Young+Mothers+Program

A great example of responding to individual needs in education is the CCCares Program that is run at the Canberra College Weston Campus. The program is a young mother program which in 2009, had 105 students enrolled, with 82 of them being young parents, and their 85 children aged under 5 years old attending school with them. The program is supported by the government, several community groups, and grants from other organisations.
 * Young Mothers Program **

CCCares offers young parents access to education, whilst providing them with childcare facilities. It is an open plan learning environment that includes classrooms, kitchens, playrooms, change rooms, gym, and outdoor play rooms. They also have a mini-bus that pick-up and drops-off students and their children each day.

A link to their site [] which includes further information about the program.

The reason this is a valuable resource is because it’s a great example of individual needs being met in education, at a local level. Keeping in mind that this program started with 9 students in 2003, and is now the biggest young mother’s education program in Australia with over 100 students.

The Canberra College. (2010). //CCCares @ Canberra College.// Retrieved 1 July 2011, from []  (Whoever wrote this I am so, so sorry if 'editing' is not the correct way to add points to a page. If it is not I will take this down IMMEDIATELY)
 * Reference: **

I was a student at CCCares and completed my schooling there last year. I wanted to say that I am so pleased to see this program up here as I feel that it is such a valuable program for the ACT, or anywhere for that matter! CCCares offered so many support channels, some of which are included in the above post but I wanted to add a few additional points from someone that has been there and experienced it.

Here are some additional support services provided by the school:
 * Located at the school is a child minding room where one to two members of staff occupy the children and parents also spend time in the room on a rotating basis.
 * Morning tea, lunch, and afternoon tea is provided for the children. Lunch is often a cooked meal that is nutritionally balanced.
 * There are cots available for babies to sleep in whilst their parents study.
 * There are regular visits to the school from:
 * Midwives/Nurses for sexual health and baby/child health concerns or questions
 * Career counselors to assist with career planning and study pathways
 * Additional supports from community organisations that do craft activities with the older children
 * A staff member that is an approved road ready instructor to teach students how to drive and a car provided by the school to learn in
 * Supplies such as nappies, tins of baby food, etc for 'emergencies' where a parent may run out of these and doesn't get paid for a few days for example
 * Emotional support!!! The teachers there are supportive to an amazing extent. They are always there to talk to and offer advice where asked.