Values

willowbank primary school

Collaboration

Collaboration is more than just teamwork. It is an opportunity to learn from and with each other, broaden our experiences, challenge our thinking and consider a range of perspectives. It includes opportunities to provide and receive constructive feedback and is built on genuine and authentic relationships. 

At Willowbank Primary School we work collaboratively with our staff, students, parents and the broader community to create an outstanding school committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for our students. Below are just some of the ways that we create a collaborative school community: 

• Students cooperatively solve problems and use prior knowledge and skills to make new connections in their learning.
• Students actively participate, negotiate roles, responsibilities and outcomes in the classroom and across the whole school.
• Our classroom environments are arranged to support student collaboration and sharing. Student tables are arranged in small groups and classes utilise the open collaborative spaces for small group break-out areas.
• Learning opportunities are extended beyond the classroom through community links, utlising digital platforms and making global connections. Our students are supported to be responsible global citizens and use technology to share and enhance their learning. 
• Our staff work collaboratively in Professional Learning Teams to plan high quality learning experiences, engage in inquiry cycles to improve student learning and monitor student learning growth.
• Our school is committed to building the professional capacity of our teachers to be the best possible educators they can be for our students. This includes: coaching, feedback, peer observation, team planning, whole school professional learning and teacher’s identifying professional development goals. 
• We recognise that parents are our students’ first educators. Learning starts from birth and continues beyond the school gates. We will work closely with our parent community to provide a continuity of learning and ensure our students wellbeing, engagement and academic needs are supported.
• Our parents are engaged in the learning that occurs in our classrooms and work together with their children’s teachers to support learning at home.
• We value strong parent partnerships and are committed to providing a range of ways for our parents to be involved in our school. This includes opportunities to volunteer, attend curriculum workshops and information sessions and celebrate our student learning. 
• As a school community we actively seek and value feedback from all members of our school community. Feedback provides us with valuable information to support continuous improvement. It also provides opportunities to recognise and celebrate our school achievements and promotes a collective responsibility of our school values.

At Willowbank Primary School, we work together to achieve our common goals and support each other to achieve our individual ones. We strive to create a culture committed to ‘Achieving excellence together’.