Our philosophy and values

Templestowe College is a progressive state school. As a school community, we have agreed that our purpose is “to challenge the status quo, so that everyone is empowered to learn.” That means that we’re not bound by tradition or doing things the way they’ve always been done. Instead, we’re driven by what works best for our students, staff and families.

We use best practice, innovation and creative problem solving, often led by students, to truly place students at the centre of their own learning. We support every student to achieve and succeed in a way that aligns with their interests, passions and chosen pathway.

At TC, someone who is empowered to learn experiences the following:

  • Relationships - having meaningful interactions with their peers and all other members of the school community

  • Agency - having the ability to be involved in setting the parameters of their own learning

  • Authenticity - doing real things that matter in their life

  • Success - being challenged by the learning to experience personal growth

  • Understanding - knowing that their individual needs and circumstances are considered when designing their learning

We achieve this by:

  • Valuing everyone equally

  • Creating opportunities

  • Embracing new ideas

  • Fostering an inclusive and supportive community

  • Supporting and empowering people

  • Thinking outside of the box and remaining flexible

We also have the following two key cornerstone principles behind what we do:

One person policy - All people are worthy of an equal level of respect and trust, regardless of the position they hold within the school. This will diminish or grow, based upon our actions. Whilst we all have different responsibilities, we are all worthy of being treated with the same level of respect.

“Everyone is respected, both teachers and students, no matter what their role or age is. I believe that’s really important.” - Charlotte, student

Yes is the default - For any reasonable request by students, staff or parents/guardians, the answer is usually “YES”, unless it:

a) Takes too much time

b) Costs too much money

c) Negatively impacts on others.