Statistics
38%
38% of Australians aged 16 to 24 experience mental disorders
18%
In 2025, 18% of young people studying at school or equivalent reported they had missed school due to anxiety, depression or mental issues
50%
1 in 2 young people will experience at least one period of mental ill-health before age 25, coinciding with formative educational years
300%
Young people with diagnosed mental illness are three times less likely to complete high school than their peers
Based in the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District’s Eastern Suburbs Youth Mental Health Services, Education & Futures is a free service for young people who have disengaged or are at risk of disengaging from education due to mental health challenges. Education & Futures is a supported education program adapted from the gold standard Individual Placement Support (IPS) program, an employment support intervention with demonstrated efficacy in assisting people with chronic mental ill health return to work.
Young people engaged with Education & Futures are supported by an Education Specialist embedded within mental health multidisciplinary teams to provide individualised assistance with remaining in, returning to, or commencing an education pathway such as school, university, or TAFE. These Education Specialists are trained teachers using their expertise in education and mental health to support young people’s recovery by helping them achieve educational goals.
Accessing Education & Futures
For more information, contact seslhd-educationandfutures@health.nsw.gov.au
What does help look like?
Education Specialists provide tailored support to meet individual needs. This could include support with developing organisational skills, supporting family/carers with educational info, and ongoing liaison with education providers to ensure coordinated and effective support.
Eligibility criteria:
- 12-25 years at time of referral
- Disengaged/at risk of disengaging from education
- Engaged with the Youth Mental Health services of South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (headspace Bondi Junction, Early Psychosis Program, CASPAR or yBIS)
Access the clinician referral form online below.
Referral form
Eligibility:
- Aged 12 – 25*
- Currently studying at school, TAFE or Uni or intend to study at school, TAFE or Uni
- Engaged with the services of headspace Bondi Junction, the Early Psychosis Program, Caspar, or youth Brief Intervention Service of the South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
*If you are over the age of 16, you can choose to attend this service with or without your parents.
What does help look like:
You will have an Education Specialist working with you and your mental health team (EPP, CASPAR (UHR), or yBIS).
Your Education Specialist can support you to stay in study or get back into it. They give ongoing help that is tailored to what you need. They give one-on-one support with things like choosing what to study, getting organised, and asking for any extra help you need.
You will be working with educators who understand mental health and can advocate for you so you feel supported and set up for success.
Referral form
Original Study
Supported education success for youth with mental health challenges
Young people who experience serious mental health challenges can successfully continue or re-engage with education if they receive the right support, a new study shows, with almost half of participants returning to education following the program.
The research found nearly half of the 40 young people aged 15 – 25 years who went through the supported education program were able to stay or return to secondary or higher education during the one-year study period from October 2019 – October 2020. This was despite the impact of the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions.
Collaborators
- Orygen
- South Eastern Sydney Local Health District (SESLHD)
- James Kirby Foundation
- Mantana Foundation for Young People
- NSW Ministry of Health
Youth Integration Project
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Mindgardens Neuroscience Network acknowledges the Traditional Owners of Country throughout Australia and recognises their continuing connection to land, waters and community. We pay our respect to them and their cultures, and to Elders past, present and emerging.
We acknowledge the voices of people with lived experience, their carers, families and kinship groups. We recognise the expertise acquired through living with a mental health, drug and alcohol or neurological disorder and acknowledge those who care for people on their recovery journey. We place lived experience at the heart of all that we do.
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