We have developed a number of holistic and flexible skills development programmes that also accommodate the pace at which our young people are able and willing to progress.

All our programmes have been designed to provide a sense of belonging, to present opportunities to learn new skills and develop personal independence, and with the opportunity for our young people to give back to the broader community.

One of our more popular programmes, which we’ve called Paws Up, builds on the discovery that dogs can help teach our young people life-long lessons in trust, self-discipline and a growth in self-confidence.

Part of BackTrack’s heart and soul, we’re well-known across Australia for our incredible, award winning working dogs and the incredible kids we put alongside them.

The dogs provide our young people with a strong sense of safety and comfort. They are great, lifelong companions: they don’t judge and are great listeners. All of which results in really deep connections forming between our young people and the dogs, which is enormously special to behold.

Other programmes we run focus on skills that might be useful to our young people outside of BackTrack: agricultural and horticultural skills, welding, facbrication work and other construction skills.

Our classroom training runs alongside these programmes and again by removing time pressures and allowing plenty of flexibility in how the learning is delivered, we achieve a lot of breakthrough in literacy and numeracy as our young people feel supported and empowered to learn.

Our girls’ programme focuses heavily on well-being, positive role modelling, and engaging with the local community to help them grow their confidence and we also have a small, but important, residential programme – the Warrah – which offers some of our boys a safe environment where they can relax and learn general life skills such as cooking, cleaning and interacting as a family. Warrah is cultivated from the recognition that if you don’t have shelter and safety, nothing else matters.