HOW THE HAVEN EDUCATION CENTRE BEGAN

The Haven Education Centre was opened at 165 Serpentine Road Terrigal in March 2004. It has been established for the specific purpose of providing an opportunity for students who are having extreme difficulties in coping with mainstream education to the extent that they are refusing to attend school.

STRUCTURE.

The Haven Education Centre was established as a non denominational Annexe to St Edwards College with Chris Kokegei appointed as both a teacher and also with the added responsibility of overseeing day to day operation of the Centre.
A Management Board (honorary) of local community members was also established to monitor and support the Centre in its prime objective.
A sub committee of local business people has also been established to assist in the ongoing fund raising required to make the Centre sustainable.

VISION AND PURPOSE

The Haven Education Centre addresses the complex set of individual problems presented by students which result in them being unable to cope with mainstream education.
The Centre has been established with staff highly specialized in working with these students. They are able to work on a 1:1 basis with the students and their families to assess the particular issues which are preventing the students attending mainstream schooling and to provide individual programmes to address the identified problems.
The prime purpose of The Haven is to prepare these students for re-integration into mainstream schooling so that they can proceed towards gaining a School Certificate.

WHO CAN ENROL AT THE HAVEN EDUCATION CENTRE

The Haven Education Centre is a non-denominational, co-educational Centre accredited by the Board of Studies to accept students at Stage 4 in their educational programme. [i.e. Years 7 & 8 students]. Any student currently enrolled in a school on the Central Coast is able to seek enrolment at The Centre.
Students may be referred for enrolment from their home school or by their family or carer. An Intake and Review Committee determines which applicants are to be offered a place at The Centre.
In the two years of The Haven’s operation over 80% of the students enrolled have been from Government schools.

IS THE PROGRAMME SUCCESSFUL

Anecdotal evidence suggests that many of the students the Centre has attempted to re-integrate into mainstream schooling have had successful outcomes.

A comment from one student:
“I was always in trouble at my old school, getting kicked out of class and being suspended. Because there aren’t as many kids in class at The Haven you get lots more help and attention. This means you will get better at everything when you start to work with the teachers. They are all really cool and have helped me heaps.”

The Board and teaching staff are realistic enough to know that The Haven will not have a 100% success rate but even a 50% success rate will mean that a significant number of students will have returned to mainstream schooling with a chance of becoming effective members of post-school society.

WHAT IS THE ALTERNATIVE

If centres like The Haven do not exist these students remain disenfranchised from any form of effective schooling and remain wandering the streets, at the beach or shopping centres with the temptation of becoming involved in anti-social behaviour such as petty crime and drug abuse.
Many parents and mainstream schools are desperate for help to avoid this scenario arising.
The Haven Education Centre is the only available educational facility catering for these students on the Central Coast and its services are highly regarded by the educational community in this area.

COSTS AND FINANCIAL SUPPORT

The Haven Education Centre costs in excess of $300,000 per year to run- a costly operation. However it must be recognised that all other attempts to cater for these students have been unsuccessful and, if you consider the alternative longer term cost to society (both emotionally and financially) of doing nothing, it is money well spent.
In a sense this is a last chance for these students and as such, a different approach to mainstream schooling is required. Teachers are required to not only address the students’ academic needs but also the emotional and social issues which may be affecting their school attendance and progress.
To cater for this different approach the student to teacher ratio at The Haven is generally about four to one and so salary costs are a significant proportion of the total cost of running The Centre.

It is important to again stress that The Haven is non-denominational however it must be recognised that, apart from a per capita grant from the Government [which meets less than 25% of the running costs], the majority of the funding to date has been provided by the local Catholic community.

WHAT ARE WE SEEKING?

There are significant costs in gaining adequate teaching resources and equipment for the individualised programmes required for the students at The Haven. In addition the recurrent annual expenses especially related to transport are proving difficult to cover- especially as students move into the re-integration process and require transportation to the various high schools around the coast.
As stated earlier The Haven Education Centre is unique on the Central Coast and has been set up to cater for marginalised youth in our local area.
To ensure the Centres ongoing success we are now seeking the support of local businesses and community groups to assist in its funding.
This is a tangible way for local organisations to display their support for those in need in our community.
All sponsorship and donations are tax deductible and as all the fundraising and administration of these funds is on a voluntary basis you can be assured all monies raised will be used to directly assist the students at the Centre.

SPONSORSHIP

Gold Sponsorship – Cost $1000 [per annum]

• The Haven Education Centre is currently planning to lease a mini bus and as a “Gold Sponsor” your Company or Organisation’s Logo would be displayed on the bus as an ongoing supporter of the Centre.
• All newsletters and fundraising material issued by the Centre will also carry your Company or Organisation’s Logo showing you as an ongoing supporter of the Centre.

Silver Sponsorship – Cost $500 [per annum]

• All newsletters and fundraising material issued by the Centre will carry your Company or Organisation’s Logo showing you as an ongoing supporter of the Centre.

If you are in a position to provide assistance in supporting The Haven, either by sponsorship or a donation, could you please download and provide details on the sponsorship form.

Thank you for taking the time to read this request. Any support you are able to provide will be greatly appreciated.