1 School profile statement
Learning and Growing Together
Our purpose is to provide a consistent, student- centred approach to learning underpinned by the nine values for Australian schools.
We work collaboratively to create a supportive, needs-based learning environment which is:
- Challenging
- Stimulating and
- Reflective
The Nine Values For Australian Schools
Care and Compassion
Care for self and others
Doing Your Best
Seek to accomplish something worthy and admirable, try hard, pursue excellence
Fair Go
Pursue and protect the common good where all people are treated fairly for a just society
Freedom
Enjoy all the rights and privileges of Australian citizenship free from unnecessary interference or control, and stand up for the rights of others
Honesty and Trustworthiness
Be honest, sincere and seek the truth
Integrity
Act in accordance with principles of moral and ethical conduct, ensure consistency between words and deeds
Respect
Treat others with consideration and regard, respect another person’s point of view
Responsibility
Be accountable for one’s own actions, resolve differences in constructive, non-violent and peaceful ways, contribute to society and to civic life, take care of the environment
Understanding, Tolerance and Inclusion
Be aware of others and their cultures, accept diversity within a democratic society, being included and including others
Character is destiny
— George Eliot
Student Engagement and Wellbeing
To provide a stimulating learning environment that fully challenges students in their learning and fosters positive wellbeing and resilience.
· Build well being and success for all learners.
100% of students make at least a gain of 1.00 VELS level every 2 years in literacy, numeracy and personal learning.
· Improve the integrated use of ICT in teaching and learning.
100% of students at or above the expected level on the Skipton P.S elearning continuum.
We pride ourselves on the safe, caring environment that we create for our school community. Our students have voice and know that they are listened to, valued and that action is taken in response to their needs. Students are comfortable within our school and have a love of life and learning that is a joy to be a part of.
We are thrilled with our 2008 and 2009 Students Attitudes to School data which sets a wonderful tone for our whole school. Our older students take their leadership seriously and play a remarkable role in looking after their younger peers. We believe that everyone is a leader and we use the acronym: LEAD –Listen-Encourage-Act –Deliver
Our goal is to create an engaging collaborative environment by embedding information and communication technology across the curriculum. The use of ICT as a tool for learning underpins our learning environment.
Skipton Primary School prides itself on being an active community committed to daily exercise and healthy living. We are actively involved in the Active After School Communities Program and have a daily whole school physical education and sporting program. All staff members play an active ongoing role in our sporting programs and AASC as well as having a balance of outside providers in to run a variety of programs. We provide a varied sporting menu for our students which includes an intense swimming program and swimming sports, cross country, winter sport program of netball, football and tee-ball, golf, athletics and super eights cricket.
We have an outstanding Camping Program, which begins in Year Prep and One with the students’ Prep/One Activity Day. This is a theme day where the students participate in special activities.
The first overnight camp occurs in Year 2 when the students go to our local Homestead Mooramong. This is an ideal camp in our immediate locality.
Our year 3 and 4 students alternate a country camp with an urban camp and this varies from year to year. The students attend camp for three days.
In year five and six our students alternate between their tour to Tasmania and Canberrra. The McKinnon Trust subsidises the 5/6 tour each year, which is an amazing contribution to our school.
We believe that we have a culture where all learners are encouraged to take responsibility for their own learning and set their individual learning goals.
Our reflective culture allows us the opportunity for self-reflection and feedback on how we are going and to use this data to establish where we need to go next. All learners are expected to have SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, Timely) goals and to be given the appropriate challenge and support to allow the successful achievement of these goals.
Our learners write their own individual learning plan by establishing their learning goals for the next semester.
We believe that appropriate challenge is the key to success. Our learners tell us that they want to feel challenged. Knowing what is an appropriate challenge for individual students is one of the keys to learning success. It is a fine balance and again relates to how well we know our learners. Structuring learning tasks to provide appropriate challenge and ensure learning improvement is one of our key challenges.
2 Whole-school prevention statement
At Skipton Primary School we aim to build well being and success for all learners.
We pride ourselves on the safe, caring environment that we create for our school community.
Wellbeing of students continues to be a priority in our school and we know that the success that our learners experience is the critical factor in their wellbeing.
