Wollongong Flexible School
History and Philosophy
Wollongong Flexible School is part of Edmund Rice Education Australia’s national Flexible Schools Networks responding to the needs of young people in our communities.
Wollongong Flexible School is in Towradgi, NSW skirting the northern suburbs of Wollongong. Our school opened in January 2013 as the fourteenth school in the Youth+ Flexible Learning Centre Networks nationally and the first in New South Wales.
Learning Choices
Wollongong Flexible School is a co-educational secondary school, registered with NSW Educational Standards Authority (NESA) to provide courses to young people from Year 7-10. Our school has a strong focus on providing individualised programs of study that respond to the unique talents and needs of each young person.
Programs
We provide the NESA Syllabus for years 7-10 alongside a range of wellbeing programs. We also offer a Transition to Work program with several accredited pathways:
- Cert I in Functional Literacy
- Cert I in Access to Vocational Pathways
- Cert I in Sports and Recreation
- Cert I in Visual Arts
- Cert II in Music Industry
- Cert II in Skills for Work and Vocational Pathways
Outcomes
- Enhanced wellbeing, confidence and resilience
- Engagement in accredited learning options
- Belonging to a community
- Young person voice and agency
- Transition plan for future pathways
- Literacy and numeracy skills
How We Do Things
At Wollongong Flexible School we use a ‘common ground’ approach to help guide relationships and support learning.
Common Ground is:
- A philosophy that views all community members as equal;
- A practice approach that gives people a say in decisions that will affect them;
- A radical perspective that turns traditional power dynamics upside down.
- A platform for our four principles of Respect, Safe & Legal, Participation, and Honesty
At Wollongong Flexible School, we understand that young people often first and foremost need to learn how to be and how to be with other people. Our Four Principles of Operation – Respect, Honesty, Safe & Legal, and Participation – provide us with a framework through which we develop authentic and compassionate relationships within our school and surrounding community and we look for opportunities to use these Principles in our learning and interactions every day.
Our prime focus is to promote the safety and wellbeing of children and young people under our care. We take our responsibilities for child safeguarding extremely seriously and therefore we commit to ensuring that all our school has appropriate policies and practices to make it a place that is both safe and inclusive. Central to this, is student voice and agency. Our school’s child safeguarding programs are regularly updated and checked for compliance with regulatory requirements.
Address
Cnr Princes Hwy and Towradgi Rd, Towradgi NSW 2518
Contact Details
Head of Campus: Michael Loudoun
Phone: 0427 341 657
Email: wollongongflc@ereafsn.edu.au
Network Child Protection Officer: Sonja Marjanovic
Phone: 0474 460 935
Senior Administration Officer: Peeter Ups
Phone: 0409 058 204
Acting Area Principal: Matthew Rattenbury
Phone: 0407 850 308
FLC Newsletters
2023
2022
2021
Cnr Princes Hwy and Towradgi Rd, Towradgi NSW 2518
Phone: 02 4201 1900 or 0409 058 204
Email: wollongongflc@ereafsn.edu.au