Summary

CIRCA was contracted by Grosvenor Public Sector Advisory to provide expert advisory services for their Department of Education (Victoria) evaluation of three lapsing programs directed at refugee background early education and school age children. These were:  Learning Beyond the Bell; School Support Program; and Early Years Program.

CIRCA’s role was principally to provide practical expertise and experience on the ground, as well as insights into the providers and the individual organizations’ relationships and network.

CIRCA also provided advice and support on the Program Logic and Evaluation Plan for this work.

The thorough evaluations (x3 Programs) were successfully completed in a limited timeframe and intensive client participation. The evaluation employed a four-step methodology in accordance with the Resource Management Framework 2025 by Victorian Treasury and Finance.

The results were presented both as aggregated outputs as well as specific reports for each funded program.

The findings will be used by VIC Department of Education to propose an extension of the funding for the programs.