Student Care and Development

At Canberra Grammar School we know and nurture our students as individuals seeking to inspire, support and celebrate the efforts of all in realising their intellectual, spiritual, cultural, social and physical aspirations. The care of our students can most readily be seen on a daily basis through the affirming and vibrant interactions that take place between themselves and their teachers. Complementing these interactions is the broader support offered by our Campus Directors, Chaplain, School Counsellor, Defence School Transition Aide, Learning Development staff, Deputy and members of the Primary School Leadership Team. All these members of our School community are ready and committed to working with students and their families, addressing matters of importance to them.

Within the Primary School our approach to student care and development stems from a fundamental belief that positive and respectful relationships, knowing and being responsive to the individual children in our care, the setting of high expectations for all, and the development of an international perspective are success factors that underpin our students’ achievement of their potential.

Parental and Community Partnerships

Within our School setting there is a strong feeling of connectedness and belonging. We create genuine partnerships with the caregivers and parents of our students as we value the knowledge they hold of their child and the insights they can provide to ensure successful outcomes. These partnerships are based upon shared expectations, values and respectful communication. Our children, their families and members of the broader community are encouraged to collaborate with us to provide meaningful learning experiences from which our children can flourish.

Knowledge and Respect of the Child

Building upon the knowledge provided by families, our educators forge positive relationships with the children in their care. Through the establishment of constructive relationships, we instil in our students a sense of belonging, connectedness and security. Our educators’ interactions with students are affirming and encourage the child’s views and voice to be heard. Each educator seeks to attune themselves to the children’s feelings, personal attributes, and background while fostering a strong sense of wellbeing. Through the nurture of our students’ positive self-concept our children are enabled to be receptive to learning and to work collaboratively alongside others.

Challenged and Confident Learners

Through the ongoing development of a sense of security and wellbeing our students build upon their innate curiosity to explore new possibilities with courage and forethought, to express their ideas and emotions in constructive and innovative ways, and to form an independent approach to learning that will sustain them throughout their lives. We challenge our children with their learning, applauding persistence, courage and capacity to learn from mistakes. We seek our children to experience the deep satisfaction that comes from undertaking real effort as a mechanism to promote the innate desire to seek-out continuous learning. The children in our care have the capacity to succeed and in partnership with families we seek to optimise their learning potential.

International Perspective

At Canberra Grammar School, we know that the children we educate now are of the world’s first truly global generation. More than any before them, they will live, study and work across cultures and languages in an increasingly mobile and permeable world. Being part of a rapidly changing and globalised world, we prepare our children as future citizens of the world, enabling them to develop an international perspective. We do this by supporting our children to navigate their current life-world and to move their thinking beyond this to explore global issues. With support and encouragement we teach our students to become inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who think beyond their own interests to make a positive influence on the future of the international community.