There’s a free private school that takes all the students nobody wants. Now they’re thriving.

When Katie's* son, Aiden* was excluded from several mainstream schools, she could see the trajectory of his life plummeting downwards. 

"He went from a bright, happy kid with lots of friends to a sad, hurt, rejected, disengaged, struggling teenager," says Katie. 

"Neurodivergence is not something that is celebrated or supported at mainstream schools." 

As a parent, there's nothing more heartbreaking than watching your child struggle. And it can be especially isolating when society, as a rule, has little patience for challenging teens. 

"School refusal and avoidance, and school suspensions are at an all-time high. This leads to disengagement from school and potentially long-term, life altering consequences," Katie says.

Watch: Does social media negatively impact teen mental health? Article continues after the video. 

Jenny* had a similar experience with her son, Tom*. While her daughter thrived at the local public school, her son struggled to learn, and was subsequently bullied. 

"This saw him retaliate, with the outcome being he was suspended regularly," says Jenny.

"When I sent him to school in the morning I would be on edge wondering if I was going to get a phone call to pick him up."

Jenny felt her son, now in Year 9, had been typecast — a common worry among parents of challenging teens. 

For many children like Aiden and Tom, the future looks grim. Mainstream schools don't want difficult children, and often the consequence is their education – but research suggests internal and external suspensions may only serve to push students further behind, leading to poorer grades, and further disengagement and rebellion.

So, if they're not ultimately excluded, they'll often leave due to falling behind or becoming so disengaged, they simply don't want to be there anymore. 

But if no one is willing to take them, how can they turn their lives around?

An Arethusa student with a therapy dog. Image: Supplied.

Flipping the narrative. 

A new wave of special assistance or 'alternative learning' schools are popping up around Australia, designed specifically for disengaged and disadvantaged teens, regardless of the cause of their disengagement — including poor behavioural choices. 

Across the country, there are around 100 of these types of schools, which are essentially free private schools for kids otherwise at risk of missing out on an education.

Both Aiden and Tom attend one of the eight Arethusa campuses, a special assistance school that opened its first campus in 2008.

"If it weren't for the option of him enrolling in an alternative school like Arethusa, Aiden's trajectory would have been vastly different," says Katie. "He is now thriving in senior school, and has gone from not believing he would amount to anything in life to making career plans and enjoying the different options that await him post high school."

While there are myriad differences between Arethusa and mainstream schools, perhaps the biggest difference is its approach to discipline and acceptance.

"Students are held accountable for their actions, but will not be excluded from school, thereby not jeopardising their education," says Katie. 

Arethusa moulds schooling around the needs of the young person — from the length of their school day or week to how their individual learning program is structured and delivered. 

Breakfast and lunch is supplied at every campus; and doors are kept open to students for about 50 weeks of the year — that's to cater for children whose families may be unable to provide nutritious meals, or whose home isn't necessarily a safe space for them. 

"We don't ask the young people to be good enough to come to us. We aim to be a school worthy of them," says Executive Principal, Lisa Coles.

"We look at what they need to succeed and flourish, what they're interested in, how they need to learn, and then we create the environment and provide the resources and staff to make that their reality."

Many young people come to Arethusa with stories of trauma, mental health challenges, disabilities and complex social backgrounds. 

"Many will have tried to squeeze themselves to fit into an education system that hasn't got a lot of flex in it and there's trauma associated with that because the child then questions: 'Is there something wrong with me? Am I broken? Am I not good enough?'," Lisa says. 

"We very quickly flip the narrative to show them that education is here for them."

As well as educating students, staff help unpack what sits behind a young person acting out, offering a safe space for them to be both vulnerable and honest — without being judged.

"Developing social skills, managing emotional wellbeing and being accepted for who you are is critical for teenagers," Lisa says.

This is much more difficult for students who have experienced trauma, are neurodiverse, have mental health and/or behavioural issues.

"We can sort those issues with them, so we can get their learning and their lives back on track," she says.

Arethusa also runs an equine therapy program. Image: Supplied.

40 per cent of children disengaged from mainstream schooling.

Mastery Schools Australia (MSA) opened its first campus in 2021, and now has campuses located across the East Coast of Australia. 

While Arethusa provides alternative education for high school students, MSA offers places to students from Grades 4 to 10. 

According to the Grattan Institute, up to 40 per cent of Australian school students may be disengaged from mainstream schooling. In addition, Australia has some of the lowest numeracy and literacy rates in the world, with as many as one in three students failing to meet minimum standards. 

Marli Jacobs has been teaching at MSA for two years now, and says the difference between this school's approach to learning, when compared with mainstream schooling, is stark. 

"University didn't prepare me for what I walked into that first day of teaching," says Marli. 

"I had 37 students, many of them having moderate to high learning difficulties. It's actually crazy to think that as a 22-year-old I was given a class of nearly 40 students with no teacher assistance. 

"I was responsible for their learning and their future."

It's a tough gig for teachers at time, albeit a rewarding one. By the time parents approach schools like MSA,  many of them are already close to, if not past, breaking point — pushed to their limits trying to force children to adapt to mainstream schooling, only to watch them further unravel, both academically and behaviourally. 

"This is more than just a job," says Marli.  "You need to invest in your students' well-being and you need to understand that they have had so many teachers chip away at their confidence. 

"It's a cliché, but it honestly is so rewarding working with these students and seeing their growth.  Many students come to us with very low confidence and now they are thriving."

MSA takes a scientific, evidence-based approach to learning. Image: Supplied. 

"His outcome would be very different if it weren't for them."

For Carly*, finding MSA for her daughter, Lilly* who has both ADHD and ASD, has been a Godsend. 

"After being means tested, she showed to be three years behind in numeracy and 1.5 years in literacy, despite being a very bright kid who was sight reading before 2 years old," says Carly. 

At MSA, students are grouped by ability, not age, so Lily will enter the junior school, encompassing children of the ages normally found in grades 4 to 6. 

"What she loves about MSA – and I quote, is 'learning is easy, I didn't know everything, Mum, but the learning was easy'," says Carly.

"She loves that classrooms are minimalistic as she's so easily distracted. And she loved how regimented and predictable the day was."

Carly says MSA may appear "strict" at first glance due to its structured approach, but once you witness first hand how the kids respond, "it's crazy how much they love it". 

Katie and Jenny have also watched their children not only embrace, but thrive at school, and the subsequent ripple effect that's had on their behaviour and home life as well. 

"He is a work in progress. But he is succeeding," says Katie. 

"And he is succeeding because of the added guidance, patience, perseverance and assistance from staff and teachers from Arethusa and because of a different approach to schooling. His educational outcome would likely be very different if it weren't for them," she says. 

Jenny's son now wants to get up and go to school, a stark contrast to the constant battle mornings once were. 

"He comes home happier. He's made a few friends, and for the first time in, I can't remember how long, he's been praised for and won awards for being eager to learn and for showing up to school," says Jenny. 

On Saturday, October 19, MSA is hosting a charity dinner to raise funds and honour the incredible achievements of students and their families. To book, click here.

*names have been changed.

Feature image: Supplied.