Support for Schools

We offer a number of trainings, open to the public, which are suitable for school staff on culturally responsive practice, culturally sustaining schools, anti-racism and other topics.

Please see our Training Calendar for January – June 2023 here.

We can deliver training tailored to your school staff, either in-person or online, on the topics outlined below.

Culturally Sustaining Schools 
This workshop supports school staff to develop a shared vision of teaching and learning that builds on student strengths, fosters positive identities, and sustains the diversity of cultures within the school. Contact us here to find out more or book a session.

Reverb Mental Health 
A whole-school approach including workshops and consultations relating to culturally responsive mental health. This program can be tailored to your school and typically runs for one term.

Schools Standing Up to Racism
The free resource is designed to support schools to create safe spaces in which to build the intercultural awareness and understanding required to overcome the barriers to proactively talking about, and addressing, racism and discrimination.

CMY offers schools 3 workshops to support the implementation of the resource. The first two sessions are facilitated with school staff, and are pre-requisites for the third session which is facilitated with school students. Further information available here.

Cross-Cultural Awareness 
This e-learning module is a resource for people supporting the education of students from a refugee or migrant background. It explores:

• the concepts of culture and identify
• cultural responsiveness and cross cultural communication skills
• the pre-migration and migration experiences of young people
• the barriers to good settlement for young people
• strategies to support young people from refugee and migrant backgrounds

Refugee Journeys into Victorian Schools
This e-learning module is a resource for people supporting the education of students from a refugee background. It explores the settlement and education experiences of students from a refugee background and identifies some of the challenges that arise when settling in Australia and engaging in education.

The South Sudanese Community Support Groups (CSGs) are a coordinated, community-led approach to enhance youth and community engagement, and respond to local community issues and needs through culturally responsive co-designed programs and activities. CSGs work in schools to support better outcomes in education for students from South Sudanese background by:

• supporting better engagement with parents;
• offering family support packages for families in financial hardship;
• delivering co-designed youth leadership and mentorship programs and activities;
• providing access to sports and recreational opportunities;
• facilitating school holiday activities, employment and skills training, after school homework support, and a group work program and activities.

The CSG program supports children and young people of all ages as well as families who are located in Dandenong/Casey/Cardinia, Melton/Brimbank and in Wyndham.

Contact us for more infomation:
Archangelo Nyuol Madut | Program Manager
E | anmadut@cmy.net.au

Elizabeth Majok | Project Coordinator; Melton & Brimbank
E | emajok@cmy.net.au

Kenyatta Dei Wal | Project Coordinator; Dandenong & Casey
E | kdeiwal@cmy.net.au

ENVISION offers free information and leadership workshops for newly-arrived young people aged 12-25 years. These workshops are delivered by CMY staff and Peer Facilitators, covering personal insight, individual goal setting, developing new skills and helping young  people achieve their aspiration.

Participants must be aged 12-25, have lived in Australia five years or less, and live, study or work in the North West or South East of Melbourne.

The ‘Le Mana’ Empower Pasifika Youth Project helps to build a sense of belonging for Pasifika youth aged 12-25 years of age across a range of settings. The Le Mana team offers secondary consultations with school staff as well as structured ten week Pasifika cultural, mentoring and leadership programs in schools. They also run homework clubs, holiday programs, and  community events to assist Pasifika young people who reside or travel in Melbourne’s South East and North West areas for study, work and play or have family and community connections in these areas.

For more info, contact:
Phil Start | Project Coordinator
E | pstart@cmy.net.au

Temese | Program Development Leader
E | tleilua@cmy.net.au

Navigator is aimed at high school students in the South East region of Melbourne with 70% or less non-attendance at school. The program provides intensive case management, builds relationships with schools, advocates, offers restorative practices and assertive outreach to support disengaged learners and their families.

For more info, contact:
Bec Lean | South East Program Manager
E | blean@cmy.net.au

These training modules help high school students gain the skills needed to become positive change makers. Each session is co-delivered by young people, exploring concepts like values-based leadership, team building, active citizenship, culture and ally-ship through a range of engaging and practical activities.

These sessions are available online or in-person, with more information available here.

RESP is a two-year program aimed at assisting schools to identify and implement strategies which have a positive impact on the achievement, engagement, and wellbeing outcomes of students from refugee backgrounds and their families.

RESP works with participating primary and secondary schools in the government and non-government sectors in five defined geographic clusters across Victoria. The program creates a learning community across school clusters to share their practices and ideas to support one another.

Case Studies

• Bendigo South East College
• Braybrook College
• Camp Hill Primary School
• Crusoe College
• Fountain Gate Secondary College
• Great Ryrie Primary School
• Hampton Park Primary School
• Hampton Park Secondary College
• Heathmont East Primary School
• Holy Eucharist Primary School
• Kilberry Valley Primary School
• Mount Evelyn Christian School
• Melba College
• Mooroolbark College
• Our Lady of Perpetual Help
• Rivergum Primary School
• Specimen Hill Primary School
• St Albans Primary School
• Stevensville Primary School
• Thomas Mitchell Primary School
• Thomastown Meadows Primary School
• Thomastown West Primary School
• VU Secondary College
• Wooranna Park Secondary College