The first flexible learning centre was established in 1986 at Kingston in the western suburbs of Brisbane.  It was a response by the Christian Brothers to the needs of youth in an area characterised by poverty, unemployment and a high level of disengagement from education. 

Named the Centre Education Programme, it offered young people an opportunity to reconnect with education in  a setting that was non-judgemental, inclusive and flexible in the way it engaged them in their learning Several more flexible learning centres developed, each a registered school, and they, along with all the other schools operated by the Christian Brothers, came under the leadership of Edmund Rice Education Australia in 2007.  In 2010, when there were six such flexible schools, EREA committed to this form of education by establishing Youth+ as an arm of EREA committed to providing flexible learning opportunities for disenfranchised youth. From 2010 to 2016, the number of flexible learning centres grew from six to nineteen, with schools in every state and territory except the ACT.