Innovative approach to education

With their innovations in alternative education models, The BUSY Group (BUSY) is changing young people’s lives in Australia. The mission of BUSY is to also drive educational change in the UK, New Zealand and Canada, developing new approaches to learning that draw on evidence-based approaches.

BUSY recognise that young people who are disengaged from traditional education can be supported to complete their education with an alternative approach and go on to be successful in their career paths. Supporting marginalised groups has always been a crucial driver and The BUSY Group’s approach, building bridges between education and the world of work, will continue to break the cycle of deprivation for families and communities across the world.

BUSY are working with commissioners across the UK, helping them to develop solutions that begin to address the challenges posed by the growing number of students who have become disengaged and disillusioned with education and need support completing school and transitioning to work.

The challenges facing the UK's education sector

BUSY's experience in innovating for success

The insights BUSY Group bring to the sector

The challenges facing education in the UK

  • In 2023/24, the number of permanent exclusions in England’s primary schools increased by 35% to more than 500, and in secondary schools by 35% to over 4,000.
  • In the same period, 1.6 million children (that’s 19.2% of all pupils) were recorded as persistently absent from school (missing 10% or more of school sessions).
  • The Sutton Trust report that, ‘In 2023, just over 25% of disadvantaged pupils achieved grades of 5 or above in their English and Maths GCSEs – less than half of that achieved by students from financially stable households.’
  • Across the UK, 36% of pupils have been diagnosed with anxiety and 28% with depression, and over 97,000 children are now in elective home education because their parents don’t see mainstream education as capable of meeting the needs of their children.
  • The challenges young people face in navigating mainstream education carry forward beyond school. Over half a million young people aged 16-24 are currently not in education, employment or training, up 77,000 from last year, and the Sutton Trust calculate that children in receipt of Free School Meals are twice as likely as others to fall into this NEET category.
Two smiling individuals dressed in navy and white uniforms stand side by side. One has headphones around their neck. The background features yellow panels with faint black-and-white images of people, with support by The BUSY Group.

BUSY’s innovative approach

In Australia, The BUSY Group’s focus on wellbeing, mental health and personalised support to meet student needs has seen remarkable outcomes. This bespoke approach to supporting the educational needs of young people, aligned to a tireless drive to support the transition to work, has proven hugely successful.

  • The BUSY School has an 80% sustainment rate across all our schools.
  • 84% of our sustaining pupils transition to work, further education or training.
  • Approximately 9 in 10 parents agree that their young person has a stronger sense of purpose after attending The BUSY School.
A group of students in school uniforms are seated and standing in a corridor with a bright yellow and blue wall featuring the phrase Make Every Day. The students appear relaxed as they pose for the photograph, with support by The BUSY Group.

The insights BUSY bring to the sector

BUSY will use its expertise and learning from across the world, developing a community of practice to shape educational support in the UK.

The educational philosophy underpinning our range of interventions to break down barriers for disengaged students focus on:

  • Developing a trauma-informed approach.
  • Actively preparing students for the world of work.
  • Providing relevant curriculum, centred around quality-first teaching and functional skills in English and Mathematics.
  • Identifying the right vocational approach for each pupil.
  • Providing mentoring to support the transition to employment for all pupils.


BUSY aims to co-produce solutions with local authorities and commissioners across the UK, using evidence-based expertise to establish schools that can address the following key agendas:

  • Re-engagement
  • Attendance
  • Exclusions
  • Elective home education
  • School refusal
  • Post 16 NEET interventions
  • Services that bring together employability, mental health and wellbeing support
  • 16-24 EHCP’s
  • Breaking the cycle of deprivation for families
  • Internships, work experience, traineeship and apprenticeship models of support.
  • Offers that bring in community and family as part of a collegiate learning approach.
Learn more about The BUSY School: