History and Philosophy

Our school began as Southport Mobile Education Program in 2014, running two separate programs for young people on the Gold Coast: Northside (Helensvale to Southport) and Southside (Southport to Currumbin). In April 2018, we moved into our permanent site, now known as Southport Flexible Learning Centre. Southport Flexible Learning Centre is committed to working with all young people who wish to re-engage with education, and who may have found challenges at mainstream school. These include mental health issues, behaviour challenges, learning difficulties and just not enjoying the academic nature of mainstream education.

We offer a range of activities throughout the week, including outdoor adventure-based learning, sports, arts, Mens’ and Womens’ activities, self-reflection workshops and much more. We provide breakfast and lunch for the young people, prepared by our own chef. We believe very strongly that our young people need to access a range of supports, and engage with community agencies such as Headspace, CYMHS, Ted Noffs, Education Queensland, Gold Coast Youth Service and Wesley Mission.

Learning

We work with young people from Year 7 to Year 12, with flexible groupings to accommodate junior and senior groups and their individual needs. We have a structured timetable that ensures all young people receive teaching in English and Maths, as well as Project Based Learning opportunities. We have a strong focus on wellbeing within our community, as we believe that a greater understanding of how our brains work and how we react to situations supports our young people to improve their learning. We engage young people in programs called Strengths, Reboot and Headstrong. Our seniors have a focus on Careers and Transitions, as we support these young people to move into further education or work. We offer a selection of qualifications for young people, including SAS English Communications and Pre-Vocational Maths, Certificate I and Certificate II in Functional Literacy and Vocational Pathways. We also have options for young people to study Certificate I in Business and a Certificate II in Hospitality. Through outside RTOs and employment services, we have been able to engage young people in traineeships in Early Childhood, Retail, Horticulture, Business and Automotive.