STEPP at Ipswich TAFE

2011 August STEPP at Ipswich TAFE
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STEPP Program
Bremer Institute of TAFE

The Bremer Institute of TAFE’s Studying, Training and Effective Parenting Program (STEPP) brings together teenage mums sharing the same unique parenting and education pathways, creating bonds and support networks unlike mainstream learning frameworks. The unique framework of STEPP works to combat the stigma surrounding teenage pregnancy experienced by participants in mainstream settings by connecting them with people in similar situations to their own.

STEPP is tailored for young pregnant or parenting women aged between 16 and 18 who have disengaged from mainstream education and want to return to study. The primary aims are to maximise positive experiences for participants so they can engage in education with qualified teachers while continuing to bond with their children in a supportive and safe environment, and to influence positive parenting choices and habits among this high-risk group through life skills, health and parenting sessions and services.

The program combines learning in work preparation, literacy, and numeracy with parenting support in one convenient place within the purpose-built STEPP learning centre and adjunct child-care facility at The Bremer TAFE’s Bundamba Campus in greater Ipswich. The adjunct child-care facility also enables three students completing The Bremer TAFE Certificate III in Children’s Services to undertake practical experience in a workplace environment with qualified trainers and child-care professionals who supervise the facility.