Homework Hub
CareSouth’s vision to create a positive future for the children and young people we work with every day was a key factor in the development and launch of The Homework Hub two years ago. The weekly program is designed to help students with their school work and also provide a safe space where children and young people, ranging in age from 5 to 18, can meet and develop friendships with others on a similar path to their own.
Volunteer mentors from diverse backgrounds, including a police officer and teaching, social work and psychology students from the University of Wollongong and TAFE, tutor and mentor the students both academically and socially.
The mutually beneficial program gives mentors the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in their chosen field while providing positive educational experiences for vulnerable children and young people.
Homework Hub activities are tailored to students’ needs and include all key learning areas as well as yoga and mindfulness techniques to promote self-regulation. Students are always encouraged to read during each Homework Hub session and are rewarded with a sticker. When they achieve five stickers, students can take home a book of their choice from our library to keep as their own.
The Homework Hub not only improves numeracy and literacy but promotes social engagement by connecting students from similar backgrounds, provides positive role modelling through mentoring, improves emotional regulation using mindfulness and yoga and helps students build capacity and resilience.
An outcomes assessment of the Homework Hub has found that improving confidence, school engagement and life skills leads to better educational outcomes and increased social inclusion. A Social Return on Investment (SROI) study – an outcomes-based assessment using evidence and research to determine the impact of a program against the investment – found that for every dollar invested in the Homework Hub there was a $2 social return, thereby increasing social and economic inclusion for vulnerable students in the long-term.
The Homework Hub is just one of the many ways in which CareSouth goes beyond our core business to create positive futures for children and young people.