Theresultsarerepresentativeofarangeofyearlevelsacrossthecollege.

Theimpact- Continued

ThisassessmentisaYear7PastoralCaregroupwheretheteacherwasn’tconfidentinevaluatingthestudentsatthestartoftheyearasshehasonlyknownthemlessthanamonth.

Theteacheraskedthestudentstoself-assess(withsupportasshereadeachofthecriteriawiththestudentsanddiscussedeachdimension).

Thepink highlightsarestudentself-assessmentinMarch.Theyellow highlightsaretheteacherassessmentinOctober.Theteacherdidnothavethestudentresultsforcomparisonatthetimeofassessment.

Aninterestingobservationisthatthestudentsgenerallyassessedthemselveshigheratthestartoftheyearthantheteacherdidattheendoftheyear.

Theimpact- Continued

Observationsandquestionsfromtheresults:

• Inalargemajorityofcasestheteacherswasabletoidentifyanimprovementinallorsomeofthedimensions.

• Istheimprovementinresultsduetostudentmaturity(being9monthsolder),regardlessoftheinterventions?

• Wastherereallyanyconcreteevidencetoassessstudentabilityorskilllevelorwasitmostlyanecdotal?

• Whoshouldbeassessingstudentcharacter?• Arealldimensionsobservableinoneclassroomsituation(inthisinstancebeingPastoralCare

sessions)?• Istheretoomuchtoassessallinonego?Shouldthefocusbenarrowedtooneortwo

dimensionsonly?• Thedatacanbeusedtoidentifystudentswhoappeartohavenotmadeanyprogressormore

importantlytohavegonebackwards.• Teachersrarelymarkedstudentsatthehighestlevelofproficiency– eveninthesenior

classes.• WilltheskillstaughtthroughtheBigLife/SELprogramequipthestudentswiththeskills

neededtoscoreattheproficientlevel?

Otherimpact

a.Student involvement It wasdifficulttogetstudentbuy-intosomethingnewthatwasoutsideoftheircomfortzone.

b.Student requests Those studentswhohaveparticipatedfullyintheprogramarerequestingsessionspriortoclassactivitiessuchasexams.

c.Staff Involvement Aswithallnewinitiatives,therewillbeavarieduptake.Somestaffwerequiteuncomfortabledeliveringthese newtypesofactivitiesandifstudentswerelessthancooperativeitmadeitdifficulttocontinue.ThosewhoperseveredhavereapedtherewardsashavetheirPastoralCaregroup.Somestaffhavedoneitintheirregularclassestohelpsettlethegroupsaftertransitiontimes.

d.Local Serviceclubinvolvement We havehadrequestsfromlocalgroupstocomeandexplain whatwearedoing.Wehopetobeinapositiontoformfurtherpartnershipswithdifferentgroups.

e.Staffbenefits Manystaffhaveemployedwhattheyhavelearntintotheirdailylivesandarebetterabletomanagepersonalstresslevels.

Learners’voices‘IamnowusingmindfulnessbeforecomingtoaclassifIamdoingatestorexam’

‘ItrelaxesmeandstopsmethinkingofallthethingsthathavebeenhappeningsoIcanthinkbetterinclass’

‘BeforespeakingonstagethismorningIdidsomemindfulbreathingsoIcouldfeelcalmandthinkclearly’

‘IhavestartedtodoabitofbreathingassoonasIsitdowntocalmmythoughtsjustbeforedoinganassessmenttask’

‘It’sgoodbutitgetsabitboringifwedoitallthetime’

‘IdiditbeforeahorsecompetitionbecauseIwasreallystressed’

‘Mindfulnessisatimewhereyoucancalmdownandrelaxandgetridofstressfulthoughts’

‘Mindfulnesshelpstocalmyoudownandgetyoufocusedandreadytowork’

‘Ithinkitisawaytomakeyouthinkandbegratefulforyourlife’

‘Iguessit’sOKforsomepeoplebutIthinkit’sboringanditdoesn’tworkforme’

Teacher’svoices– OnCharacterRubric

• Usefultohavethefivecategoriestochoosefrom.Wellexplainedandeasilyuseable.

