151 Belmore Road North, Riverwood, Sydney NSW 2210

Links to Learning Program

About the Program

Links to Learning is a creative and practical learning program for young people thinking of leaving school early or who have already left school early. Links to Learning projects assist these young people to access, remain in or return to education or training.

Projects target either:

• Students - students considered to be at risk of leaving school early (referred by an identified partner school).

Links to Learning projects assist participants to:

• develop and maintain regular attendance and involvement in planned learning activities
• set and achieve a range of individual goals in developing key skills and abilities
• negotiate and implement plans which show how they will access or remain in education or training following the project

About the Projects

Community projects operate in informal settings. Links to Learning Coordinators provide a high degree of individual support to participants during and after the project.

Activities are designed to help participants build skills in the following key areas:

• planning and organising activities (goal setting, managing resources, adapting to change)
• working with others and in teams (interpersonal, negotiation and conflict resolution skills)
• solving problems (decision making and creative thinking)
• collecting, analysing and organising information
• communication techniques
• using mathematical ideas and techniques
• using technology

To achieve these development goals, projects have offered some of the following activities:

• reading, writing and basic math
• arts and crafts
• computers and multimedia
• drama and music performance
• video production
• sport and recreation
• heritage, culture and environment
• driver education
  
  Links to Learning Coordinators also work to negotiate a ‘pathways plan' with each participant. These plans detail how participants can access or remain in education or accredited training after the project is completed and help ease the transition back to formal learning.

Target Groups

Links to Learning projects target young people aged 12-24 years, who experience difficulties participating in formal learning environments. Participants are drawn from the following target groups:

• young people who have left school early
• school students at risk of leaving school early
• young people at risk of involvement in unlawful activities or in the juvenile justice system
• homeless young people
• young people with substance abuse problems
• indigenous young people facing barriers to education or training
• young people from a background other than English facing barriers to education or training
• young sole supporting parents
• young people in substitute care
• geographically isolated young people
• long term unemployed

  Project Details

The NSW Government funds community organisations such as youth services, community groups, neighbourhood associations and Local Councils to deliver Links to Learning projects.

Activities for young people are generally offered for a minimum of 100 hours. There are no exams and all group and individual project activities are free of charge.

For Further Information

To find out more about Links to Learning projects in your area, contact the Links to Learning Program staff in the Department on

• phone 1800 009 129 (from anywhere within NSW)
• Visit the Links to Learning Web Site at: www.det.nsw.edu.au/eas/youth/
• Telephone the Links to Learning Program (02) 9266 8237
• Email: youthassist@det.nsw.edu.au

If you need an interpreter to help you make the call, first contact the Translating and Interpreting Service on telephone 13 14 50.

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