Scotch Oakburn’s journey towards Australian Childhood Foundation (ACF) accreditation as a child safe organisation has been a transformative and essential process. Recognising the paramount importance of Safeguarding our students and creating a nurturing environment, we embarked on this accreditation journey to ensure that every child in our care feels safe, supported, and protected.

The ACF accreditation is a rigorous and comprehensive process that evaluates an organisation’s policies, practices, and culture with a specific focus on child safety. It involves an in-depth examination of our safeguarding procedures, staff training, governance, and overall commitment to child protection, from the Board through to our […]

Community is something that Simon has come to appreciate

from his years as a student at the College…

Simon Dornauf (‘04) knows how much cultural diversity can enrich a community. As the Director and Farm Manager of Hillwood Berries, which he operates with parents Karen (nee Smith, MLC, ‘79) and Robin (Scotch, ‘79) and his brother Marcus (‘06), he is surrounded daily by the song, dance and humour of his migrant workers.

Hillwood Berries is a participant in the Australian Government’s Seasonal Worker Program, which recruits workers from Samoa, Tonga and Timor Leste and employs refugees from Nepal and Afghanistan.

An article from the Examiner Newspaper, Launceston, 9 July, 2023
Author: Declan Durrant

As you are aware our valued Principal, Andy Mȕller, advised the Board late last year that he will end his tenure in December 2023. Upon this departure, this will conclude almost 11 exemplary years of service as Principal of Scotch Oakburn College.

We also informed you that the Board would conduct an extensive search to find our next Principal and, that as Chair and Deputy Chair of the Board, we would lead that search with the support of Odgers Berndtson, an internationally recognised Principal Search consultant.

After an extensive process, across much of Term One and Two, our Board is extremely […]

One question that often arises when speaking to potential families is, “What are the class sizes at Scotch Oakburn?”. The answer is that they vary across the school and within Year Levels because there are a number of factors to be taken into account.

1. The physical size of the classroom.
2. Whether the Year Level has a high intake of new students.
3. The age of the students.
4. The subject being taught and typical learning activities taking place.
5. The needs of the students in the class.
6. Resources available to the teacher and students.
7. Additional Learning Assistants/adults in the class.
8. Mandatory staff-to-student ratios.

[…]

The Path to Achieving our Mission

A long-running survey of parents of independent school students has consistently found the number one outcome parents want from their school is… the preparation of the students to fulfil their potential in later life. This finding aligns beautifully with our purpose, our Mission, to provide an exceptional holistic education that enables every student to maximise their potential.

Given the College’s purpose is very clear, it is imperative that there is a clearly defined process by which to fulfil that raison d’etre; that is, the how. It is common sense that students who are known and feel […]

Author: Dr Judith Locke.

Judith Locke is presenting an online webinar to our Senior College parents and carers on 9 February and has provided this article for our community.

Confidence is an essential quality in people as it enables them to face the typical tasks of a day. Without it, people tend to shrink from challenge, and live reduced lives.

Many parents want to actively improve their child’s confidence. They do this in many ways, including praising their child more, giving them lots of affection, and stepping in a little to ensure their child experiences success.

Unsurprisingly, I get a lot of questions […]

So, your child comes home from school, upset that they didn’t get on the team. Or missed out on a Principals’ award. Or didn’t get in the camp group with their best friend. There they are standing in front of you crying or visibly upset and it’s breaking your heart. What do you do?

We are excited that the first of two major developments has been approved and will commence in 2023. The Elphin Inquiry and Environmental Centre firmly aligns to the Strands (of our Strategic Vision) of Learning, Wellbeing, Community and Capacity. Nestled beside our beautiful Claremont Garden and connected to our already existing Art Studio, we continue to innovate, developing new learning environments that are designed to inspire minds, create community, and shape future lives.

This new learning space has been designed to foster the essential life skills of creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration.

The Inquiry […]

Over the past two years, Scotch Oakburn College has been committed to an important role in the evolution of Australia’s education system. From late 2020, when the College was accepted as one of only 37 founding schools in the University of Melbourne’s New Metrics For Success Program, it has been intimately involved in the development of ground-breaking assessment rubrics, a pilot program and more recently, an extensive validation trial, all of which aim to deal with the challenges of how to best teach, measure, assess and report on complex personal competencies like […]