• VerydifficulttoassessasIampart-timeandonlyhadthisPCgroupfortwoyearsanddonotteachanyofthestudents.

• Reallyhardtoassessagainstthisrubricandgivegooddata.

• Rubricisadequate.

• DifficulttoassessleveragingdigitalduringPastoralcare.

• Didnotliketherubric.Poorlysetoutandtooverbose.

• Moreappropriateforaclassroomteacherwhohasmoreexposuretothequalitiesthataredescribedintherubric.

• Rubricisprobablyusefulbutwouldbemoresignificantinaclass,notaPastoralCaregroup.

Teacher’svoices– OnBigLife/SELVolleyballteacher:‘Wegottheteamofplayerstogatheraroundanddoaquickmindfulbreathingexercise–wethenwentonthecourtandplayedlikeateamthatwasfocusedonwinning.Wewonthegameandprogressedthroughtothefinals!’

Subjectteacher:‘Studentsarenowaskingforamindfulnessexerciseatthestartoftheafternoonclasses– theyarelearningthatithelpstorefocusaftertheirlunchbreak!’

Subjectteacher:‘Studentsarenowappreciatingthebenefitsofhavingtheopportunitytodoa2minutemindfulnessactivitypriortostartingatest– theyareaskingforitifIforget!’

Subjectteacher:‘MyPastoralCareGrouphavestartedbringingalongideasofdifferentwaystorunmindfulnesssessions– myaimistohavestudentssharingtheresponsibilityofrunningthesesessionsatthestartofeveryday.’

PastoralCareLeader:‘Notallstudentstakeitseriouslyorevenhaveagobutthosethatdodefinitelyenjoythetimeandarewillingparticipants.Myhopeistheywillalljoinineventuallyandseethebenefits.’

PastoralCareLeader:‘ExtendedPCtimeisthetimetodomindfulness,noteveryPCmeeting.Thestudentsgetsickofitanditloosesitsmeaningandbenefits.’

Partners’voicesCindyJenkinson-Clarke– SocialWorkerandStudentSupportServicesSchoolscanplayapivotalroleinprovidingstudentswiththeopportunitytogaingreatersocialandemotionalawarenessandtopracticeinterpersonalskills

astheylearnandgrow.

ThepastoralcareprogramatBrauerCollegeisanexcellentplatformtoteachstudentsessentialSEL(SocialandEmotionalLearning)skills.

StudentSupportServices(SSS)WarrnamboolandDistrictNetwork,hadthewonderfulopportunityofproducingaSELresourceforstudentsinYear7-10at

BrauerCollegethroughthepastoralcareprogram. Theresourceconsistedof6modulesandfocusedontheareasof:

Self-awareness, Self-management, Socialawareness, Relationshipskillsand Responsibledecision-making.

PastoralCareLeaders(staff)atBrauerCollege,participatedinfourworkshopsdeliveredbySSSSocialWorkers. Theworkshopsfocusedontheimportanceof

teachingSELinschoolsaswellasspecificallyfocusingonthemodulesandactivitiescontainedintheresource. Staffparticipatedinanumberofexperiential

learningactivities. Thepurposeoftheworkshopswastoempowerstafftofeelconfidentindeliveringthecontenttostudentswithintheirpastoralcare

groups.

JaneBoyle- BeyondtheBell,WarrnamboolCityCouncil“BeyondtheBell”(BTB)representagroupsofpeoplewhohavecometogethertoaddressthelackofeducationaloutcomesin

the“GreatSouthCoast”(GSC).TheGSCregion’sratesofYear12orequivalentcompletionareamongthelowestinVictoriain

factmorethan10%lowerthanmetropolitanVictoria.Ifthecurrenttrendcontinuestherewillbe22busloadsofyoungpeople

aged12-17inWarrnambool,whowillnotcompleteYear12orequivalent.ThisisdespitecompletingYear12orequivalentis

consideredthebestfoundationfromwhichtolaunchasecurefuture.Itisaninternationalbenchmarkrecognisedasthe

minimumeducationneededforfurtherstudyandtheexistingworkforce.Evidenceshowsthatyoungpeoplenotcompletinga

secondaryschoolqualificationarelesslikelytomakeasuccessfultransitiontolongterm,fulltimeemploymentandwillbe

morelikelytobedisadvantagedinlaterlife.

