Pastoral Care & Wellbeing

New EREA VSL Child Safe Commitment and Actions

St Patrick’s College is proud to be a school formed in the Edmund Rice tradition, where the safety, wellbeing and dignity of every young person is at the heart of all that we do. Child safety across our school, and a number of other Catholic schools in the Edmund Rice network, is overseen by Edmund Rice Education Australia – Victorian Schools Ltd (EREA VSL).

EREA VSL has recently released updated Child Safe Commitment and Child Safe Actions documents, which outline the clear expectations and responsibilities that guide our work in ensuring every child is safe and supported within our community. These documents reinforce that the protection of children and young people is everyone’s responsibility – from school leadership and staff to volunteers, families and the wider community.

The documents also highlight the key actions taken across our schools to maintain safe environments, including prioritising the best interests of children, empowering student voice, strengthening partnerships with families and agencies, ensuring safe recruitment practices, and continually improving child safety processes.

We encourage parents and carers to read the documents which outline our shared commitment to ensuring every young person at St Patrick’s College feels safe, supported and able to thrive.

The St Pat’s Way

In 2025, St Patrick’s College staff worked collaboratively to develop a clear and consistent set of behavioural norms and expectations for students. These discussions led to the creation of “The St Pat’s Way”, a shared framework that outlines how we want our classrooms to operate so that teaching and learning can be maximised for every student.

To support the implementation of this approach, the school partnered with classroom management expert Mark Dowley, who worked with staff to strengthen classroom routines and practices that support positive learning environments.

“The St Pat’s Way” focuses on four key elements of classroom practice: Strong Start, Strong Relationships, Strong Focus and Strong Finish. This framework helps create consistent expectations across all classes so that students know what successful learning behaviours look like.

During Term 1, our focus has been on establishing a Strong Start to lessons. This includes students arriving before the second bell, entering the classroom calmly, sitting in their designated seats, and beginning the lesson starter independently. Clear routines at the beginning of lessons help maximise learning time and ensure students are ready to engage from the moment class begins.

We have attached the “St Pat’s Way” framework so that parents and carers can partner with us in supporting these expectations and reinforcing the habits that help students succeed in the classroom.