Deputy Principal's Report

Our School Values in all Aspects

As part of our ongoing commitment to creating a safe, inclusive, and nurturing environment for all our students, we wanted to take a moment to highlight how our nine school values are embedded in every aspect of school life. These values, along with our school rules and consequences, serve as the foundation for supporting the academic development, wellbeing and safety of every child in our care.

We strive to create an environment where every member of our community including our students, parents and teachers feel valued, respected and accepted for who they are. 

Student Persepctive

When planning classroom activities, group projects, and peer interactions, we encourage students to celebrate diversity and embrace each other's differences. Our approach involves using a process called "Universal Design for Learning," which aims to increase access for all types of learners at a whole class level, including those with diverse academic, physical and behavioural needs.

We know that all students may need support in managing big feelings and we encourage a community-wide inclusive approach. It's important to recognise that navigating these emotions isn't easy for all our students, and they need our love and understanding as they learn to regulate their emotions. While we prioritise child safety above all else, we're also mindful of other students who may feel uneasy during this process. 

Ensuring the safety of our students is our top priority, and we have comprehensive measures in place to safeguard their wellbeing:

• Cyber Safety: We educate students about the importance of safe internet usage and provide resources and support to address online safety concerns.
• Classroom Safety: Our classrooms are structured to provide a secure learning environment where students feel comfortable expressing themselves and engaging in discussions. School Rules and consequences are explicitly taught and are consistant from Prep to Year 6.
• Playground Safety: Supervision protocols and safety guidelines are implemented to minimise risks and ensure that students can engage in games and activities in a safe manner. Anything that does occur outside of these guidelines are recorded and managed according to the individual situation.
• Student Feedback - Ripple: We are intriducing a student feedback platform called Ripple this year.  Students have the opportuntiy to speak up about any safety concerns they may have on a daily basis, ensuring that their voices are heard and acted upon promptly.

We collect regular data on playground behaviour and student wellbeing and we use this to provide support where needed. One example of this is providing extra adult supervision during high-risk times such as on the playground. These plans change as the needs of our students develop over the year. We strongly encourage your feedback as a crucial part in identifying these times, so please don't hesitate to get in touch if you have any concerns.

Parent Perspective

We warmly welcome parents from diverse backgrounds and actively involve them in school activities, events and decision-making processes. We understand that parents may sometimes need support from the community, whether it's a friendly check-in, a comforting cup of tea on a tough day, reminders of upcoming events, information delivered in various ways and languages or assistance in navigating their child's feelings at school. We are always striving for ways we can improve our culture of inclusivity with our parent community so please feel free to suggest any ideas you may have. We also want to explore connecting parents with similar needs through parent information and development nights. Please get in touch is this is something you might be interested in.

Staff Perspective

We celebrate the diversity within our staff. We have people from all walks of life and experience working with us, with their own set of skills, experience and passions to share. Our staff members undergo training and professional development to promote inclusivity, equity, and diversity in the classroom and beyond. 

We take pride that our feedback on being an inclusive community is an identified area of strength at St Finbar's. We are always open to ideas on how we can sustain and strengthen this. Thank you for your continued partnership in nurturing a positive and supportive community, where every child feels valued and empowered to succeed.

Peggy McDonald & Steele Anderson

Deputy Principals