Forward Together: The Rockhampton Grammar School's Strategic Pathway by The Rockhampton Grammar School

Forward together THE ROCKHAMPTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL’S STRATEGIC PATHWAY

Established in 1881, The Rockhampton Grammar School is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school, offering an Early Learning to Year 12 educational journey. Students from all ages and backgrounds are surrounded by a caring, supportive environment and given every opportunity to grow in character and scholarship.

To guide students on their educational journey, The Rockhampton Grammar School boasts a cadre of exceptional educators and dedicated support staff renowned for their unwavering passion and commitment. Their influence extends beyond the realm of exceptional academic achievements, encompassing a diverse array of co-curricular pursuits such as sport, music, dance, show cattle, outdoor education, and beyond. The School places deliberate emphasis on fostering leadership qualities in every student, coupled with a dedicated focus on instilling global understanding and engagement. This holistic experience reflects our core belief that our students’ achievements are much more than academic results.

We are proud to play a part in developing wellrounded individuals who understand values such as integrity, respect, courage and resilience. As a result, our students can make a positive contribution to their communities – both during their time with us, at home and throughout the world. Parents, teachers, students, and Alumni become part of the Grammar family from the moment they arrive and remain so, long after they depart. In every way, this is more than a place of learning – this is a family – and one of which we are all proud.

The Rockhampton Grammar School has always strived to grow in character and scholarship, with innovation, learning and people at the heart of continual improvement throughout the School. Students are at the core of all we do and at the centre of our School’s vision.

‘Forward Together – The Rockhampton Grammar School’s Strategic Pathway’ underscores our community’s commitment to providing educational excellence, cultivating leadership, emphasising health and wellbeing and our commitment to delivering an exceptional learning and living experience for our boarding community.

Vision An exceptional learning community, inspiring excellence.

With priorities focused on factors that are critical to our success, ‘Forward Together’ will meet the needs of students of today and tomorrow by sustaining and growing our robust and talented team of staff and students, strengthening our student-centred teaching, learning and boarding programmes, building upon and enhancing relationships within our community, developing our facilities and planning our institutional sustainability for the current and future generations.

Purpose To provide an outstanding learning environment for

students that inspires all members of the School community to pursue excellence in the growth of their character and scholarship, in academic, co-curricular, pastoral, and boarding domains.

Ambition To develop and grow young people to be intelligent, independent, interdependent, creative thinkers who are hopeful, resilient, innovative, globally minded, and successful lifelong learners.

A significant way for our community to collaborate on a shared vision for the School is through working with us on our strategic direction. In partnership with the Board of Trustees and our Leadership Team, we conducted research and sought feedback from our academic community, Alumni, and parent groups to help shape and inform The Rockhampton Grammar School’s strategic direction, establishing a vision for our future that will allow us to best meet the contemporary needs of our students.

‘Forward Together’ provides us with a blueprint for success that is both purposeful and adaptable – building on the agility and aspiration that have ensured our success since 1881. We invite you to explore this vision of what comes next for The Rockhampton Grammar School. Dr Phillip Moulds, OAM

Mr Brad Beasley

Headmaster

Chair, Board of Trustees

At The Rockhampton Grammar School, our studentcentred programmes are shaped by our pursuit of enabling growth in character and scholarship. Interwoven with curricula and classrooms is our health and wellbeing framework, anchored in leadership development for all students, which catalyses their curiosity, develops their skills and knowledge and gives ample opportunity for scholastic, athletic and artistic expression.

We believe RGS, in partnership with families, can prepare each student to achieve their personal best in all that they undertake, while prioritising health and wellbeing. We foster a culture of wellness while helping students develop life skills and equipping them with the tools necessary to navigate an array of challenges they face in a complex world.

