For almost 20 years, Jesuit Social Services has provided an after-school Homework Club to students in the Flemington region of inner-city Melbourne. Each week, we support dozens of students from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds from primary school age through to VCE, at the Flemington high-rise public housing estate. Many of the families who attend Homework Club are from newly-arrived migrant and refugee backgrounds with varying levels of English literacy.
Homework Club supports children to connect, learn and flourish
Zebiba is a mother of three who speaks English as an additional language. Private tutoring is out of reach for her family, so Homework Club is a crucial support. “It has made quite a big impact because if I can’t help and they’re struggling with maths or English there’s nowhere I could go. There’s no tutoring – financially, I’m stuck.”
Homework Club provided an important sense of support, social connection and continuity during the COVID-19 pandemic. Beyond the weekly tutoring sessions, the program collaborated with Jesuit Social Services’ The Outdoor Experience to run COVID-safe activities for the families in local parks during school holidays. Zebiba said, “[it’s] not just homeworking, but the fact that someone is online with us, and you know, checking on us.”