The principles of Reggio Emilia in Northern Italy are the inspiration that is guiding improvement and transformation at St Therese’s to ensure wellbeing and learning for ALL students. We place the child at the centre of all we do to help students become the best version of themselves.
The Reggio Emilia principles are around the image of the child, making learning visible, parent participation and the environment as crucial elements to learning.
There is a growing body of evidence showing the importance of a strong start in life, including the role of experience, environment and relationships, and their direct effect on achievement and wellbeing.
St Therese’s looked both locally and globally at approaches to re-shaping culture, pedagogy, the learning environment and its image of the child. What followed was a series of study tours, research groups, data collection, conversations and investigations to inform St Therese’s future direction.
The Cairns Diocesan Strategic Directions and the significant work of Catholic Education in South Australia, which is based on the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, galvanised the School’s research and aligned with its beliefs about the child, learning and teaching.
The Reggio Emilia approach is all encompassing of current research and resulting innovations in education such as Visible Learning (learning as a process of individual and group construction), student agency and diverse learning opportunities for all children (image of the child), innovative learning environments (the environment as the third teacher), and data driven decisions (educational documentation).
Through the implementation of the Reggio Emilia principles, we seek to create a more inclusive culture of learning that gives students opportunities to have the best start in life.
St Therese’s School views raising the bar on student wellbeing as our moral imperative. The notion of students becoming the best versions of themselves is why we do what we do.
It is what we believe about children and how they learn and grow that really drives our passion for change. Reggio Emilia’s image of the child as “…strong, powerful and rich in potential and resources right from the moment of birth.” (Professor Carla Rinaldi), will underpin the transformation at St Therese’s.
Join us on the Reggio Emilia journey.
To learn more about the philosophy of Reggio Emilia, visit www.reggiochildren.it