Our programmes

We believe in nurturing students’ individual potential while ensuring every member of our School community feels welcomed, accepted, known and cared for. Our staff strive to be culturally competent, establish productive and respectful connections with each student, and be accepting of differences. Through our ‘communication charter’, we commit to safe and respectful conversations. Finally, we view technology (including artificial intelligence) as an enabler of learning, not an end in itself. Technology is used at RGS to support learning to link to real-world experiences, targeting areas of difficulty in student understanding and developing students’ thinking processes and dispositions.

To further develop and support our current and future programmes, we will:

Academic Teaching and Learning • Thoroughly plan and implement the Australian Curriculum in Primary and Secondary Schools. • Pursue the development of independent learning models. • Modernise the current curriculum, learning and timetable review (ELC and P-12) and subsequently implement the new agreed structure. • Develop and implement a P-6 phonic/morphology programme and whole school literacy programme. • Embed data monitoring and an assessment framework with staff capacity building in data meta-analysis to improve teaching and learning.

Leadership for All • Formalise, evolve and enhance the Leadership for All programme – the distinctive framework developed and delivered in partnership with the Centre for Creative Leadership through which leadership development for all members of the School community takes place – developing skills, understandings, attitudes and behaviours in three dimensions: leading yourself, leading with others and changing your world. This includes student, staff and community development. • Offer diverse and meaningful opportunities for students such as service learning, outdoor education, and global excursions to further develop students’ Leadership for All competencies across a range of experiences. • Further strengthen the Special Project Fellowship to address the School’s future trends and needs.

Student Wellbeing • Enhance wellbeing for all students. • Strengthen the pastoral care and wellbeing programmes throughout the whole school to address students’ needs and potential concerns in an ever-changing world. • Incorporate Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) into all aspects of school and learning to support students in developing important life skills. Further, build a culture of “looking out for others” through outreach opportunities for student participation in the ‘Beyond Borders’ experience, introduction of the ‘Zones of Regulation’ programme initially for P-2 and a school-wide Restorative Practices approach to student care. • Support all educators to build their capacity to facilitate and implement student wellbeing experiences and practices from the ELC to Year 12.

Boarding • Improve the facilities for our boarders. • Build community relationships from the beginning of the enrolment process to the commencement of school for students and their families. • Explore new areas to attract future enrolments. • Elevate boarding programmes by enriching offerings in activities, academic support, and student character development.

Co-curricular • Pursue further development of people and programmes to ensure opportunities are provided to students that allow them to perform at either an elite or participation level. • Investigate relationships with peak sporting and cultural bodies and teams to provide opportunities for students and staff. • Enhance student engagement in a rich spectrum of co-curricular activities.

Innovation and Technology • Continue to research and implement, where appropriate, artificial intelligence tools that will enhance teaching and learning. • Design the new Learning Commons building with technology at the forefront. • Explore links with external agencies to enhance IT systems and processes.

Beyond the Classroom • Build understanding and community buy-in for the School’s global education programmes, including implementing the student exchange (outbound) programme, maximising the Round Square partnership and developing the School’s homestay programme. • Consider the opportunities to have greater community impact through student fundraising activities that align with the School’s values and service mission. • Acknowledge and celebrate student service initiatives and outcomes.

Our people Our people

Essential to The Rockhampton Grammar School achieving its vision are the talents and engagement of excellent teachers and dedicated support staff. As a diverse community of skilled and caring professionals, we come together to nurture each student’s potential in a challenging, accepting, adaptive, respectful, and safe environment.

To support and nurture our present and future staff, we will: • Attract, retain and support high-performing individuals who are committed to our unique independent school environment. • Ensure that we offer competitive salaries and benefits as well as mentoring and professional development programmes and opportunities. • Develop strategies in our recruitment and hiring of staff that includes a “grow our own” approach. • Seek feedback from staff via organisational and benchmarked surveying, to further build trust and create a culture of productive feedback and continuous improvement.

