Leaps & Bounds is a Department of Education & Training facility, set up to assist students to bring about a positive change to their lives. The facility is staffed by a team of passionate, committed and experienced educators and enjoys the support of the wider educational community.

Leaps & Bounds is located in the grounds of Bayswater Secondary College, with access from Neal Street. Leaps & Bounds consists of 2 mod-5 relocatable classrooms, a lock-up garage for storage of the school mini-bus, as well as a number of garden sheds. Leaps & Bounds also owns and administers the High and Low Challenge Ropes Course. This facility includes a relocatable site office, so that outside groups can utilise the ropes course with minimal interference to the Leaps & Bounds student program.

Since 1982 this alternative setting had existed in a number of sites as the Maroondah Teaching Unit, Ringwood TU and the Boronia TU. In 1993 it moved to Heathmont and adopted a more regional name as the Eastern Teaching Unit. This was in turn changed to the Student Development Centre – Heathmont. Originally, it was set up to help secondary school students who were experiencing learning difficulties. Some of these students also displayed behaviour problems. Today it focuses solely on adolescents who have displayed severe social and emotional problems in mainstream schools. While some have difficulties because of school refusal or depression, others have shown violent or criminal behaviour.

Students attend Leaps & Bounds for an initial 10-week period. Their progress, in regard to their Individual Learning Plan, is assessed and the Regional Placement Committee is then able to extend their placement, if needed. Although the students initially attend Leaps & Bounds on a full time basis, they remain enrolled on the books of their home school.

Leaps & Bounds provides a caring environment where students can develop behavioural management strategies, as well as social and academic skills that will help their successful integration into either a mainstream school, an alternative educational setting or into the workplace.

The staff at Leaps & Bounds provide a series of professional development activities aimed to assist in the delivery of quality educational opportunities in mainstream schooling.