The Cheltonian

School Council News

Hello to everyone from School Council and welcome to Term 4!

 

As you may be aware, one of the major projects School Council is undertaking this year is a review of uniform policy and in this edition, we’d like to update you on project's progress. While we knew this would be a big project, it is fair to say we didn’t anticipate just how big and complex the review would need to be! As a result, the project timeline is now longer than originally planned, but it is important that we take the time to get things right.

 

Aim of the review

The aim of the project is to review uniform options and related policy, looking at: 

  • Fit for purpose, including Health and Safety requirements
  • Enabling and respectful for all forms of diversity
  • Considerate of influence on student inclusion, health and wellbeing
  • A uniform that students are happy to wear, whilst engendering a sense of school pride and identity 
  • Comfortable to wear, including warm in winter and cool in summer
  • Practical and hard-wearing, providing quality and value for money 
  • Ethically sourced and environmentally sound
  • Representing the college positively within the community
  • Ensuring engagement and voice from the school community in the review process
  • A policy that is easy to follow and implement

The main challenge of the review is to find the best balance of these many factors.

 

The process to date

So far, project activity has included:

  • Project scoping and framework development
  • Comprehensive online surveys to students, parents and staff
  • Survey response analysis, informing agenda for parent focus groups
  • 3 x focus group sessions with approx 8 parents per group, representing different year levels 
  • Student focus group, via SRC
  • Synthesis of survey and focus group findings
  • Consultation with uniform supplier 

 

What have we heard?

The feedback we’ve received has been very diverse, covering a very wide spectrum of preferences, priorities and considerations. Some of the key findings include:

  • 95% of parents and teachers agree that uniform should be compulsory and that it provides a sense of pride when worn. Student opinion varies on this, with 44% agreeing with a compulsory uniform. 
  • The majority of parents, teachers and students agree that the uniform should not be more formal, with strong preference across the board for comfort to be prioritised over formality.
  • There was also a majority view that there shouldn’t be different uniforms for different year levels.
  • There was strong indication of willingness to pay a bit extra if it meant better quality and fit, eco-friendly and ethically sourced uniform options. 
  • Lots of feedback was received on sports uniforms and active-wear options, including footwear.
  • Comfort (particularly warmth) has come through as a common theme. 
  • Important feedback on the influence of uniform on student confidence, participation and mental health and wellbeing
  • Considerations of branding to promote school identity and pride

Next steps

  • We are now at the stage of working with our uniform supplier to develop uniform concept designs, for further consultation with the school community. We’ll be in touch again in the near future with an update on this.
  • Once uniform concepts have been validated, we will move to consultation on the policy that will underpin the wearing of these uniform options.
  • We expect to finalise the review process by the end of Term 1 2023, to ensure our uniform supplier can commence the phase-in of any uniform changes from 2024.
  • Please note that selected uniform components may be introduced during 2023, ahead of full implementation from 2024. Please note also that families will be able to transition to any uniform changes over an extended period of time. 

Thank you to all the students, parents/guardians and staff who have contributed to the review so far. We look forward to engaging with you further as we move through the next steps.

 

To find out more or get involved with School Council, contact Andrew (President) at andrew.hall2@education.vic.gov.au

 

To engage with the wider school community, join the Chelt community on Facebook www.facebook.com/groups/cheltsecfamily