BTBisanambitiousinitiativewhichaimstoidentifyandimplementcommunityactionstoaddressthisissue.Partnersfrom

acrossarangesofsectorsareworkingtogetherasalocalactiongrouptoaddresssomeoftheissues.TheBigLife projectisone

ofthesewhichaimstobuildstrengthbasedpracticesinourschoolstosupportouryouth.

TheprocessofdevelopingABigLifehasbeenhighlyawareofbuildingtheinsightsofourkeystakeholdersintoanywholeschoolframework.Asaresulttheinputofteachers/staff,studentsandparents/carershasbeenveryimportant.Thisyearhasbeena processoftrialingideas,gettingfeedbackandmodifyingbasedonthefeedbackfromourstakeholders.Tothatendwehavehadafluidyear intermsofworkingoutwhatworksforusandwhatislesseffective.Wehaveusedthisfeedbacktofurtherdevelopresources,provide PD forstaffandengagewithparentsaboutourapproach.Therehasalsobeenalevelofengagementwithorganisationsandcommunitygroupsaboutouractivities.TheinputofourkeystakeholdershasbeencriticalinguidinganddevelopingthedirectionforABigLife.Beingabletoallowthisprocesstoevolvehasrequiredustoberesponsiveandnimbleenoughtobuildourapproachaswego.Thekeybenefitofthisapproachhasbeenthatwehavebeenablebegintoembedwholeschool,strengthbasedpracticesusingafairlyorganic,grassrootsframework.Wehopethatthiswillgeneratebroaderconnectionandensurewedevelopthemostrobustandsustainablemodelwecan.

Michael Barling – BigLifeprojectcoordinator

Partners’voicesTheBrauerPastoralCareProgramhasbeenevolvingoverthepastfewyears,wherewehavecreatedameaningfulstudentfocusedprogramforstudentsfromYears7– 12.ThisprogramisaimedatenablingYearLevelCoordinatorstoworkwiththeirPastoralCareTeachersindeliveringtheprograminacoordinatedway.EachYearLevelhasatheme,andmuchofthefocusforactivitiesis arounddevelopingthistheme.Ouraimistosupportstudentswithessentialskillstofeelconnected,resilient&preparedtofacelife challenges.Activitiesareintendedtobeexperiential,andaimedatbuildingskillsinresilience,social&emotionallearning,studyhabits,stressmanagementandmindfulness,whilstalsoteachingaboutpositivementalhealthandpositivepsychologywithage-relevantactivities.RegularPDisprovidedforstaffintheformofworkshopstoenablethemtofeelskilledinthe‘why’wearedoingtheprogram,inadditiontothepractical‘how’wedelivertheprogram.Resourcesarealsoprovided.ThePastoralCareProgramhasbeenliaisingverycloselywiththeBigLifeprogram,astheaimofbothistocontributetotheoverallemotionalandsocialwellbeingofourstudents.Iftheseskillsarewelldeveloped,thenpositiveeducationaloutcomesfollow!Itwilltaketimetoembedthesepracticesintoboththestaffand studentpopulations,butwehavemaderealprogress,andfeedbackfrombothstaffandstudentsisoverwhelminglypositive.Welookforwardtocontinuingtodeveloptheprogramin2016!

KerriMorey– BrauerCollegePastoralCareProgramCoordinator

Whilstweknowfromtheexpertsthatmoreofthisworkisneededinschools,weareonlyjustbeginningtobuildtheskillsandconfidencewithourstafftoenablethemtosupportthedevelopmentoftheseskillsinourstudents.

Wewillcontinuetodevelopandinvestintheprofessionallearningopportunitiesneededtokeepbuildingandbroadeningtheskillsforstaffandstudents.

Wehavemadesignificantprogressin12monthsandlookforwardtocontinuingwithourpartnershipstofurtherdeveloptheBigLife programintothefuture.

11.Finalcomment

12.Credits,acknowledgementsandpermissions

TheWarrnamboolStandardfornewarticles

Permissionshavebeensoughtforallimagesandstudentworkfeaturedinthispresentation.