From the Leadership Team

A Powerful Partnership

Early this term, Helen Connolly, the South Australian Commissioner for Children and Young People, worked with a group of our Middle Years students.

The role of the Commissioner is to promote and advocate for the rights, interests and wellbeing of all children and young people living in South Australia and to help bring about improvements to the systems that negatively impact on them most.

Her visit gave our students a unique opportunity to be part of her research into wellbeing at school. She asked the group to design their own school: one that responds to their learning and wellbeing needs. While Endeavour staff were not privy to the conversation, we very much look forward to reading Helen’s report on the wellbeing needs of secondary school students.

When Helen Connolly spoke with primary aged children, they reported that their wellbeing is positively influenced when their parents show an interest in what happens to them when they are at school.

My own experience as an educator and advocate for children and young people has shown me that this is also true for secondary school; the relationship between parents/caregivers and the school significantly impacts students' learning and wellbeing outcomes.

So, what does it mean to show interest in your child’s school experiences? Research tells us that it is much more than helping with or monitoring homework. High parental expectations have a much greater impact, and this can look like a shared love of learning and robust chats about your child’s new knowledge and skills. It is also about celebrating your child’s achievements and growth, de-briefing with them when things go wrong and giving them strategies to face those challenges.

A shared language of learning between the school and the home also strongly impacts student achievement and wellbeing.

Endeavour’s learning language is shared at school events such as Learning Conversations, Care Group Connection Evenings, Information Nights and special assemblies and services. When parents and school staff work together to solve problems and plan for growth, this too is a powerful way to work towards our shared expectations.

We all want the same thing, right? 

We want our children and young people to be safe, sociable, and successful when they are at school and in life. When we work in partnership, our children and young people are the beneficiaries of the best support we can offer them.

If you are interested in following Helen Connolly’s work, reading her reports, or accessing free resources designed for parents, visit her website.

Louisa Mulligan

Director of Middle Years

Proverbs 22:6 Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.