Futures Program Canberra College

Provides a complete educational program to prepare Yr 11 and 12 students with a disability or special need for successful independent living, employment and other than work options.

Referral: Placement Required - ACT Department of Education Youth and Family Services

The Futures Program

The Futures Program at Canberra College is a highly respected college disability education/student engagement program. The Program leads the way in pursuit of excellence through innovative education and training programs and, teaching and learning opportunities that build on the individual strengths and interests of all students. This is embodied in the Program's philosophy of supporting students to become the best they can be, encouraging students to develop a strong platform to support their transition to life after college and celebrating their achievements as young individuals. The Program maintains strong links with post school agencies to support each student's transition to life after college. The excellence of the Futures Program has been recognised through both education and vocational training awards at local and national levels.  

The Futures Program maintains a real connectedness to the community which ensures students embrace the opportunities this can offer.  Partnerships with e.g. the Canberra Hospital, Woolworths, Lifeline and numerous work places across a range of  industry areas, ensures students have realistic work training placements that up-skill them for their future. The range of partnerships underpins the strong focus the Futures Program has on vocational training, and pathways, for all students, and supports the transference of classroom learning to real life situations. Students are encouraged and supported to investigate new opportunities and explore new and different areas of learning and this has included participating in the Limelight Dance Festival, developing skills in Computer Aided Design and exploring film making and graphic design in Media. 

Staff and students of the Program value the diversity each bring to the teaching and learning environment. Through an emphasis on student centred planning the program ensures that a student's college package is built around the individual student and responds to opportunities that the student may wish to explore. A student's college package may include a combination of special education and mainstream classes, areas of further training, apprenticeships and learning areas that promote their strengths.
Staff and students engage in a teaching and learning environment that values creative learning by accessing opportunities both within the college and in the broader community. Through engaging in differentiated learning staff explore a range of content and experiences that respond to students' needs and takes learning into a much broader context.
Staff support students in their preparation for life as a valued member of the community.