Encouraging the values, understanding the numbers

In this role, he directs, and is very involved with, the pastoral care of students in Canterbury House Years 10-12. It’s a role he relishes!

How does your work fit in with the overall ethos of the School?

I had a heart for service and that’s why I got into teaching and why I’m at St Andrew’s Cathedral School.

I see my role as an outworking of the vision of the School to value and care for the whole student. I am a familiar face that students see on a daily basis. As a Head of House, I help facilitate positive interactions between parents, students and teachers. Parents really value the fact that there is someone checking on the wellbeing of their child so regularly.

How are you developing in your role?

I’m currently finishing off my Master of Educational Management and Leadership at the University of Sydney. My qualitative research dissertation focuses on the phenomenological experiences of school leaders and teachers on datafication. In a nutshell, it explores the complex story behind the numbers and the data.

From a pastoral perspective, it is the story that contextualises the student as a person. So, if our main goal is to care for an infinitely precious student, what kind of data do we look at?

Doing this research has changed my professional practice and given me a wider view of what progress looks like.

I’ve leaned into how Character Strengths and academic achievement goals are inseparable to life giving learning –  and moving closer to the vision of the School.

How do you find doing both work and study?

I love learning and that’s why I’m studying. Also, the experience of competing demands gives me renewed empathy with students.

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