Banksia Secondary College, situated in West Heidelberg in the northern suburbs of Melbourne, was established in 1989 as the result of an amalgamation of Heidelberg High School, Heidelberg Technical School and LaTrobe High School. West Heidelberg is an acutely disadvantaged area, a mixture of government housing and industry and most students belong to families which are recipients of some form of pension. Long term poverty, single parent families, significant numbers of students of non-English speaking backgrounds and very high levels of transience all present challenges to the school. The College has a strong belief in attending to the health and welfare needs of students as well as providing a learning program designed for a wide range of skills and abilities. The College includes a Deaf Facility, with profoundly deaf students integrated into most classes, and an Integration Unit that supports a number of students with other disabilities.

The College has an extraordinary history of networking and collaborating with other schools and health and welfare agencies to meet the needs of its students and their families. A particular success has been the relationship developed with Berry Street over the past five years and half years. This relationship originated with the involvement of the two organisations in the "Creating New Choices" project, a whole-school program to address the issue of violence with young people and to help them develop strategies to resolve conflict peacefully. The project used a collaborative and inclusive model, involving teachers, parents, students and community agency workers in the development and implementation of a range of educational and celebratory activities. These included workshops for staff, students and parents, community forums, festivals such as Violence Awareness Week and Multicultural Week, group work for young people at risk, outreach counselling work and the development of on-going curriculum. Another joint Banksia / Berry Street project entitled "Getting Along" saw the introduction of conflict-resolution skills into the classroom health curriculum and the development of the Peer Mediation program.

Banksia has used the same principles employed in the "Creating New Choices" project in relationships with other agencies to further develop itself as a Full Service School in order to more adequately meet the needs of its students and their families. Current initiatives being undertaken include:

• A case managed approach to welfare, coordinated by our Student Welfare Coordinator, and including welfare professionals from the Department of Education, Berry St. and other community agencies where appropriate.
• An outreach counselling service, supported by Berry St., to work with and support young people and their families, whose poor attendance at school is placing them at risk of not completing a satisfactory secondary education.
• A program that offers part or full-time placements on a short or long-term basis to young people who are attending the Berry Street "Out of School" program.
• Continued involvement with Berry Street in the "Creating New Choices" project with particular emphasis on the Peer Mediation program, support to staff with the development and implementation of curriculum and the involvement in College festivals and special events.
• Involvement with Banyule Council in the "Student Action Teams" project, designed to develop leadership skills in students.

• Involvement with the Migrant Resource Centre in the West Heidelberg Cultural Exchange project, designed to promote harmony between the different cultural groups in the community.
• Involvement in a Community Arts Program with Banyule Council.