There’s exciting things happening at the SCEA Head Office site!
The Swanonline team are busy preparing for their move to their new home in the Railway Parade premises, where they look forward to building community in new ways.
Swanonline operates as a sub-school of Swan Christian College, providing flexible education solutions for students living remotely, pursuing elite sport, managing diverse learning and wellbeing needs, or seeking flexible WACE pathways.
Over the past 2 years, the growth of Swanonline has meant that they will soon be celebrating ‘Student Number 200’ in their current enrolments.
Why would you move just 30 metres from your old office?
“The new space is larger, and it allows the Swanonline team to really diversify its offering to young people,” said Mr Nick Wood (Chief Operating Officer – SCEA) this week.
“The uptake in enrolments recently is a testament to the Swanonline team, but I know that there are areas of expansion that this new space will open for the mission of online learning, particularly in partnering with families more closely and also in pursuing different ways of packaging and delivering lesson content for our families in SCEA.”
The move into a new space will equip the team to continue providing quality Christian education to students and families in need of alternative school solutions.
Mr Simon Bergin, Head of Swanonline, highlights the online campus’s ability to provide tailored educational experiences as one of the keys to their success.
“Parents are searching for an alternative school solution – they come to us because they have a need in their kids’ world,” he says.
Each of their 194 enrolled students is placed into one of three streams: Equip, Encounter, or Engage, creating a focus on specific student goals.
Swanonline’s Encounter stream offers students like Jaxon the ability to balance studies with elite athletic pursuits. This flexible education model allowed Jaxon to continue his passion for athletics and made it possible for him to represent Australia internationally.
For students like Ciara, Swanonline’s Equip stream provides tailored wellbeing support for her as she continues her studies, allowing her to achieve her academic goals in a safe, supportive environment.
Swanonline graduate Nikoletta was part of the Engage stream, focusing on WACE pathways for Year 11 and 12 students. Nikoletta’s time with the online campus made it possible for her to continue her education with the WA curriculum after moving with her family to Greece.
The current student breakdown per stream is shown below:
In addition to in-class support, much of Swanonline’s focus is on re-engaging students with mainstream schooling or assisting with their transition to the workplace.
“We’re here to support students’ education now, but let’s help with their future too,” says Mr Bergin.
So, what does the future of Swanonline look like?
Mr Bergin envisions the new building as an opportunity to increase engagement with the Swanonline community.
“There’s an opportunity for our education assistants to offer more learning support and small group discussion in classes”, he says.
Two new members joined the team in 2024, working alongside chaplains to create learning plans that support students as they navigate peer-to-peer relationships in an online environment.
Swanonline’s desire is to create a relationally rich learning experience like a mainstream school, but deliver it using an online platform.
Stay tuned to hear more about the move, the growth and the future of Swanonline!