From the Principal
From Matt Bentley, Head of Teaching and Learning
Shining Light on Student Voice
Student voice matters. Last year it was something that I said I was passionate about in my profile in Redlands Life magazine. Why? For me, student voice is important because it brings with it so many benefits to our students as learners and citizens in a global community. In our classrooms, it plays a crucial role in creating and maintaining a positive learning environment and culture. We also know that one of the benefits of listening to and acting on student voice is that it increases levels of student engagement. On a broader level, there is a burgeoning body of educational research that tells us that there is a high level of correlation between schools that have strong levels of student voice and healthy levels of student wellbeing.
That’s why at Redlands we’ve made increasing student voice a school-wide priority.
Fortunately, we already have a strong foundation on which to build student voice. While the School’s motto Luceat Lux Vestra, or let your light shine, certainly embodies the esprit de corps of student voice, in more recent years it has successfully been captured in the Redlands Learning Platform or RLP. As our teaching and learning framework, the RLP clearly articulates our educational philosophy which is to develop each student’s unique potential whilst also acquiring distinctive learner attributes and dispositions so that our students become active and life-ready citizens in today’s increasingly complex global world. At its core, our RLP also recognises the value of what each student brings to their learning as well as the importance of enabling each student’s voice.
In the past six months, one way that we’ve begun increasing our focus on student voice is through our Student Voice Surveys. The survey, which was completed by all students from Yrs 5-12, allowed staff to listen to what our students had to say about their learning. Teachers and teams have reflected on what our students said and have been developing strategies, some individually, others collectively within their Year Groups and Departments to improve aspects of our classroom practice. Some have been focusing on creating more engaging openings to classroom lessons. Some have been developing better and more effective ways to share feedback with their students. And still, others have been taking a more deliberate and purposeful approach to closing their lessons so that students grasp core concepts and develop a mastery of the content. It has been exciting to see the positive impact that turning up the dial on student voice is beginning to have for our students.
Of course, there are many other ways we are enacting student voice. Ms Deb Thomas from Redlands House and Ms Trudi Hepers from Yr 2, who are part of a whole school Student Voice Project team, are using picturebooks such as The World Needs Your Voice: Say Something and Cay and Adlee Find Their Voice in their classrooms to increase student awareness of voice and agency. And a fortnight ago our Principal, Mr Webber noted the agency and inspiring leadership of our students involved in the Junior and Secondary School assemblies. On a personal note, for me, one of the most authentic and powerful examples of student voice at Redlands occurred in 2020 when many of our Yr 12 students took to one knee to demonstrate their support of the Black Lives Matter following the killing of George Floyd.
This year I’m looking forward to listening to and acting on what our students are telling us about what matters – whether it be in our classrooms, our playgrounds, our performance spaces, our sports fields or more broadly within the Redlands community. Student voice can be a powerful enabler of deep learning and student wellbeing – not just at school but at home too.
Matt Bentley
Head of Teaching and Learning (P-12)
Photo caption: Students let their light shine at the Theatresports Competition, held yesterday evening in the Fahl Garden in front of a very appreciative parent audience.