00:00James Parker was not a big fan of school.
00:06I didn't have a lot of friends, teachers weren't very supportive so I didn't often feel very comfortable going to class.
00:12But his approach changed after he enrolled at the Y School and was given the chance to design its gym.
00:18James is completing Year 12 while studying for a Certificate 3 in Personal Training.
00:23That's 5, doing amazing.
00:26The teachers have helped me link what I'm doing in the classroom to what I'm doing in here and then what I'll be doing in the real world.
00:35The school's 100 students are given a high level of support, with every learner assigned a youth worker and class sizes capped at 17.
00:43It's one of 11 alternative education schools in WA, designed to cater for students who are struggling to access mainstream learning.
00:51We find there are mental health issues, physical health issues, but also situations that have arisen at home.
00:58Some of them are young carers, some of them have had family members with significant illness and there's been periods of time where they've disconnected from school.
01:07In 2023, the school's attendance rate was 56%, increasing to 64% last year.
01:14That's still well below the average for WA students, but it's a huge improvement for these learners.
01:21While schools like this are tackling low attendance with intensive support and a tailored curriculum,
01:27experts say applying that philosophy to mainstream secondary schools would be a massive challenge, due to standardised education.
01:36With attendance rates trending downwards nationally, some believe a more holistic approach is needed.
01:43But if we continue down this road of standardised one size fits all approach, we're going to continue to see disengagement,
01:49we're going to continue to see low attendance rates and young people getting less and less out of education than ever before.
01:56Striving for the right balance to keep all kids interested and in the classroom.
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