BackTrack keeps kids alive, out of jail and chasing their hopes and dreams. Based in Armidale NSW, they support vulnerable young people (aged 12 - 25 years old) who face complex, intersecting barriers to participating in mainstream education, training and employment. A key focus of BackTrack is their Core Program, which is designed for young people predominantly aged 12 - 18 years old. BackTrack know that one of the most significant risk factors that makes a young person vulnerable to contact with the criminal justice system, incarceration and long-term unemployment is disengagement from education and training. The young people BackTrack supports are 100% early school-leavers who have complex learning and welfare needs that have marginalised them from mainstream education settings. Accordingly, they provide a genuine alternative environment which provides a skill-based learning (focused on the practical application of literacy and numeracy in a wide variety of settings, from the classroom to the welding workshop to the paddock) and a Record of Achievement (RoSA) pathway.   The program also offers hands-on vocational training across agriculture and farming, horticulture and natural resource management, animal care, dog training, metalwork and woodwork, and mechanics and accredited training (such as white cards, skill sets and machinery operation), delivered in partnership with local Registered Training Organisations

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Waratah Education Foundation supported the Core Program