EdSpace Benalla is a unique school offering a thorough and balanced education to young people across the region who may not fit into a traditional school setting.
New principal Megan Shiner is keen to share the incredible work its staff does every day of the week, with the local community.
“EdSpace is a very unique independent school,” Ms Shiner said.
“We are not-for-profit. And it’s what we do here that makes us special.
“We have students aged 11-18 and offer a variety of different opportunities for students, particularly in those important final years of schooling.
“Students can undertake a traineeship, which we outsource in some circumstances.
“For example we have a student doing a child care traineeship across the road, at Gumnuts Resort (family day care) at the moment.
“And we also have capacity through our cafe, Dogs for Life, and our bike shop to offer different opportunities for students in areas like hospitality.”
Ms Shiner said the EdSpace staff members make a real difference in the lives of its students.
“Some are actually past students who loved it so much they decided to stay on,” she said.
“All staff are very committed and work tirelessly to give our students, who face significant challenges, a safe place.
"We’re very niche, there’s no-one else in this area doing what we do.“
Assistant principal Jennifer Wellard said the school currently has 25 students, and will not accept any new enrolments at the moment.
“Students have to have a diagnosed disability to be able to attend,” she said.
“And that’s a developmental disability like ADHD, or ADD, for example.
“Our students just don’t comply with a normal classroom setting.
“They can be overstimulated with normal classroom noises and activities.”
The student-to-teacher ratio is deliberately small at EdSpace, and with new students ready to start, it will not accept any more enrolments until staff are happy the balance is right for every student.
Ms Wellard said one of the big challenges for staff at EdSpace is getting students engaged in learning.
"It has been a real challenge in all scopes of education, post COVID, to get a lot of students back into a classroom setting,“ she said.
“A lot of our students struggle with socialising, so when COVID hit, and they couldn’t come to school, they loved it.
“To get them to re-engage was often a case of one step forward, three steps back.”
Ms Shiner said that, due to this, a lot of their work is on improving attendance, and they have a number of ways to do that.
“Often we're getting students coming in at 11 years old that have not done five days of school a week for numerous years,” she said.
“So we’ll offer transition plans, and we’ll build their stamina.
“Because, in many cases, they literally don’t have any.
“And we’ll get them to the point they’re not only happy to walk through the door, they are coming in with big smiles on their faces.”
Ms Shiner said that while the school does offer a great range of hands-on learning activities, it covers all areas of the Victorian curriculum and offers a balanced and thorough education.
You can support EdSpace and its students by buying a coffee and some cake in its cafe, using the services of Dogs for Life, or its bike shop, Wheelie Awesome, all on Carrier St, Benalla.
Find out more about EdSpace and what it offers via www.capabilitybuilding.org.au/