Principals Message

Annual Report to the School Community

The 2025 Annual Report to the School Community has now been published on the schools website and is available for families and community members to view.

The Annual Report provides an overview of the work undertaken across the school throughout the year, including student learning outcomes, wellbeing and engagement initiatives, staffing, financial performance, and progress against the goals and targets outlined in our School Strategic Plan and Annual Implementation Plan.

As a Victorian Government school, the report is an important part of our accountability to the community and provides an opportunity to reflect on both our achievements and areas for continued growth and improvement.

Throughout 2025, Trafalgar Primary School continued to focus on building calm, orderly and supportive learning environments, strengthening evidence-based teaching practices, and developing a guaranteed and viable curriculum across the school. We also continued our work in student wellbeing, inclusion, school-wide behavioural expectations, and instructional consistency to ensure every student is supported to learn and thrive.

The report highlights the collective efforts of our students, staff, families, School Council, and wider community. We are proud of the progress made throughout the year and grateful for the ongoing partnership and support of our school community.

We encourage all families to take the time to read the report, which is available via our website and through Compass.

Thank you for your continued support of our school and for your contribution to making Trafalgar Primary School a positive, inclusive and high-performing learning community.

Cameron Nicholls

Principal

Our Behaviour Curriculum- Why Consistency Builds Trust

At Trafalgar Primary School, we believe students feel safest and most supported when expectations are clear, predictable, and consistent.

Children quickly learn whether boundaries are reliable. If expectations change depending on the adult, the day, or the situation, students can become confused or anxious about what is expected of them. Consistency helps remove this uncertainty. When adults respond calmly and predictably each time, students learn that school is fair and dependable.

Our approach is strongly influenced by Running the Room by Tom Bennett, which highlights that consistency is one of the most important parts of building a calm and successful school culture. Students are more likely to meet expectations when they know those expectations will be followed through every time.

This does not mean every situation is treated identically. Staff always use professional judgement and take student needs into account. However, it does mean that the school’s core expectations remain stable and shared across classrooms, playgrounds, assemblies, and school events.

In practice, this might look like teachers using the same routines across classrooms, calmly reminding students about expectations, or following up behaviour in a predictable way. Over time, students stop worrying about where the boundaries are and can focus more fully on learning and relationships.

Consistency is especially important for students who find school more challenging. Predictable routines and responses help reduce stress, build confidence, and create a stronger sense of belonging. Students know what to expect, and that helps them feel safe.

This principle matters at home as well. Children benefit when expectations, routines, and follow-through are consistent across both school and family life. Simple things like regular bedtimes, predictable morning routines, and calm, consistent responses from adults help children feel secure and supported. When school and home work together in this way, students are more likely to develop confidence, self-regulation, and positive habits over time.

When schools and families are consistent, students learn an important lesson: the adults around them can be trusted to be fair, calm, and reliable. This trust is one of the foundations of a positive school culture and strong learning environment.