Interim Assistant Principle 

The Universal Principle for Aboriginal Cultural Safety

Last Sunday my wife and I went for a drive to a beautiful beach, and on the way we discussed how it is that we like Tasmania so much that, although we came for a short term interim role I have in the school,  we have decided to buy a house and live here permanently! The main reason is because of a sense of CULTURAL SAFETY we experience here. 

Being people who have loved the beach since our childhood, and having lived in Orange,  a place with a similar climate to North West Tasmania, and having mixed with people of a similar demographic, and having found a welcoming church, and having a sense of purpose and call, we very quickly feel like we belong.

Cultural safety is especially important to people who have been misplaced, or who are in a minority. Aboriginal people, for example, have said they feel safe and connected to a culture when: “ I hear the birds singing” or “When I’m fishing”, or “When I’m dancing in a sand circle” or “When I’m hearing stories of my people” or “When I’m painting”.

Leighland Christian School is a subscriber to the Child and Youth Safe Organisations Framework – a collection of 10 Child and Youth Safe Standards that are required of us to ensure a safe culture for all. Overarching these standards is a Universal Principle for Aboriginal Cultural Safety. 

People from every culture need to feel safe in our school, and particularly those from an Aboriginal culture, because of how much that they have lost over the past 200 years. 

In our curriculum, for example, we include affirming statements that Aboriginal people can identify with. 

In my Year 9 Science class for example, when discussing heat transfer, we talked about how Aboriginal people traditionally wore animal skins with the fur tuned on the inside during winter, and on the outside during summer, making use of insulating properties. When discussing spear fishing, we acknowledged they learned to aim their spears above their vision of a fish in the water, to allow for diffraction of light. Using these examples affirms their culture and gives positive messages about the Aboriginal heritage they have. It helps make connections for students who identify as Indigenous.

Cultural safety is not only important to Indigenous students. We hope all students and families feel safe at our school, and have enough cultural connection to know they belong. Students with particular interests feel connected if their teachers use illustrations that connect to those interests. 

This is true for all students, but particularly those on the Autism Spectrum, who tend to have very focused interest areas. If a child loves trains, then we might try to include tasks that involve studying the history of trains, or illustrations about the speed of trains in Maths. Included in these students’ Individual Learning Plans are adjustments each teacher makes to help these students feel culturally safe. 

This is an area in which we can continually improve as we get to know our students more, and understand the cultures and background each child comes from.

Ken Greenwood

Interim Assistant Principal / Child Safety Officer