The Bendigo Education Plan 2018 (BEP) is a collaboration between the Department of Education (DE) and a range of local community organisations. The development of the plan was facilitated by DE throughout 2017-18 via a steering group with broad representation from community organisations across the City of Greater Bendigo. Bendigo’s community contributed to the BEP through online and face-to-face consultations during 2017.

The BEP 2018 follows the BEP 2005. This plan focused on re-invigorating secondary education in Bendigo through the rebuilding of four junior secondary schools and through a focus on flexible, personalised and differentiated approaches to teaching and learning.

The BEP was reviewed in 2022 BEP guided by the following narrative:

Learners in Bendigo can say I attend and like school, it supports me to learn, my family supports my attendance and participation, I succeed in learning, my pathways choices are informed, and I am equipped to succeed in life.

• • Themes were agreed to guide the review:•A learning and education culture across school, family, community, industry.
  • Aspiration and knowledge about careers, occupations and education pathways.
  • Enhance student (young persons’) voice and agency.

The review involved significant consultation with a range of community stakeholders and in-depth analysis of relevant data sets about students’ attendance, disengagement and learning and wellbeing outcomes.

The vision of the BEP is to see: all children and young people in Bendigo will become successful learners and resilient individuals who strive for excellence and who have the skills, knowledge and capabilities they need to lead active, satisfying and productive lives.

To realise the vision, the BEP has seven core objectives:

1. 1. Ensuring equitable access to quality programs, pathways and facilities: Children and young people in Bendigo will have access to a wide range of, pathways and post-school destinations that are relevant to their abilities, interests and aspirations.
   2. Building teacher and educator capacity to support and extend all students: Bendigo’s educators will be confident in their capacity to support and extend all learners to achieve excellence.
   3. Creating a culture of excellence for all: Bendigo’s children and young people will be confident and resilient in their learning, motivated and aspirational in their thinking, and capable in their actions, interactions, knowledge and skills.
   4. Enriching approaches to curriculum, pedagogy and assessment: Bendigo’s schools and services will provide access to relevant, inclusive, engaging and future-focused curriculum, supported by best practice approaches to teaching, learning and pedagogy.
   5. Strengthening supports for children and young people through key transition points in their learning: Children and young people in Bendigo will experience supported and individualised transitions at key points of change in their education from early childhood, through schooling and beyond to higher education, skills, training and employment.
   6. Partnering with families and carers as first educators: Families and carers will be actively engaged in working with Bendigo’s education providers to support children’s learning.
   7. Collaborating with community, business and industry to lift engagement, learning and developmental outcomes: The wider Bendigo community, including other service providers and industry, will be engaged with the education profession to promote quality learning and development outcomes for children and young people.

These streams of work are led by DE Loddon Campaspe Area Office with support from schools and community stakeholders. They were identified through the BEP 2022 review.

These streams of work are led by BEP secondary school principals. They were agreed during a joint school review involving all five secondary colleges in 2022. The principals committed to pursuing this work in collaboration with one another.

The main oversight body for the BEP is the BEP Reference Group. The group is chaired by the Regional Director, North-Western Victoria Region, DE, and meetings occur bi-annually. Membership is made up of a broad range of community stakeholders. Members
include:

• School principals
• Bendigo Kangan Institute
• La Trobe University
• Bendigo Tech School
• City of Greater Bendigo
• Shine Bright Early Years Manager
• Bendigo Local Aboriginal Education Consultative Group
• Regional Development Victoria
• Department of Families, Fairness and Housing
• Goldfields Local Learning and Employment Network
• Australian Industry Group
• Australian Education Union
• Catholic Education Office
• Go. Bendigo
• Anglicare Victoria
• Department of Education staff

Chris Mackenzie
BEP Project Manager
0417 551 544
chris.mackenzie@education.vic.gov.au