The challenge

Unfortunately, there are many communities across Australia that continue to experience long-term disadvantage, despite decades of considerable funding to provide additional programs and services. Our Place believes that, instead of funding more and more services, new ways of working are urgently required to enable families in these communities to access the same opportunities as other Australians.

The solution

Evidence shows that education is the key to overcoming disadvantage and that school-based community hubs can play a vital role in providing holistic support to children and families. Successful school-based hubs act as powerful multipliers by bringing together the existing investment in resources and services, reducing fragmentation, and placing children and families at the heart of collective efforts to improve education outcomes.

A fragmented local service system

How Our Place is different:
Putting the needs of families at the centre

Our approach

The Our Place approach enables the local school to be the place that holistically supports children and families in communities experiencing disadvantage. We are implementing the approach in nine communities across Victoria, collaborating with partners to remove barriers and enable families to access education, services and supports. 

Effective change requires shared vision and decision making across organisations. Our Place sites are led by a Site Partnership Group, consisting of local leaders from education, government, health and the community. These groups develop shared community-led priorities, ensure high-quality services, and provide leadership for collaborative ways of working.

This supports progress at individual sites, but achieving a broader impact requires additional enablers. For Our Place, this includes system-wide authorisation through a long-term partnership with the Victorian Government, and a capable backbone organisation providing independent support, knowledge, and evidence to empower site teams.

The role of our partners

Our partners provide high-quality and accessible education, services and supports to families. The evidence behind the Our Place approach indicates there are five core Elements of providing holistic support to children and families, with each of our partners providing expertise in these key areas.

The five core Elements are: 

The role of Our Place

Our Place advocates for families and to influence changes in practices, policies and systems that remove barriers to access. Our role, which we refer to as The Glue, requires skilled and impartial people to connect organisations and engage families. Our Place’s qualified, experienced staff are essential, as this work can’t be sufficiently resourced as an ‘add on’ to existing educator or service roles.

The four key components of Our Place’s role are:

People

Having skilled people building relationships and connecting families to education, services and supports.

Place

Advocating for a welcoming single-entry point and appropriate places for services at the school.

Purpose

Bringing partners together for a shared purpose, to understand community needs and set priorities accordingly.

Knowledge

Showing evidence and impact, providing recommendations and advocating for the approach.

Intended outcomes

Our Theory of Change outlines how the Our Place approach intends to improve educational outcomes of children.

The four key outcomes of Our Theory of Change are:

• Children: Developing well and engaging in learning and social opportunities.
• Families: Confidently engaging in their child’s and their own learning.
• Communities: Fostering a sense of connection, pride, and belonging.
• Systems: Implementing family-centred practices, policies, and systems.