As the world witnesses powerful shifts in attitudes, opportunities, expectations, and pressures, girls’ education has become more important than ever, and its positive impacts are innumerable. However, only in a school designed intentionally for girls and young women can gendered assumptions and biases be truly stripped away and replaced with enriched emotional wellbeing, a more confident sense of self, heightened life satisfaction, enhanced academic achievement, and a greater female participation and success in subjects such as advanced mathematics, science, and robotics.
Our Junior School places a spotlight on these crucial curriculum areas from an early age, including access to purpose-built Science and Design learning spaces.
Girls in all girls’ settings tend to act more adventurously compared to co-educational settings and Walford Junior School girls are unapologetically encouraged to do so.
Walford’s Commitment to the Leadership of Girls and Young Women
At Walford, female leadership, ambition, and achievement are not just encouraged, they are normalised. We have a proud culture of student agency and respecting, nurturing, and empowering girls as leaders.
This commitment is underpinned by the School motto Virtute et Veritate – “With moral courage and truth”.
Junior School girls at Walford are provided with a comprehensive range of leadership opportunities including formal student leadership positions, classroom and year level student action groups, peer support, lead Musical roles, leadership mentoring, public speaking, student panels, hosting of Assemblies and events and leadership of school tours.
Teaching and Learning
Our students thrive under the focused attention of outstanding staff, and enjoy limitless opportunities for growth. Walford’s Junior School intentionally maintains educator to student ratios led by classroom mentor teachers. Each girl and her family are deeply known as part of the Junior School community, throughout her journey from early learning to Year 12.
Teaching and learning programs are personalised to accommodate for individual learning needs and preferences, including those requiring additional scaffolding. Thinking routines are integrated into Junior School programs, to facilitate higher order and divergent thinking for high achieving students who are working beyond year level curriculum expectations.
Each Junior School girl’s learning journey is meticulously tracked and documented throughout her Junior School years to ensure that she attains optimal growth and reaches her potential. The ELC and Junior School are authorised as an International Baccalaureate Primary Years Program (IB PYP) World School. This rigorous program emphasizes a timetable balancing student-initiated inquiry and personalised learning programs with explicit instruction. Curriculum content descriptions and achievement standards from Mid-Year Reception to Year 5 align with the guidelines of the Australian Curriculum.
Walford’s IB PYP program received expectational feedback in its recent external evaluation, achieving developed and highly developed achievement ratings across the International Baccalaureate’s standards and practice areas of purpose, culture, environment, and learning. As part of the extensive evaluation process, Walford’s Junior School was also highly commended for its collaborative and cohesive staffing team and its professional work in developing Junior School digital portfolios, as part of continuous assessment and reporting.
A True Sense of Belonging
For every girl, wellbeing is essential for learning, and lifelong wellbeing is essential for lifelong achievement and happiness. That is why we embed wellbeing in everything we do – formally as well as subtly.
Walford’s signature Wellbeing, Engagement and Belonging (WEB) curriculum is uniquely scheduled at the beginning of the Junior School Day and caters for the social and emotional development of young girls.
Wellbeing focus areas are specifically tailored to the whole class, small groups, and individual students.
Our Junior School girls participate in a variety of formal and informal sessions and activities, designed to develop social, emotional, cognitive, physical and spiritual wellbeing. This powerful medium allows us to discuss important topics, from the development of identity and exploration of values to social and emotional learning, safe and protective behaviours, and fostering healthy relationships.
Our WEB curriculum is underpinned by the Australian and IB Curriculum frameworks and utilises resources from the Grow Your Mind and Girl Wise programs and the Keeping Safe Child Protection Curriculum.
Guest speakers and external consultants also advise and work alongside the Junior School students and the parent community, providing best practise programs for young girls to be confident, healthy and to flourish.
Apply now:
walford.sa.edu.au/mid-year-reception
Learn more about the Walford Junior School:
walford.sa.edu.au/junior-school
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