Guardian Angels (GA) wanted to go beyond an initiative and wanted student voice, agency and partnerships to be ‘A way of being’ at the school. Initially partnering with a world renown student voice expert, the staff at Guardian Angels embarked on a journey of collaborative learning to understand what voice meant and how that could be incorporated into all aspects of school life. Momentum was gained through adopting school songs linked to voice and focusing on how to develop student voice, agency and leadership capabilities so their learners were active and empowered learners. expressing their thoughts and ideas that informs teaching. Students see themselves as valued partners with teachers, teachers create conditions with students to enhance their partnership and create collaborative cultures. As one child commented, “Voice is in everything we do.”
Leadership at Guardian Angels recognised the need for the whole school community to undertake a learning journey to create a shared language, understanding and actions around voice and agency. Building on a partnership between Brisbane Catholic Education and the Quaglia Institute, Guardian Angels have continued to develop every student’s’ voice, recognising how amplifying their voice will support every student to reach their aspirations. shared their learning widely through case studies and a variety of media. Students recorded a video which was shown to leaders at ACEL Conference in 2023 and have hosted other school staff interested in finding out about voice activities and practices. Students and staff regularly and students to reflect on their work and continually set class goals together to ensure every voice is valued and heard as a valued contributor to school wide improvement efforts. At GA, student voice is not a project or focus for a few years, it has become a way of being at the school. Students are partners in the ongoing work of teaching and learning, shared goals and aspirations.
All teachers use I Know My Class surveys information twice a year to gather student perspective on their teaching, the curriculum and how students see themselves as learners. This information is discussed by the teacher and students, demonstrating true partnership to ensure excellence and equity is interwoven into teaching and learning practices. These surveys allow classes to set class skill goals and monitor progress through their named strategies. Recent survey data indicate 90.5% of students believe students listen to other students’ ideas and opinions and 87.2% of students believe their teacher listens to them. In response to the voice and agency question ‘My school encourages and provides opportunities for my voice to be heard in decisions that affect my learning and wellbeing, 83% of student were in agreement.
Voice is not an add on, a token or a survey at Guardian Angels. They encourage all students to see themselves as leaders of their own learning and valued contributors to the learning of others.

Guardian Angels embarked on a multi year learning journey to increase student voice and integrated it into every aspect of the school. Students and teachers regularly create class goals and work together to make continual improvements. Students know and believe they are valued partners with teachers.

It is a truly collaborative school where students fell empowered from the first day of attendance. Speaking to the children, you can hear their belief that they are heard, valued and cared for.

The culture of the school is very much student centred and leadership have been tireless and proactive in making explicit links to the role and responsibility of students as partners in their learning. Using research and evidence from student voice, they continually improve knowledge, practice and policy to ensure ALL voices contribute to the day to day teaching and learning.