Melbourne | 2019
Key Achievements
Key Services
Skyline supports gifted and talented year 11 and 12 students from disadvantaged backgrounds to reach their full potential. Skyline supports them in profound ways by enabling them to strengthen their identity and confidence and by providing opportunities to create lasting friendships and networks, ultimately helping them complete school and expand their post-school options.
“...we felt guilty we may not have been able to help him achieve his dreams” – Skyline parent
To understand the impact of their work, Skyline commissioned us to conduct a Social Return on Investment (SROI) evaluation, which examined the value created from activity undertaken in a typical 2-year period using data from 2017 and 2018. The evaluation found that for every dollar invested in the program, between $9.45 and $13.32 of social and economic value was created. While the program’s application criteria includes demonstrating financial disadvantage, the evaluation also found that the majority of Skyline students experience at least one additional form of disadvantage, with some experiencing up to four. Examples of circumstances reported by students included holding a part-time job, living in a single-parent household, or having a family member with a disability.
“We are able to spend more quality time as a family and able to do some fun things together like go out for tea or go to the movies without worrying that we didn't have the extra money for it” - Skyline parent
In addition to supporting students and their families experiencing hardship, Skyline provides support during one of the critical transition points in education, that is, when students in secondary school are preparing for senior secondary, further education, training or employment. Ultimately, Skyline creates considerable social and economic return as a result of their wrap-around care approach, which provides students the ability to strengthen their self-identity, build confidence, and experience the support of a stable network.
Given students were highly surveyed prior to commencing this SROI project, we used a combination of Skyline data collected from school staff and Skyline parents (proxies for the student) to inform the SROI model. Thus, stakeholder engagement involved parent interviews and a parent survey, and questions answered by companion teachers. An exploration of the value and relative value of the outcomes was explored with students in a validation workshop, which included using a stated preference technique to value outcomes.
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