Pastoral Care & Wellbeing
Strong teacher-student relationships shape the way children think and act in school. When students have a good relationship with their teachers, they are more likely to feel positive about class and school in general. They are also more willing to have a go at hard work, risk making mistakes, and ask for help when they need assistance.
Therefore, it is not surprising that research shows constructive teacher-student relationships have a large and positive impact on students’ academic results.
Whilst every staff member will get to know each child in their care, there are key staff responsible for knowing and caring for your child. Each child is unique and at CBC, your son will be known, valued, and celebrated. In the earlier years of education these relationships are formed between the student, their primary carer and classroom teachers. On the Senior Campus, the vertical pastoral care system supports the Pastoral Care Teacher and Head of House who take responsibility for the care and wellbeing of the boys. Additionally, on both the Senior and Junior Campus there are College Counsellors to support the boys through all aspects of their schooling life.
An education in the Edmund Rice tradition is one based on quality teaching and learning experiences, high-quality positive relationships and critical reflection, through which each boy will be hope-filled and free to build a better world for all.
Caring for Every Child
Research supports the notion that students are more likely to academically succeed if they have a strong and holistic sense of positive well-being and experience a sense of belonging. This underpins our pastoral philosophy, where students, families and staff work collaboratively to foster a three-way partnership that supports each of our boys while creating a culture of care and community.
Our vertical House system allocates students into Middle and Senior Years Pastoral Care Groups within each House. This enables our boys to build relationships with peers of similar age while facilitating an opportunity for students and families to work in partnership with their son’s Pastoral Care teacher, who remains with them over the course of three years. This format provides familiarity, stability and a sense of collective identity.
Our Pastoral Care program is one of many ways that we address student well-being at the college. Time is spent discussing important issues relevant and specific to the needs of young people. It is indeed multidimensional, providing age-appropriate pastoral activities in alignment with the Child Protection Curriculum, while also offering an opportunity to build relationships and House spirit during key events throughout the year. The program is developed and facilitated by Heads of House in conjunction with Pastoral Care teachers and demonstrates flexibility with the ever-changing world that our boys experience in today’s society.
We also engage external presenters such as the Carly Ryan Foundation, Developing Minds, Elevate Education, the Sammy D Foundation, Bully Zero and Project RockIt to further complement our program with engaging and interactive student workshops.
Wellbeing
Student wellbeing is at the very core of CBC. The College values the uniqueness of each member of the College community and provides a positive Pastoral Care program to support students to develop spiritually, academically, socially, and emotionally. Best practice Boys Education research informs the curriculum, co-curriculum and relational learning enables students and teachers to establish a relationship of trust, support and respect. Each student needs to feel as if they belong to CBC and they are supported in this aim by Pastoral Care and Class teachers, Student Learning Coordinators, Counsellors, SRC, Senior Student Leaders, and the School Leadership Team.
Our College values of Faith, Excellence, Community and Compassion inform the wellbeing portfolio. Students are encouraged to reach their full potential and to become men of the future who understand, notice, and act on behalf of those on the margins, this gives our boys a sense of community and belonging as they work together as we aim to give back to those who are less fortunate than ourselves.
Inclusive Education
Christian Brothers College understands and acknowledges that all students can learn, albeit at different rates and in different ways and therefore are committed to implementing inclusive practices.
These practices include:
Quality teaching practices.
- Working in partnership with families.
- Teaching strategies that allow for multiple entry points/pathways/assessment for individual and groups of students, including those students with special needs (differentiated teaching).
- Providing adjustments above and beyond our in-class quality differentiated teaching programs for those boys who require it – these are documented through IEP / Adjustment Plans and shared with families.
- Trained and knowledgeable Educational Support Officers (ESOs) for facilitating inclusion in a number of ways, for example, providing in-class support (under the direction and guidance of class teachers) and implementation of a range of evidence-based, effective, and high-quality intervention programs. In the Junior campus, we currently offer a range of MultiLit Intervention programs. These programs reflect a contemporary approach to best-practice literacy instruction as identified by international reading scientists.