One of the most important aspects of a student’s learning journey is the relationships that exists between the student, teachers and parents. We know the importance of – and place a high priority on – cultivating meaningful and effective relationships with all members of our community to best serve the needs of our students. These relationships not only support and further the educational experience, they also establish a lifelong connection between The Rockhampton Grammar School and our community.

Our relationships

To support and invigorate our present and future relationships, we will:

Parent Engagement

• Ensure parents understand the many ways an RGS education helps them develop well-rounded students and provides great opportunities for life beyond school.

• Welcome new families with enthusiasm and understand their individual expectations and aspirations to improve their earliest experiences with the School. • Engage parents in education experiences and programmes by providing a forum on key school programmes and challenges, including Leadership for All, student wellbeing, and technologyrelated topics.

• Promote a sense of belonging and connection to RGS through family participation in their child’s learning journey and participation in school life. • Create new pathways for engagement and volunteerism that are sensitive to the busy lives of today’s families. • Seek regular input and feedback from parents to gauge and understand their expectations and satisfaction to inform continuous improvement. • Simplify and streamline communication and administration for families to enhance their experience with the School.

Alumni & Alumni Family Engagement • Demonstrate how much we value our Alumni’s legacy of excellence and involve them in the life of the School today. • Focus on comprehensive Alumni engagement in our communications, events and philanthropy. • Strengthen connections between students and Alumni through history reflection and celebration, guest speakers and mentoring opportunities.

• Work closely with the Parent Association and Boarder Parents’ Association to achieve the School’s vision.

We believe a student’s learning environment can have an enormous impact on their learning and personal development. Our students learn in spaces that are intentionally designed to encourage the development of the ‘whole person’, reflecting the particular needs of each age group. Every aspect of our campuses addresses a specific purpose, from the colour and lighting schemes used in our classrooms to the high standards we hold for maintaining our grounds. We believe intentional learning spaces support student achievement while also contributing to the sense of community we value.

The significance of our historic buildings instils a sense of continuity and pride in our students, while newer facilities such as Duggan Hall and the Beasley Centre are leading examples of what contemporary learning environments can offer.

Our facilities

Areas where students are free to create their own activities and spend time reflecting between lessons are vitally important to our community. We value these spaces at each year level because they offer opportunities for students to build relationships with their peers and fully integrate what they have learned inside the classroom. To support and strengthen our facilities, we will: • Seek to remain well-informed about new information and innovation in learning environments. • Invest in our learning, play, and relaxation spaces to ensure they are always well-maintained and impactful on students’ learning and personal development. • Not lose sight of the School’s history and tradition while maintaining a strong focus on contemporary learning environments.

Fully funding our distinctive programmes is essential to our ability to fulfil our vision, and to continue building on our legacy of growing in character and scholarship. To ensure the School’s sustainability for future generations of learners, we will evaluate our ongoing revenue opportunities, pursue meaningful partnerships, drive philanthropic support, assess market demands and continue strengthening our reputation and brand.

Sustainability partnerships &

Sustainability, partnerships & philanthropy

To support and ensure our present and future school sustainability, we will: • Prepare and position the School to strengthen and review our current partnerships and pursue new meaningful partnerships in ways to support programmes and strategic priorities to provide opportunities for our students and staff in a cost-effective way. • Create a philanthropic community mindset through partnering with admissions, communications, Alumni and parent groups. • Examine our strategic demographic modelling process and incorporate those insights into financial planning. • Expand and enhance revenue opportunities by further opening campuses to the broader community. • Review, consolidate and grow sponsorship opportunities to maximise benefit to the School and sponsors.

philanthropy

The Rockhampton Grammar School Archer Street, Rockhampton Queensland 4700 07 4936 0600 Non-denominational, Co-educational, Boarding and Day School Prep to Year 12, Early Learning Centre (6 weeks to 5 years) Enrolment enquiries 07 4936 0700 registrar@rgs.qld.edu.au www.rgs.qld.edu.au CRICOS: 00507F ABN: 71 055 702 035