The teaching of values is an important component of school life through an environment where appropriate interactions are the norm in our culture and underpinned by the values for Australian Schools.
Our students have voice and know that they are listened to, valued and that action is taken in response to their needs.
Our reviewer stated:
There is a lot to celebrate here.
Interesting and purposeful learning within a caring environment is evident. Extra curricula programs, camps and excursions, sport, music and choirs and the use of ICT in the curriculum all contribute to a stimulating learning environment. Students I talked to were enthusiastic about the school, their learning, friends and aspects of the school environment.
School Improvement Strategies
Strengthen focus on the Values for Australian Schools with students and regularly communicate these values to parents
Utilise Safe Schools are Effective Schools and the Health Promoting Schools Framework
Enhance student input into creating positive classroom environments including class values and consequences for inappropriate behaviours
Strengthen student leadership opportunities and provide student leadership training
Utilise student focus groups to explore attitudes to school and learning
Plan collaboratively to cater for individual learning needs
Build on teaching practices that cater for multiple intelligences and different learning styles to ensure success for all learners
Develop home school partnerships that build common understandings of the school’s approaches to teaching and learning
Enhance the school website to promote the school and its programs and keep parents informed about current school events
Use strategies from Its Not Okay to be Away including communication strategies, rewards and target setting for students with poor attendance
3 Rights and responsibilities
3.1 Guiding principles
Every member of the school community has a right to fully participate in an educational environment that is safe, supportive and inclusive. Everyone deserves to be treated with respect and dignity.
3.2 Equal Opportunity
The Equal Opportunity Act 1995 sets out the types or grounds of discrimination that are unlawful and aims to promote community recognition and acceptance of the equality of men and women, and the equality of people of all races, regardless of their religious or political convictions, their impairments or their age.
Under the act it is unlawful to discriminate against a person on the basis of the following attributes:
· age
· breastfeeding
· gender identity
· impairment
· industrial activity
· lawful sexual activity
· marital status
· parental status or status as carer
· physical features
· political belief or activity
· pregnancy
· race
· religious belief or activity
· sex
· sexual orientation
· personal association (with a person who is identified by reference to any of the above attributes).
3.3 The Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities Act 2006
The Charter sets out a list of 20 rights that reflect the following four basic principles:
· Freedom
· Respect
· Equality
· Dignity
The charter outlines a vision of human rights for all Victorians. The charter affirms that all people are born free and equal in dignity and rights. While the charter demands equality for all, it also emphasises the value of difference. The charter requires public authorities, including government schools and their employees, to act compatibly with human rights and to consider human rights when making decisions and delivering services.
· The right not to be discriminated against
· The right to privacy and reputation
· The right to freedom of thought, conscience, religion and belief
· Cultural Rights
It is important to understand that with human rights comes a responsibility to respect other human rights.
All DEECD employees must act compatibly with the Charter and give proper consideration to human rights when making decisions. Everyone should:
· Encourage compliance with the Charter
· Support others to act compatibly with the Charter, and
· Respect and promote human rights
Part of the monitoring of Human Rights will be to complete the Charter Compliance Checklist on the School Compliance web site.
3.4 Students with disabilities
The Disability Standards for Education 2005 clarify and make more explicit the obligations on schools and the rights of students under the Disability Discrimination Act 1992. The standards cover enrolment, participation, curriculum development, student support services, and harassment and victimisation.
An education provider must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to accommodate a student with disability. An adjustment is a measure or action taken to assist a student with disability to participate in education and training on the same basis as other students. An adjustment is reasonable if it does this while taking into account the student’s learning needs and balancing the interests of all parties affected, including those of the student with the disability, the education provider, staff and other students.
In determining whether an adjustment is reasonable, an education provider should take into account information about:
· the nature of the student’s disability
· his or her preferred adjustment
· any adjustments that have been provided previously
· any recommended or alternative adjustments.
This information might come from the student, an associate of the student, independent experts, or a combination of these people.
An education provider should ensure that the student, or an associate of the student, has timely information about the processes for determining whether the proposed adjustment would cause unjustifiable hardship to the provider. The provider should also ensure that these processes maintain the dignity, respect, privacy and confidentiality of the student and the associates of the student, consistent with the rights of the rest of the community.
