Berengarra School is a small independent specialist educational setting located in Melbourne. It is coeducational and consists of two campuses catering for up to 83 students in Years 7-12. All students enrolled present with social and emotional disabilities and have experienced barriers to education. Students present with co-morbidities of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Pathological Demand Avoidance (PDA), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Oppositional Defiance Disorder (ODD), depression, anxiety and trauma. The Box Hill campus caters for students in Years 7-10 with a curriculum drawn from the Victorian Curriculum (2017) offering skills-based, outcome-based units. Year 10-12 students at the senior Chadstone campus are catered for by the Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) Vocational Major (VM) and Vocational Pathways Course (VPC). Over the last five years, we have investigated and adopted a trauma informed approach to policy, process, wellbeing, and teaching and learning. This has been combined with a Restorative Practice focus. This presentation will introduce you to our school community and discuss some of the challenges and benefits of delivering a trauma-informed approach in a specialist education setting.

With panelists from across Australia, this panel will present a succinct overview of trauma-informed alternative education within their school and state. Session attendees will be invited to put forward questions throughout the day’s session for a dynamic discussion on the implementation of trauma-informed practices from various perspectives.

Moderator:
Jennifer Achari – Deputy Principal, Youth Futures Community School, WA

Panelists:
Sally Lasslett – Principal, Hester Hornbrook Academy, Vic
Lisa Coles – Principal, Arethusa College, Qld
Hannah Kay, Director of Wellbeing from Alta-1 College
Rebecca Moffat – Curriculum Coordinator, D.A.L.E, NSW

This collaborative workshop will allow attendees to gather in groups with their peers and consolidate their learnings from the conference sessions. Participants will network with other attendees, reflecting on the various models presented throughout the day and discussing the key take-aways. In addition to sharing information, this session is intended to begin building a community among alternative education staff from across the nation and beyond. This professional learning network will contemplate the ideas presented throughout the conference and consider how to best implement trauma-informed practices within their context in the future.