During the 2007 school year, Melbourne Citymission will be evaluating four of the seven Learning Support Programs (LSPs) it provides in the northern and western suburbs of Melbourne. Learning Support Programs offer out-of-school hours tutoring or homework assistance with the aim of improving educational outcomes for students of all ages.

As part of the groundwork for this study, Melbourne Citymission conducted a mapping survey of community-managed LSPs in northern and western Melbourne in the latter part of 2006. This audit has sought to build on earlier research undertaken by the Refugee Education Partnership Project, which examined learning support for refugee and new migrant students across Melbourne.

This first Melbourne Citymission report documents the profile of learning support programs operating in the northern and western regions; provides an overview of the different service models and assesses the growth of LSPs in the community sector. It provides context for the broader 2007 study and will provide a point of comparison for the four Melbourne Citymission programs being evaluated.

A total of 33 programs took part in the survey undertaken by telephone interview during fourth term 2006. These programs are delivered by 20 different auspice agencies and community support organisations. Enrolments in 2006 totalled over 1,300 students across all ages, with a regular attendance of over 800 students. The majority offer 1 session per week lasting between 1 and 2 hours. Whilst the longest running program commenced in 1992, nearly half the programs have been running for only 2 years.