The provider may consider all likely costs and benefits, both direct and indirect, for the provider, the student and any associates of the student, and any other persons in the learning or wider community, including:
· costs associated with additional staffing, providing special resources or modifying the curriculum
· costs resulting from the student’s participation in the learning environment, including any adverse impact on learning and social outcomes for the student, other students and teachers
· benefits of the student’s participation in the learning environment, including positive learning and social outcomes for the student, other students and teachers, and
· any financial incentives, such as subsidies or grants, available to the provider if the student participates.
The DDA and the Education Standards do not require changes to be made if this would impose unjustifiable hardship to a person or organisation.
3.5 Bullying and harassment
Definitions
Harassment is any verbal, physical or sexual conduct (including gestures) which is uninvited, unwelcome or offensive to a person.
Bullying is repeated oppression, physical or psychological, of a less powerful person by a more powerful person or group.
Cyberbullying is a form of bullying which is carried out through an internet service such as email, chat room, discussion group, online social networking, instant messaging or web pages. It can also include bullying through mobile phone technologies such as SMS. It may involve text or images (photos, drawings)
Examples of cyberbullying behaviour are:
· teasing and being made fun of
· spreading of rumours online
· sending unwanted messages
· defamation.
Cyberbullying can happen to anyone and the bully can act anonymously if they want. People can also be bullied online by groups of people such as class groups or collective members of an online community.
It is important for the school to provide a safe and friendly environment for students and staff and to encourage care, courtesy and respect for others. All persons have a legal right to protection from harassment under the Commonwealth Sex Discrimination Act and the Victorian Equal Opportunity Act.
The effects of harassment or bullying include
•poor health – anxiety, depression
• lower self esteem
• reduced study performance
• missed classes, social withdrawal
• reduced career prospects
If a student sees another person being harassed or bullied they should tell the person that you witnessed the incident and advise them to report it to an appropriate person. However, if your friend is harassing another person, let them know that their behaviour is unacceptable.
Bystanders who do nothing to stop bullying may be contributing to the problem by providing an audience for the bully
Harassment is usually directed at a person because of their gender, race, creed or abilities. It can be subtle or explicit.
Subtle: (The most common)
They include:
• Offensive staring and leering.
• Unwanted comments about physical appearance and sexual preference.
• Racist or smutty comments or jokes.
• Questions about another’s sexual activity.
• Persistent comments about a person’s private life or family.
• Physical contact e.g. purposely brushing up against another’s body.
• Offensive name calling.
Explicit: (obvious)
They include:
• Grabbing, aggressive hitting, pinching and shoving etc.
• Unwelcome patting, touching, embracing.
• Repeated requests for dates, especially after refusal.
• Offensive gestures, jokes, comments, letters, phone calls or e-mail.
• Sexually and/or racially provocative remarks.
• Displays of sexually graphic material– pornography.
• Requests for sexual favours.
Extreme forms of sexual harassment will lead to criminal prosecution.
Bullying can involve such things as
• grabbing, aggressive staring, hitting, pinching kicking, pushing and shoving.
• publicly excluding a person from your group
• taking or breaking a person’s property
• knocking a person’s books or belongings out of their hands or off their desk
• teasing a person because of their looks
Cyberbullying
Being involved in online spaces – either at home or at school - requires students to behave responsibly. This includes:
· the language you use and the things you say
· how you treat others
· respecting people's property (eg copyright)
· visiting appropriate places.
Behaving safely online means:
· protecting your own privacy and personal information (we used to call it 'stranger danger')
· selecting appropriate spaces to work and contribute
· protecting the privacy of others (this can be sharing personal information or images)
· being proactive in letting someone know if there is something is 'not quite right'. At home this would be a parent or carer, at school a teacher.
If you are being harassed or bullied you should:
· Tell the person you don’t like what they are doing and you want them to stop.
· Discuss the matter with a student leader or a teacher/coordinator that you feel comfortable with.
Your concerns will be taken seriously. All complaints will be treated confidentially.
