Sophia Mundi aims to create a positive school culture that is fair and respectful. Particular focus is placed on establishing positive and respectful relationships, particularly between teachers and students and establishing a learning community that provides multiple and diverse opportunities for students to experience success. Positive relationships with teachers are important for students. A key strength of the Steiner pedagogy is its recognition of students as individuals. Sophia Mundi acknowledges and values the diversity of its student population as central to creating a positive and inclusive school culture. Engagement and wellbeing strategies are incorporated into the school ethos and curriculum so students are more likely to attend school and participate in a meaningful way.
Students learn effectively in environments in which they feel safe and supported and where their teachers have high expectations for their learning. Sophia Mundi has a respectful whole-school behaviour management approach. This is based on pro-social values, social competencies, incentives and positive peer relationships. Teamwork and respect are core values of the school philosophy. Sophia Mundi has clear expectations of individual responsibility to foster positive relationships among students.
Continuity of the class teacher for the primary years and close teacher cooperation and teamwork during the secondary and senior school years minimises student anxiety, increases resilience and ensures students transition successfully between year levels. It also enables Sophia Mundi teachers to better know their students and understand their learning needs. They are able to adapt current pedagogical knowledge and thinking and apply it in different ways, so that each student is engaged in meaningful learning experiences.
Sophia Mundi has adopted The Victorian Essential Learning Standards (VELS), which includes the learning domain of Physical, Personal and Social Learning. VELS encourages students to work with others, and to take greater responsibility for their own learning and participation at school.
So that students feel valued and empowered, Sophia Mundi encourages active and meaningful student participation. This means input of ideas, opinions, knowledge and experiences throughout education and provides students with a sense of ownership of their environment.
Sophia Mundi invites involvement of parents and families to provide an environment that engages them as partners in the education of children and young people. Staff aim to create a welcoming culture for families and together we aim to foster high parent/family expectations for the school’s performance for their children.
Keys to successful partnerships with parents/families include:
Sophia Mundi’s Student Engagement Policy includes preventative and early intervention strategies to support student engagement and address individual barriers to learning. Prevention strategies are designed to reduce any risk factors that may contribute to attendance or behavioural issues. They are based on the school’s knowledge of the community and students’ needs and therefore provide a solid platform for inclusive educational provision. To ensure proper care, safety and protection of its students Sophia Mundi has a Child Protection policy.
Effective early intervention strategies enable early identification of vulnerable students and those at risk of disengagement from school. Early intervention is focused on groups that are at higher risk of harm or disengagement from education, and aims to improve their resilience through effective and appropriate support. Strategies are targeted at students displaying inappropriate coping skills, stress reactions, depressive symptoms and other personal and social vulnerabilities.
A comprehensive understanding of the whole-school community and of the wellbeing and/or learning issues that students may be experiencing provides the foundation for an inclusive and positive school culture.
Sophia Mundi has a Welfare Officer to support class teachers and class guardians in responding to individual students who require additional emotional assistance and support.
For students with special needs, special programs are planned that can involve whole school structures as well as classroom based approaches. Program support groups including the parent/carer may be formed to develop individual learning plans – a document which links the specific needs of the student to our curriculum.
Linking with the local community gives Sophia Mundi access to an extended network of community members and professionals and educators who can provide expertise and experience that can build the capacity of schools and teachers to respond to the needs of their students.