Introducing the Community
Compass Catholic Community, Davoren Park
Compass Catholic Community is an alternative education site for young people ages 17 - 24 in Davoren Park, South Australia
Compass Catholic Community opened to students in Term 1 2022, working with young people aged 17-24. This innovative initiative of Catholic Education South Australia is in Davoren Park and provides a high quality learning and growth environment for young people who have not yet thrived in their education or employment, at no cost to the student. The community includes on-site child-care facilities.
LBI Foundation has partnered with the school community since 2021. This capacity building work has focused on embedding the IMPACT Program as mapped to the needs, context and desired outcomes of the education community.
The support has been personalised to the school and geographic community. The co-designed wellbeing framework has been aligned to Compass’ values and to strengthen the implementation of broader Catholic Education of South Australia’s wellbeing frameworks and learning initiatives (Living Learning Leading and Learn Well).
The intent (or outcomes) and actions of this work is summarised below.
Local Quote
What does a shared intent mean to us?
At Compass, having a shared intent means that we are all focused on and working towards common outcomes. Further than this though, it means that we do this with the same tools, foci and language, so that our community has a clear and purposeful journey towards growth.
Intent ('What')
Build a Wellbeing and Trauma Responsive Compass Catholic Community
Where Wellbeing is a Way of Thinking and Being
Made Practical Through the Following Co-Designed Outcomes
System
To embed a cohesive, intentional, integrated and common approach (across main site and child care) to:
- Implement a safe, growth-focused and wellbeing-responsive learning environment.
- Deliver personalised student wellbeing and support services and to meet all students at their individual starting point (needs and context).
- Embed a trauma-responsive, neurodiversity-affirming and inclusive support culture.
Educators
To embed the awareness, skills and mindsets to:
- Intentionally respond (rather than react) to individual student needs (e.g., trauma, growth, learning, developmental) in a relationship focused and personalised manner.
- Grow student capacity through intentionally delivered social-emotional learning, side-by-side coaching, shared Growth Action Planning processes and through both implicit and explicit learning approaches.
- Empower educators to work together in shared intent (with students and colleagues).
Students
To provide students high quality resources and content that is focused on:
- Foundational wellbeing and resilience skills.
- Social-emotional learning competencies and curriculum.
- Meta-cognitive and problem solving.
- How to work side-by-side with others in shared intent.
Actions ('How')
Summary Actions of the Partnership Journey
- Compass have embedded the IMPACT Program in a manner that is mapped to the needs, context and desired outcomes of their community.
- The implementation has been founded upon the Resilient IMPACT capacity building strategy.
- LBI Foundation Community Leads: Ivan Raymond and David Kelly.
- LBI supported the staff team to co-design a locally owned wellbeing framework to empower the school to build a wellbeing-and-trauma responsive educational community from the ground up. It was made practical through an intentional practice logic model.
- The focus has been on making this framework practical and stick in action through the IMPACT Program. All Compass staff have been IMPACT Trained, and by the end of 2022 the school will have three key members at the IMPACT Coach (or Community Champion level). This has been supported by wrap-around coaching and embedding strategies focused on the “learn-it” to “apply-it”.
- Dedicated IMPACT train-the-trainers, focus on taking IMPACT content to explicit teaching with students.
- Embedding of motivation to change and IMPACT content into practice.
- Maintenance and extension of embedding strategy, including through a community of practice and program development.
- Advanced training and embedding of content related to trauma, neurodivergence and anxiety/depression.
- Local IMPACT Trainers and Coaches delivering foundational IMPACT content.
- Maintenance and extension of embedding strategy, including through both implementation coaching and clinical coaching.
- Advanced training and embedding of content related to trauma and neurodivergence through the delivery of embedding and deepening modules.
- Local IMPACT Trainers and Coaches delivering foundational IMPACT content.
Photo source: Compass Catholic Community
Community Story
Compass Catholic Community capture young people learning about the frontal lobe.
Pictured: Compass Catholic Community learning about “frontal lobe” versus “react brain” with LBI Foundation IMPACT Trainer, Kylie Agnew.
Through IMPACT Growth Action Planning, Compass empowers educators and students to come together with shared intent setting meaningful goals and taking practical steps toward success.
Pictured: Dr Ivan Raymond delivering a coaching session with the Compass team, helping strengthen their capacity to deliver high-impact alternative education.
"Unconditional connection builds trust - our safe base for growth, risk-taking and meaningful change." - James Bromell, IMPACT Trainer.
Pictured: IMPACT Trainer, James Bromell supporting young people at Compass Community College.