Saints College

Saints College is privileged to walk alongside young people aged 12-25 who are seeking an alternative to mainstream education in a safe, inclusive, and supportive environment. Saints College is part of EREA Victorian Schools Ltd. Grounded in a trauma informed practice framework, St Joseph’s empowers young people through personalised educational programs that are centred around the Victorian Curriculum, the Victorian Certificate of Education Vocational Major (VCE VM), VPC (Victorian Pathways Certificate), and Vocational Education and Training (VET). The school also offers outreach educational opportunities, an extensive excursion program and outdoor education. St Joseph’s aims to remove all barriers that young people may face to engaging in education. The school does not have any fees, or any costs for books, excursion or VET programs, and young people are provided a MYKI so that they can easily access school via public transport. An important part of our school is that we spend time eating meals together that are prepared by experienced cooks on site at each campus. Young people can eat breakfast, morning tea and lunch at school each day, and there are also take-home packs for any young person or family who would welcome this. St Joseph’s enables young people, their families and key adults, staff, and community members, to experience and value critical awareness of justice through the practices and culture of the school. We advocate for our young people to experience liberation in their own lives through consultative and common ground experiences, including a commitment to the voice of young people in decisions impacting them at school. St Joseph’s establishes this culture through a framework called ‘Operation by Principles’ that uses four principles: Respect, Honesty, Participation and Safe and Legal, to guide all our interactions and decisions within the school community.