School Focused Youth Service
The School Focused Youth Service (SFYS) is a program that works with schools to support vulnerable students (from grade 5 to year 12) to remain engaged in their education.
It is an early identification and intervention program aimed at supporting students who are at risk (due to issues such as homelessness or mental health) or are showing signs of disengaging from education (such as low or erratic school attendance).
The SFYS co-ordinators work with schools to deliver targeted programs for students. They provide advice to schools and can connect schools to appropriate community-based services that provide specialist support to children and families around a range of individual, family and carer needs. They also work with schools to provide appropriate professional development to build capacity of teachers and other school staff to support vulnerable students.
SFYS does not provide direct support to individual students, but works with the school’s leadership, teaching and wellbeing staff to deliver programs that target students who are showing signs of disengagement from school.
The SFYS program based at Ballarat Community Health works with all government, Catholic and independent primary and secondary schools across the city of Ballarat and the shires of Moorabool, Golden Plains and Hepburn.
Isla Ford (she/her)
School Focused Youth Service Coordinator
(Mon-Thurs)
Currently accepting enquiries from schools only.
M: 0491 089 648
The talented staff in the Arts & Wellbeing Team at Ballarat Community Health created 16 art activities for the workbook, based around the philosophy of ‘busy hands, calm mind’. Each activity teaches new skills, inspires creative thinking, relieves stress, gives students’ a sense of achievement, and builds resilience. The project provides a creative, gentle and encouraging avenue for self-expression and imaginative thinking through fun activities.
Art Connection instructional guide for Educators written and collated by the School Focused Youth Services Coordinators in collaboration with Ballarat Community Health Mental Health Practitioners.
