Lack of funding, staffing levels, teacher training and ongoing COVID-19 impacts were key areas that local educators and families raised in testimony at an inquiry into the state education system on April 16.

In his primary years the 14-year-old had loved school so much he hated going on holidays, his mother told the Victorian parliamentary committee hearing.

But starting at secondary school, he found teaching time was severely limited by staff needing to control students' behaviour.

He was unable to focus and became so unhappy that he didn't want to get out of bed in the morning.

"The school didn't have the ability to manage the students," his mother said.

"Some of the things he was telling me made me quite afraid for his safety."

The boy has since found a place in another local school, which he is finding much better.

His case was one of several that showed a need for flexibility in the education system, witnesses at the hearing, held at the All-Seasons in Bendigo, said.

A young teenage girl who struggled to attend school because of social anxiety was another case in point.

"She was really, really struggling. It can be a safety issue for some students," her mother said.

But after transferring to online study through Virtual School Victoria the girl had "started getting great results" and become more social.

"I think it's an individual thing. I don't think high school fits the real world," her mother said.

The committee heard from Assistant Principal of Bendigo Flexible Learning Options (Bendigo FLO), Britt Holmberg, about the work the Kangaroo Flat school - which is linked to Weeroona College - was doing with around 50 students who have disengaged from other schools for "an array of reasons".

"We are catering for kids who don't fit into high school or qualify for special school," Ms Holmberg said.

The focus was around building trust and relationships, doing outreach into students' homes and providing holistic case management for every student.

A teenager who fronted the committee with Ms Holmberg testified about the success of the program.

"The work is easier", "You're nice" and "We can trust you," she said in answer to questions from the assistant principal.

The FLO school could definitely be expanded, Ms Holmberg said, however, at the moment the schools aren't well resourced.

In Bendigo the facility lacks a playground and even separate toilets for teachers.

"We need better funding for FLOs, that's what we need," she said.

Bendigo South East Secondary College assistant principal Angela Tremain emphasised the ongoing impacts on students of COVID-19 lockdowns.

"Lots of students survived during COVID and lots didn't at all, so for everyone to come back into the mainstream setting hasn't worked for everyone," she said.

"We need to be more flexible."

While Ms Tremain said the problems weren't all about money, funding was on the wish list for Kennington Primary School and Bendigo Deaf Facility principal Travis Eddy, who said his teachers were unable to excel and not all students were getting the support they needed because they were under-resourced and working too hard.

Human resources, administration and mental health support were all needed, Mr Eddy said, and the pressure was reflected in recruitment numbers.

Whereas once the school would receive 100 applications for a job, now it got less than five.

One of his recommendations to the committee was for "proper internships" that taught trainee teachers how to operate in, and manage, the classroom.

The hearing was one of several to be held around regional Victoria by an upper house parliamentary inquiry that is looking at a broad range of issues around the state education system, including student learning outcomes, geographic and socioeconomic disadvantage, the state of the teaching profession and student wellbeing and disengagement.

Bendigo-based upper house MP Gaelle Broad said local schools were facing "immense challenges" and she was concerned about education planning and capacity.

"We have four busy secondary colleges and now Heathcote is calling out for a local college. Bendigo Senior Secondary College is the only public school for students in years 11 and 12 in Bendigo and is already close to capacity with around 1700 students," Ms Broad said.