That’s the philosophy experts in the Corangamite region will use to turn around the shire’s above average school drop-out rate.

With year 12 attainment figures of 52.5 per cent, Corangamite rates well below the state average of 74.4 per cent and also lags behind the Great South Coast average of 57 per cent.

Corangamite Shire project officer Honor Rahles-Rahbula said the new strategy, part of the broader Beyond The Bell initiative, would target youngsters well before school age.

“It starts from pre-birth. Corangamite on average has quite a low birth weight and people with a low birth weight have been shown to be more likely not to finish school,” she said.

“So what we’re aiming to do is educate mothers from that early stage about things like smoking and drinking during pregnancy.”

Ms Rahles-Rahbula said those who didn’t finish school would find it much more difficult to find employment, which in turn had a negative effect on the shire’s economy.

“One of our main focuses is the early years, so we need doctors involved, hospitals involved and maternal child and health nurses involved,” she said.

“We want to turn the figures around and we’re trying to work out the best way to do that.”

Beyond The Bell, an initiative of the Great South Coast Group, aims to encourage a cultural shift in the way young people are supported. Corangamite has developed its own plan for change, which it will officially launch later this month.

The strategy will call on the shire’s existing organisations and community groups and take a collective approach to the issue.

“We could work on the transition from primary to high school, which can be where students lose interest,” Ms Rahles-Rahbula said.

“We also want to increase workforce readiness for students and introduce the idea of having mentors.”

Parents’ own attitudes to school could also influence their children. “A lot of parents haven’t finished school themselves, whether they have had a bad experience or something like that, so it’s about working with them and educating them,” Ms Rahles-Rahbula said.

The action plan’s launch will bring together school principals and other interested parties. The strategy will be launched on July 22 at Camperdown’s Killara Centre.