Creating change in your school

Click on the following headings to read more about…

What is a whole school approach?

What is a whole school approach and how can you make it work in your school? It takes you through different processes that can be taken to achieve this, such as:

  1. Policy development,
  2. Professional learning,
  3. Inclusive curriculum,
  4. Student support and
  5. Including the boarder school community.

Creating a whole school approach

Knowing things is great, but making them happen is even more satisfying and beneficial!
There are 10 ideas on this page (yes, another document with 10 steps!) to take you through the process of learning about your school and creating change, as well as some practical tips from a teacher at Aquinas College.

Legislation, policies and frameworks

This page lists many important documents that you need to know about, from frameworks, to policies, to law. This includes information for government and non-government schools, health and well being information, privacy, equal opportunity and whole school programs. There are ‘must know’ documents here, so this section is definitely worth looking at.

A sample school policy

This is an example school policy that you can use or adapt in your school. Kew High School has also kindly shared their school policy on this website which can be viewed here.

Identifying school needs (Links below to the following documents –PDF/Word)

There are some checks that you and your students can do to see what your school is already doing, and what you can do even better. These include (Please click on the link to open the document):

  • Sexual Diversity School Audit (Latrobe University)
    • “Changing the culture of a school is a large project… this document offers a tool for checking the progress of your school from time to time… you can do it informally with other staff members or schedule it for formal discussion at a school council or staff meeting… it provides opportunities to think about short, medium and long term goals and action steps to make your school a safe place for all students.”
  • All staff questionnaire
    • “This questionnaire was developed by the Gay and Lesbian Youth Project as a basic tool to gauge staff views and experiences of homophobia in the school. The questionnaire should not replace the ARCSHS Sexual Diversity School Audit … however, can be used as a basic starting point.”
  • Library Audit
    • “Imagine never reading a story or seeing a TV show or movie that reflected it was ok to be yourself.
      By conducting this audit of the books and resources available in your school library, your school will be able to highlight whether it is responsive to the needs of the same sex attracted young people or those exploring their gender identity.”
  • Sexuality and homophobia school audit – for students
    • “every student had the right to feel safe at school, and the get the support when they need it. This questionnaire has been designed to find out from students how supportive their own school is for students who are attracted to people of the same sex.”
  • Questionnaire & focus group - for students
    • This is a resource from “Aquinas College, a catholic secondary school in the eastern metropolitan region, (who) developed their own process to assess the needs and experiences of students in the school in terms of same sex attractedness.
      The process involved both past and present students to ensure a full spectrum response.
      Finding out what students felt about the issue of homophobia and bullying and the school’s response to this, as well as how well same sex attracted young people were supported in the school, seemed to be an important first step in developing a plan of action.”