The project implemented enhanced safety measures, as well as education and social support to keep vulnerable children safe during the global pandemic.
Project implemented: March - September 2020
To avoid the entrenched disadvantage that education disruption can cause.
COVID-19 provided the most pressing and complex social and economic challenges faced in Australia in six decades. This project supported those most at risk of negative long-term consequences of education and business disruption.
Junction worked with state and federal authorities to understand health and business requirements/restrictions
Junction implemented innovative models to keep staff safe and support children and young people.
One staff member reflected through the interviews “I had confidence in how the organization was responding”, while another stated that “High standards of communication were maintained”.
The COVID-19 pandemic hit Australia, like all nations, during early 2020 resulting in the closure of schools and businesses; Junction had to respond quickly, adapting its residential care service, which provides out of home care for vulnerable children, to keep kids and staff safe. It implemented increased hygiene measures, provided staff with Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and developed a detailed communication and engagement plan to ensure children and young people in the service felt safe and connected to the outside world. In an environment where 188 countries faced temporarily school closures, disrupting 1.5 billion children, with 10 million of these children unlikely to return to school, Junction swiftly implemented innovative education supports to keep kids engaged with their education, providing iPads and additional support to staff, who had to play the unique role of carers and educators. Junction’s proactive approach allowed the organization to maintain operations during the turbulent period of business closures in South Australia from March to September 2020, with survey data within the organization post shut down showing that 93% felt their team worked well together during the COVID-19 restrictions to support clients.