Next Step Pathways

24/12/2025

Merry Christmas 🎄

24/11/2025

A team effort 🌱

26/10/2025

We are currently supporting some of our young people to get their Cert II in Engineering Pathways, which will be an amazing Next Step 👣

‘Our’ kids enjoy the project based learning approach, however some due to learning difficulties and other complexities, can find the theory side overwhelming. I can personally relate as a hands on learner.

I stumbled across this little gem in the HENS (Home Education Network) newsletter. https://www.naturalreaders.com/index.html

I opened the course on the right of the screen and NaturalReader on the left (with the help of tech savvy daughter 🤯). You copy and paste the text from one to the other, choosing voice, accent etc. It reads the text out loud, and you can follow it through illustrations, diagrams etc.

You only get 5mins for free daily before it hits you up for payment, but could be a huge help for $10/month. It’s only about $70 if you’re a HENS member.

Not a massive AI fan here, but there’s no avoiding it…. And can be a useful tool for learning.

NaturalReader: Free Text to Speech for Online, Mobile App, Commercial license and Education with AI voices.

12/09/2025

Getting constantly told you’re not good enough, in a system that fails to adequately support so many young people…. HE GOT A JOB!!! 🙌😁💪🎉

He’ll be working as a Trade Assistant for a Fitter & Turner, working on farm machinery.

The smiles and sense of achievement were incredible yesterday 🥹

Well done Thomas, show up and do your best 👣

08/09/2025

It’s a family gig! Teaching his biggest fan (AKA our slightly begrudging 14yr old daughter) how to mass produce things using a jig.
Do a test run, set up everything to secure it and keep it in square, cut up everything to length, and go….. x 20!

These were plant trestles, destined to be sold as part of Adelaide Hills Vegie Gardens water wise garden solutions 🌱

21/08/2025

The Next Steppers will eat well today 😋
Our 12yr old homeschooler has never been a fan of forced reading or traditional bookwork…. So we don’t push it in the conventional style.
Todays lesson- Beef Empanadas….
Give her a recipe, ingredients and tools, and she’s off - maths (measuring/diving), science (using equipment), English (reading recipes), art (arranging/presentation), humanities/languages (where did they originate from), health (slightly questionable with the pastry 😉 but packed with healthy, organic ingredients within). Socialisation (which everyone panics about for homeschoolers)- serves food to her peers whom she’s not familiar with.
School for today. Tick ✅

16/08/2025

Next Step was fully booked this week, Ash didn’t down tools until after 8pm last night after running an after hours session.
The footy is on, and he’s zoned out on his day off…. But 👇 this kid’s been saving his bday and work money to buy himself a better welder after some coaching, & wants to chat.
This young person is all about the welding, he takes home all of his practice welds, and they live on his bedside table so he can see them night and day!
He confides about the hard time he has fitting in at school, socially and academically, but leaves with a new sense of purpose after each session.
He’s always improving, he is enough….. and he’s going to be so excited to bring in his new welder for his next session!

And that’s what it’s about 👣

24/07/2025

As I delivered some morning tea just now, our awesome young person is busy practicing his up-hand fillet welds with an arc welder.
Not bad! 👣

23/07/2025

Next Step Pathways offer a relaxed, friendly environment to learn trade level skills in Metal Fabrication.

Ash has 30+ years experience in the industry, and a fantastic rapport with youth, making him the ideal mentor to assist young people to take their Next Step in life towards employment, apprenticeship and beyond.

With sessions running 2 days per week, we cater for homeschoolers, those disengaged from school, young people with complexities, and some more mature persons who are interested to have some skills to use on their farms/ properties/ workplace.

Based in our home workshop in Williamstown, we currently have some session times available, so please message the page for details 👣

23/06/2025

Amazing!

30/05/2025

We had a lovely young lady join our team today. 16yrs old, NEVER welded in her life….. from nervous to excited giggles, she did 1.92m of welds, & didn’t blow a single hole 🙌💥

Pics in order of progress - amazing!! 👨‍🏭