shepparton SC – Mooroopna Campus |
North East |
|
|
38 |
Euroa SC (funded by SFYS and I CAN scholarship) |
North East |
2021-2022 |
|
39 |
Wooragee College *Scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
North East |
2021 |
|
North West Region |
|||
|
40 |
Crusoe College *Funded through SFYS |
North West |
2022 |
|
41 |
Lightning Reef PS *Funded through SFYS |
North West |
2022 |
|
42 |
Weeroona College *Funded through SFYS |
North West |
2022 |
|
43 |
Kyabram P-12 College (Primary) |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
44 |
Kyabram P-12 College (Secondary) |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
45 |
Echuca College |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
46 |
Echuca Twin Rivers Specialist School (Primary) |
North West |
2020-2022 |
|
47 |
Echuca Twin Rivers Specialist School (Secondary) |
North West |
2020-2022 |
|
48 |
Echuca Twin Rivers School |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
49 |
Echuca PS |
North West |
2021-2022 |
|
50 |
Echuca East PS *Funded by SFYS |
North West |
2021-2022 |
Status of Government school programs in South West Victoria region
|
# |
School Name |
VDET Region |
Delivery |
|
South West Region |
|||
|
51 |
Bolwarra PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
52 |
Portland Bay PS *Portland Cluster I CAN Imagination Club is a scholarship recipient from I CAN Network |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
53 |
Portland PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
54 |
Portland North PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
55 |
Narrawong District PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
56 |
Bundarra PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
57 |
Heywood Consolidated School |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
58 |
Dartmoor PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
59 |
Baimbridge College |
2022 |
|
|
60 |
Warrnambool PS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
61 |
Merri River School |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
62 |
Warrnambool College |
South West |
2020 |
|
63 |
Terang College |
South West |
2020 |
|
64 |
Derrinallum P-12 College |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
65 |
Hawkesdale P-12 College (Senior School) |
South West |
2020-2022 |
|
66 |
Hawkesdale P-12 College (Junior School) |
South West |
2020-2022 |
|
67 |
Koroit & District PS |
South West |
2022 |
Status of Government school programs in Barwon Victoria region
|
# |
School Name |
VDET Region |
Delivery |
|
South West Region |
|||
|
68 |
Leopold PS |
South West |
2021 |
|
69 |
Geelong HS |
South West |
2021-2022 |
|
70 |
St Leonards PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
71 |
Roslyn PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
72 |
Barwon Heads PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
73 |
Geelong East PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
74 |
Surf Coast Secondary College |
South West |
2022 |
|
75 |
Tate St PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
76 |
Rollins PS |
South West |
2022 |
|
77 |
Nelson Park School |
South West |
2022 |
Attachment 3:
Internal Data on I CAN Online Cycle 2 (Six-Week Cycle) in which 35% were Victorian government students
|
● 19% increase ‘I enjoy meeting other people in my group’ ● 16% increase ‘I don’t have to hide who I am in the group’ ● 14% increase ‘I feel I can chat/ share with other people in my group’ |
Attachment 4: Case study I CAN Year 7 program in Echuca
Throughout 2021, we have been working with all primary and secondary schools in Echuca in various contexts (four primary schools, two secondary schools and a specialist school). We ran inter-school programs with these schools including a secondary mentoring program, I CAN Imagination ClubⓇ and a Transition Program. We worked closely with schools in Echuca to develop programs which suited the needs of the students and schools. We have also worked closely with the CCLLEN (Campaspe Cohuna Local Learning and Employment Network) and received the continuing support of SFYS. Working closely with these organisations which are already actively involved in Echuca schools has helped us to develop strong relationships in this town.
In Echuca, we were able to start our face-to-face mentoring in Term 2. However, these were suspended in Term 3 due to lockdowns and remote learning. We found that Echuca schools were reluctant to deliver their programs online as they faced a very unpredictable time of moving in and out of lockdowns. The result of this was that we were unable to follow through on any of our plans for onsite delivery over 2021. Furthermore, we found that Term 4 was an overwhelming time for schools with the students’ staggered return to onsite attendance. These circumstances have resulted in some mentoring programs running some sessions over 2022.
Despite this, we have been successful in pioneering a transition program for Year 6 students in Echuca entering St Joseph’s College or Echuca College in 2022. These transition programs involve bringing together Year 6 students from primary schools in Echuca with I CAN mentors and a Year 7 student and staff member from the secondary school. The sessions were held online, and students were grouped according to the secondary school they will attend next year. The content of the sessions included information about the secondary schools, discussions and activities designed to build confidence, resilience and value individual differences, and time for the Year 6 students to share their thoughts, feelings and questions about Year 7 and the school. Despite being in the pilot stage, the transition program is already making a positive impact on mentees’ preparedness towards Year 7.
Figure 9: satisfaction rate of mentees in Echuca transition program
Figure 10: distribution of responses to statements before and after the transition program
The Echuca transition program was positively received by all mentees (Figure 9), with positive changes seen among mentees (Figure 10). The transition program clarified support structures for mentees, making them look forward to Year 7 next year. There was a 15% increase in mentees feeling that they have someone who can support them in their transition to secondary school. Mentees felt more comfortable about the transition to secondary school compared to before the program (31% increase in ‘Yes’ responses) and looked forward to Year 7 next year (17% increase in ‘Yes’ responses). Collectively, these results highlight the value of running transition programs for Year 6 neurodivergent students who face numerous challenges in their transition to Year 7, particularly those from regional areas.
Comments from mentees in the transition program back up the positive quantitative results. Mentees appreciated meeting Year 6 students from other primary schools who will be coming to the same secondary school as them next year. By meeting other Year 6 students, mentees knew who is coming to the same secondary school and who they are, strengthening social connections which are important for supporting their transition to Year 7. These points are best summarised by one mentee who said that the program allowed them to ‘…meet new people and get to know them a lot’. The program also gave mentees the opportunity to learn more about their secondary school which enhanced their confidence on entering Year 7 next year.
